Canon A630 emergency!

[LazDivaz]

As I live on the ocean, the salt air wreaks havoc on all electronics. So I just replaced my trusted Canon PowerShot A95, which I loved, and which greeted me one day with the dreaded E18 failure, with a PowerShot A630 (4X optical: the max, as I understand, for digiscoping). I was trying to use it with my scope, in a similar way that I had used my A95 to great success, hand-held, inserting the lens into the tight-fitting rubber gasket of my bargain Zhumell scope. Got a lovely shot of a Hoffman's woodpecker, removed the camera, and the metal ring around the lens remained in the scope eyepiece! And two little flimsy looking plastic thingies fell onto the ground! So I extracted the ring, collected the plastic bits, put the ring back on the lens, turned the camera off, and found that the lens still retracted and the lens cover closed, but has two gaps where the little plastic thingies used to be.
HELP! Is there a reassembly guide around for this camera? It seems such the piece of junk compared to the A95: very flimsy battery cover, that I'm sure will spring the next time I try enthusiastically to get a shot. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm living 2000 miles from the next Canon repair shop. Very bad illustrative photo attached.
Sara

[Feathered one]

Hello Sara

Jouraj had the same problem with a Fuji F30, the mechanism may be similar to the Canon. Perhaps you could email him.

Here is the posting on Bird Forum

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=75392&highlight=LENS+RING

Read the second paragraph in Jouraj posting.

Sorry I can not help any further.

Malc

[john-henry]

As I live on the ocean, the salt air wreaks havoc on all electronics. So I just replaced my trusted Canon PowerShot A95, which I loved, and which greeted me one day with the dreaded E18 failure, with a PowerShot A630 (4X optical: the max, as I understand, for digiscoping). I was trying to use it with my scope, in a similar way that I had used my A95 to great success, hand-held, inserting the lens into the tight-fitting rubber gasket of my bargain Zhumell scope. Got a lovely shot of a Hoffman's woodpecker, removed the camera, and the metal ring around the lens remained in the scope eyepiece! And two little flimsy looking plastic thingies fell onto the ground! So I extracted the ring, collected the plastic bits, put the ring back on the lens, turned the camera off, and found that the lens still retracted and the lens cover closed, but has two gaps where the little plastic thingies used to be.
HELP! Is there a reassembly guide around for this camera? It seems such the piece of junk compared to the A95: very flimsy battery cover, that I'm sure will spring the next time I try enthusiastically to get a shot. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'm living 2000 miles from the next Canon repair shop. Very bad illustrative photo attached.
Sara

Here's a link to a site that just possibly might help, in some cases E18 error can be overcome, hope it can in your case.

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

Regards

John

[LazDivaz]

Hello Sara

Jouraj had the same problem with a Fuji F30, the mechanism may be similar to the Canon. Perhaps you could email him.

Here is the posting on Bird Forum

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=75392&highlight=LENS+RING

Read the second paragraph in Jouraj posting.

Sorry I can not help any further.

Malc

Thanks, Malc
In my frenzy, I did some research and found this link, which might help others in the same boat one day:

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-a520_question.html?qid=181

I went with the solution of chucking the two tiny flaps, put the whole business back together, so at least the two main covers close correctly, and will keep the camera in a watertight bag for the rest of its life. I have had the camera only a week, and I'm not too happy with it. I have fashioned a bracket with some pvc tubes so that the cap will never again meet the rubber gasket of my eyepiece.
Cheers
Sara

[LazDivaz]

Here's a link to a site that just possibly might help, in some cases E18 error can be overcome, hope it can in your case.

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

Regards

John
Hola, John,
Thanks for the link, but I had already chucked the A95 into the high-tech hall of shame. I had seen this link when I was trying to save the A95 from the dreaded E18, and tried everything short of the scary take-apart. Then I hung it on my garden fence with a photo of my ferocious dog on the LCD as an art installation until someone nicked it. Good luck to them!
I have reassembled my A630 to the best of my ability and will just carry on....
Thanks
Sara

[jourdaj]

Hola, John,
Thanks for the link, but I had already chucked the A95 into the high-tech hall of shame. I had seen this link when I was trying to save the A95 from the dreaded E18, and tried everything short of the scary take-apart. Then I hung it on my garden fence with a photo of my ferocious dog on the LCD as an art installation until someone nicked it. Good luck to them!
I have reassembled my A630 to the best of my ability and will just carry on....
Thanks
Sara

Sara,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. As you may have read, I had the same problems w/ my Fuji F30. I had superglued the cap back onto the lens (and left the shutter blades off) but that too has disappeared. The camera still works fine enough, but now I have to be extra careful to keep the exposed lens from getting scratched. Probably the only option is to send the camera in for repair, or like me, wait for the next great digiscoping camera to appear.
Good luck!
Jerry