A40 selector knob

[steve6]

suddenly, out of the blue, the function knob on my A40 is very, very hard to turn. It can be turned, but I fear that it will freeze up altogether. Anybody familiar with this? Is it a warranty issue? thanks.

[stopbath]

From my experience, the likely cause of the sudden 'hard to turn' knob is usually something getting in to the mechanism. Does the turning that it does do feel gritty? It's sand or grit in the mechanism. Is it just sluggish? Then likely a bit of liquid of some sort. Perhaps soda drink. It also could be impact. Look for the knob being slightly crooked, or a dent on or about the knob.

You might be able to remove the offending related cover and clean the knob mechanism (or replace it) yourself (you got to ask yourself, "Do you feel lucky?") or you could send it in for repair.

Don't attempt to "soften" any present liquid with water. It might very well drive it into the camera to do more damage (corrosion.)

Good luck.

[steve6]

thanks for the info. I don't really sense any grit, but that could well be it, as I shot a wedding on the beach not that long ago. No spills or impact that I know of. I'll probably end up packing the little guy up and sending it in. I can't envision poking around in there myself!

[stduc]

Before you post it off you could try giving it a blast with one of those cans of 'air' for cleaning lenses/negatives etc.
Just a thought.

[steve6]

thanks. in fact, I tried that.......even thought I saw little particles of something down there where it curves. but it didn't help.

[rboate]

I spilled beer on my A40 and the control knob became very stiff to turn. This happened in mid October and with regular use it has got better, there were no other effects on the camera.

[Conk]

The knob on my A40 has also gotten a little stiff to turn. What I suggest is that when you turn it do not turn it with one finger on one edge but rather use your thumb and index finger and turn the knob evenly around. Using one finger puts a sideways pressure on the mechanism.
Also what will help is having it cleaned by a repair facility. The contacts on the mechanism do in fact get dirty and cause friction.

[statguy05]

Has anyone who has this problem solved it? I've had my Powershot A40 for a little over 3 years and I've had this problem for over a year. Sometimes it's really hard to turn, and I use my keychain Kroger Card to turn it, and then sometimes it turns fine, like the day I got it! It's really annoying, especially if you want to see if the picture you took was good or not. Also, I've been having problems taking pictures. About 90% of time, the pictures that I take are blurry. Anyone else having this problem? Thanks.

[steve6]

to be quite honest, I think it was probably beer........or at least some beer condensation. It's weird, the stickiness sort of comes and goes. It will be impossible to turn sometimes (I have actually used a small wrench, ughhh) and then the next time it turns easily, the way it's supposed to be. I have another year of warranty and really didn't want to mess with taking it in, so I bought a cheap card reader just in case I can't turn the knob to the download position. :wink:



I spilled beer on my A40 and the control knob became very stiff to turn. This happened in mid October and with regular use it has got better, there were no other effects on the camera.

[steve6]

nice pics. here is our new doggie, her name is breezy

http://www.bugner1.org/bree2small.jpg


[quote="Conk"]The knob on my A40 has also gotten a little stiff to turn. What I suggest is that when you turn it do not turn it with one finger on one edge but rather use your thumb and index finger and turn the knob evenly around. Using one finger puts a sideways pressure on the mechanism.
Also what will help is having it cleaned by a repair facility. The contacts on the mechanism do in fact get dirty and cause friction.[/quote[/url]