Unfortunately I dropped my camera (Canon powershot / ixus series) in the sand at the beach, and some grains of sand seemed to have gone into the little gap between the circle of the zoom lens apparatus and the body.
I tried switching the camera on a couple of times in order to clear the sand by blowing it, and got some of the sand out. But in the process, there started a kich-kich little noise when the lens would come out or in (or the zoom operated) - basically the sand rubbing against the zoom apparatus. Finally when I tried shutting the camera, it gave me something along the lines of “Lens Error” and wouldn’t shut or retract the lens. Somehow it shut after a few tries, but since then I have not operated it.
Just wanted to know if anyone here has had a similar experience, and if so what I should do about the problem. The camera is not in warranty (bought in the U.S. many years back) - not that warranty would have covered this anyway.
But will Canon service centres take a look at that? How successful are they at opening it and cleaning it? How much would it cost?
I too have a canon S5IS had my kid threw water on it..the lens is not coming out and there is no display on LCD. Anybody can guide me how much its going to cost to repair it?. It has been purchased in US just 6 months ago
1st thing to do after water damage is to remove the battery n keep the cam aside for water to evaporate…that…if u cant open it n clean all the dust/moisture…once u give it a chrge while water is inside…its gone…circuits will be shorts n its nuthin more than a paperweight the next moment.
vry les chances of repairinng at low cost in these cases.
@vebk, since its sand and you heard some grating noise, most probably the lens is a goner by now. it might have picked up scratches etc. best option would be to get a new cam imo.
Called up Canon people. As expected they will really only be able to tell once they open it up, but from whatever information I could give him, the guy was confident that a servicing (i.e. cleaning) should solve the problem. For that he quoted Rs. 750+taxes, and a time frame of 2 days.
Gave it in to Canon last week. If it’s repaired with servicing (i.e. cleaning) then it will cost Rs. 750 + taxes. I am supposed to get delivery by tomorrow, and since they haven’t called, no news being good news, I am hopeful it is fixed.
According to Canon, the lens apparatus needs to be replaced, at a cost of Rs. 5,500 approx.
So I told them not to go ahead with the work. Hopefully in opening it up, they managed to at least clean out the sand. I will use it till it works, and then maybe buy a iXus 80IS (a.k.a. powershot SD1100) from the States for about 7.5K.
Sucks for me. Lesson learnt. Never take your camera to the beach.
I haven’t collected it yet, but the charges for just opening it up and taking a look (they call it estimation charges) are Rs. 225 - which is reasonable.
I also have the strap/lanyard around my wrist all the time. But at this particular fateful moment I was keeping it in the case attached to my belt, and having thought it was in securely, I was removing my hand from the strap/lanyard, which is when it fell. Sad thing is that it was a soft plop and only a little bit of the camera went into the sand. The rest was still above. My bad luck I suppose.
