When i take a picture, the flash does not go off. All my pictures are black.What pas failed, and is it cheaper to buy a new camera.

The camera lens appeared dark before this started happening. i thought it was a low battery. After charging up the battery, it seemed to improve, but the flash does not go off, and all pictures appear black unless i take a picture of a lightbulb or something bright.

First thing I would do is reset the camera. This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes. It may be that the firmware loading got corrupted and the camera just needs to be "rebooted," which is something that turning it on/off won't accomplish. But after which, you should have the camera reset to factory default settings.

Another tip is to go to Canon's website and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.

But considering that this camera is 5 years old, it's reaching the end of it's operational life, unfortunately, and a repair would cost more than the camera is worth. Time to start looking for a new camera, David!