20 Most Recent Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Camera - Page 5 Questions & Answers

Call Canon, they will hopefully fix or replace the unit.

Please remove your battery and the memory card, transfer all your photos into your PC and save. Now format the memory card and replace on the camera. Replace the battery and switch on to shoot. If the fault occurs there is fault in the CCD- the camera optical device- or on the main control board. It is ideal to take an opinion with the Canon support center to estimate.

Fixing a Lens Error on a Digital Camera

This has to be THE most common failure mode for a digital camera. Some common error messages that might show up on the LCD's of cameras with this problem include "E18 lens error", or "lens error, restart camera". Some cameras might show nothing at all, but merely make a beeping noise as the lens goes out, then in, then the camera shuts off. Sometimes the lens won't even move.

The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended. Believe it or not, one BIG contributor to lens errors is using a camera case. Sand, gunk, case fibers, etc... accumulate at the bottom of the case. These materials love to cling to the camera by electrostatic build-up from the camera rubbing against the side of the case (especially those cases with soft fibrous interiors). Once these materials work their way into the lens mechanism, that's all she wrote. I have many cameras, and NEVER use a case for this very reason.

A camera owner that suffers this problem may have no recourse for having the camera repaired. Many camera makers will not honor repairing this problem under warranty as they claim it is due to impact damage to the camera, or sand or debris getting into the lens gearing mechanism (neither of which is covered under warranty). The quoted repair cost is usually close to or more than what the camera is actually worth.

Fortunately, about half the cameras that suffer this failure can easily be fixed by one of the following methods. None of these methods involve opening the camera, although some have potential to cause other damage to the camera if excessively done. If the camera is still under warranty, before trying any of these, please please first contact your camera's maker to see if they'll cover the repair, or to determine how much they'll charge for the repair. Who knows, you might get lucky. But if they quote you a number that's higher than the value of your camera, you may want to consider the following methods.

The methods are listed in the order of risk of damaging your camera. Thus make sure you try them in the listed order. And remember, these fixes (especially #6 and 7) should only be considered for a camera that's out of warranty, who's cost of repair would be excessive, and would otherwise be considered for disposal if unrepaired:

Fix #1: Remove the batteries from the camera, wait a few minutes. Put a fresh set of batteries back in (preferably rechargeable NiMH 2500mah or better) and turn the camera on. If that didn't work, try pressing and holding the Function or OK button while turning the camera on.

Fix #2: Remove the batteries, then remove the memory card. Then install new batteries, and turn on the camera. If you get an Error E30, it means you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the memory card and turn it on one last time.

Fix #3: Insert the cameras Audio/Video (AV) cable, and turn the camera on. Inserting this cable ensures that the camera's LCD screen remains off during the start process. Thus extra battery power is available to the camera's lens motor during startup. This extra power can be useful in overcoming grit or sand particles that may be jamming the lens. If the AV cable doesn't fix the lens error by itself, consider keeping this cable installed while trying fixes 4, 5, and 7 as a means to provide extra help to these fixes. But note that I DON'T recommend keeping the cable installed during Fix 6 as you may damage the AV port while tapping the camera. Reinsert the cable only AFTER tapping the camera.

Fix #4: Place the camera flat on its back on a table, pointed at the ceiling. Press and hold the shutter button down, and at the same time press the power-on button. The idea is that the camera will try to autofocus while the lens is extending, hopefully seating the lens barrel guide pins in their slots.

Fix #5: Blow compressed air in the gaps around the lens barrels with the idea of blowing out any sand or grit that may be in there jamming the lens. Other variations include blowing with a hair dryer in "no heat" setting, or sucking the gaps with a vacuum (careful with this one).

Now we're entering into the realm of potentially damaging your camera in conducting the fix. There is definitely some risk here, so take care when conducting the following two fixes.

Fix #6: Repeatedly tap the padded/rubber usb cover on a hard surface with the intent of dislodging any particles that may be jamming the lens. Other variations include hitting a side of the camera against the palm of your hand. A lot of people have reported success with this method. HOWEVER, there is also some potential for damaging or dislodging internal components with this method, such as unseating ribbon cables, or cracking LCD screens.

Fix #7: Try forcing the lens. More people have reported success with this method than with any of the other methods. HOWEVER, there's obviously some potential for damaging your camera by using this method. Variations include gently pulling, rotating, and/or twisting the lens barrel while hitting the power button. Attempt to gently straighten or align the barrel if it's crooked or twisted. Another variation includes looking for uneven gaps around the lens barrel, and then pushing on the side of the lens barrel that has the largest gap (note pushing the lens barrel all the way in is NOT recommended as it may become stuck there). While doing any of the above, listen for a click that indicates that the lens barrel guide pins may have reseated in their guide slots. If you hear this click, immediately stop and try the camera.

You may need to contact Canon directly. They may need you to ship it to them for repair.

http://www.canoncompact.com/contact

Good luck!

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ... Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try that may (or may not) correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try. Some of the later steps do involve some risk to the camera, so carefully weigh your options before deciding to conduct them:

Hello,
I have a Canondigital ixusi which had the same problem and I purchased three new batteries, but found that all of them showed the "replace battery pack" message when fully charged. I have solved this problem by cleaning all the terminals on the batteries and in the camera very thoroughly with alcohol and Q-tips. Even though the terminals look completely clean, there must be a slight film which is preventing good contact. The contacts in the camera are spring loaded and I suspect they are not making a very good conection to the battery so any contamination is making a high resistance to the flow of electricity. Hope this helps - it worked for me.

Remove the batteries from the Camera. Then press and hold the power button down for 45 to 60 seconds. Replace the batteries with new ones and install them in the camera. Then turn it on and wait until it finishes its normal warm up, then press the power button to turn it off. This should make the lense retract back to normal position. If the lens does not retract, contact the manufacturer for assistance with repair work.

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.
By the way, my wife happens to own a SD1000. Great little camera, but it's prone to stuck shutter every once and a while. Easily fixed each time though by simply opening the battery door while on, and gently flicking the lens barrel a few times. Again, see the link.

OK try this get a new blank SD card, insert into camera and use the camera to format it, now take it out, and pop it into the PC with a reader, do nothing else, and now hopefully you should be able to copy/paste those photos into that SD card, once done, transfer back to the camera, hopefully the camera should now "See" those photos?
Another way maybe to put that new blank SD card into the camera, again use camera to "Format & prepare it" and if possible, copy those photos from the PC to the camera via the USB and cable, copy them one at a time to the SD card, and now you should be able to "See" them?
Sometimes the camera comes with proprietary software to use and manipulate the photos if you have this software then please use this to copy and work with your camera,as this will always work the best.

Could be a lens error or display error. The latter can be tested by viewing the pictures on a PC or Mac. Lens errors in a Canon are tricky and usually of mechanical nature - such as a grain of sand in the mechanism. Let the lense expand / contract a few times to test it.

Use the arrows, in essence; the circle of buttons around the Func/Set are arrows. The one on top, is to scroll up, the one on the right is to scroll to the right, and so on. Try It!

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras, especially for the SD1000. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help. This time if you fix it, remember to take many pictures afterwards to lubricate the shutter to prevent this from happening again.

First try pressing the DISP or DISPLAY button to verify that you didn't accidentally turn it off. A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.

This is only availible during printing but here is how to do that if you are still interested.

1. Press the menu button
2. Navigate to the "Date Stamp" Setting
3. Press Left and right arrow buttons to toggle the "Off", "Date", or "Date/Time" settings, then leave it on the "Date/Time"
4. Connect the camera to a Cannon compatable Printer and press the set button 5. Navigate to the "Picture Styles" option, then the "Date" option. Use the left and right arrow to set it to "On." 6. Press the "Menu" button, then navigate to "Print" and push the Set button.

First press the DISP button to make sure that you didn't just accidentally turn it off. Next, a stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras (very common for the SD1000 by the way, but also very easy to fix). The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.

Unfortunately there is no easy fix, the mode switch has been damaged or there is a crack in the systems control board where it is solded to, the only option is a Canon repair station.

Some symptoms of a defective CCD (Charge Coupled Device) include distorted images or abnormal colors, scratchy purple lines, blank or black pictures, and/or black videos with good sound being recorded on the camera's flash card.

When a picture is taken, the CCD is struck by light coming through the camera's lens. Each of the thousands or millions of tiny pixels that make up the CCD convert this light into electrons. The number of electrons, usually described as the pixel's accumulated charge, is measured, then converted to a digital value. This last step occurs outside the CCD, in a camera component called an analog-to-digital converter.

In order to correct this issue, the repair facility needs to replace the CCD. This is not something you may do on your own; check this article for additional details: Bad CCDs. This, isn't a good new, but hope helps to solve it.



Hope this helps to solve it (remember to rate and comment this answer).

Unfortunately, many cameras that fall prey to lens error problems can only be corrected by professional repair. But, here are some last resort troubleshooting steps that you can try that may correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try.

Try NOT connecting your camera to your computer.

The best way to download pictures from your camera to your computer involves removing the memory card from the camera and plugging it into a card reader (either built-in to the computer or connected via USB or FireWire). This is likely to be faster than connecting the camera to the computer, and won't run down your camera's batteries.

Once the card is plugged in, it will appear to your computer as a removable drive. You can use the operating system's drag&drop facility to copy pictures from the card to the computer's hard drive, the same way you copy any other files. Or you can use any photo cataloging program.