Canon PowerShot S50 Comments & Questions (write your own!)

Hi Max,
Can you tell us exactly what the camera is doing? Are you getting an error message, a black screen, etc?

Hi, I noticed that you haven't marked any replies as the "best answer." Are you still looking for an answer? If so, I recommend you re-submit it on digitalcamera-hq.com  so it will have a better chance of being noticed. These days it looks like most questions are being answered within a few days. Good luck!

Repairing the camera door would probably cost more than the camera is worth to fix. Rule of thumb being if it costs north of 50% of what you paid to fix, you should use apply that money towards a new camera. Additionally, as this model is more than two years old, the battery charge issue isn't surprising.

Most newer cameras have red eye faetures. They're also much faster.

With all this, I'm thinking it's high time you bought a new camera.

Not so fast. Go ahead and take it in for an estimate to repair. That doesn't usually cost anything and if it does, they'll usually deduct it from the repair cost at the end.

Lucille-
I have the same problem with my door. Did you find someone to fix it and how much did it cost?
Randy

Randy, just about any mainstream camera store will handle it, and definitely a "mom and pop" operation. You could also try Best Buy. Your mileage may vary on it. Best idea would be to contact Canon directly and ask them where the nearest authorized service center is. They may even be able to give you an estimate online/email/over the phone.

I have had a Canon S50 since August 2003, and it has worked great. My original battery is fine, though I recently bought one of the newer ones so that I could have two (I did have a non-Canon battery but it died last Fall, after about 3 years of use). This past weekend, the sliding cover/door over the lens got stuck open, but it would move enough to turn the camera on and off (extend and retract the lens). I was just fooling with it, and now I managed to get it to close by applying the right pressure inward while sliding it, but it is now making noise when I slide it back and forth. I might take it to a shop for an opinion. I would hate to give this camera up (esp. with the new battery). This camera has served me well for the more than 4200 pictures I have taken with it.

The door of my S50 got hung up also. Being the brave soul that I am, I took the camera apart and found that 1 of the 2 small plastic gears that the door moves on was broken (sounds like what is happening to most of the people on this post). I won't say it was easy to take the camera apart, but it wasn't terribly hard either. A new door from Canon shipped to my house was around $30-$32.

I have had great sucess with my Canon.

P.S. - If any one is giving up on their S50, I might be interested in it to keep a spare for parts.

Erik,

Where did you find the parts manual you mentioned on another discussion?

Anyone who is interested, the tutorial how to fix the problem can be found here:

photography-on-the.net/foru... 

Jane,

You might have a charge issue on the battery. Is it fully charged? If so, it sounds like an issue with the camera. Because it is an older model, it may not be under warranty anymore. Before you let them repair it, ask for a price quote. It may be less expensive to buy a new camera with a warranty. Good luck.

Andrew

I will try that-- is it hard to find the micro battery? Did you remove the door or do I need to take it to a shop? The camera still works great so I hate to junk it-- I really hope your suggestion works- thanks

Thanks again. I will opt for the camera shop but at least I will have an idea of what the problem may be. I had already contacted Canon and didn't really get much other than trade it in for a newer one.

Sadly it sounds like you have electronic issues. There could be something caught by the lens. But the color lines usually mean transmission error or dirty sensor. The fact that you having so many errors leads me to believe that the whole camera might be failing. It is long in the tooth as well. Might not even be worth getting repaired. I would suggest taking it to a camera shop, getting an estimate and if it is a sizable amount then just get a new camera.

Ah yes, the dreaded e18 error. There's an entire website ( e18error.com/  ) devoted to this. In a nutshell, Canon E18 error happens when the lens gets stuck while trying to extend. The camera will beep a few times and the LCD will display a little E18 in the lower-left corner. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off.

If your camera is still under warranty, the best thing you can do have Canon should fix it.

If your camera is out of warranty, or if Canon refuses to repair it for free, the one thing you can try is to If you gently, and I do mean GENTLY push against the lens with the PALM of your hand as you turn it on, it may cause it to depress back into the camera. If that doesn't work, and you can't reset it or turn it on/off several times, then you may have to send it in for a repair estimate anyway.

Be advised, however, that if it's out of warranty, it may cost more to repair than it is really worth. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.

I know you wrote S18, but I believe it's a similar error.

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 ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...  ) 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!

First, I'd try to reset the camera. Also, check with Canon and download and install any available firmware updates. Also, often with indoor images, if you don't prefocus first, it's very easy for the camera to become confused in low light and focus on the wrong thing. So while you may think the camera is the issue, in reality, it may be just how you're shooting the pictures. Low light is fickle that way. Try placing your subject in the middle and press your shutter half way. Recompose the picture and press the shutter the rest of the way. Also, read up on the accuracy of the flash at distance. Flash's in point and shoots are only designed for small groups and portraits. Too close and the low light affects the focus, too far and the flash dissipates and the image is underexposed.

As for the higher MP, it'll only help at image sizes larger than 8x10. Smaller than that and you won't really see a difference.