Is the E18 error happening with newer models?

[debbiek]

We've had a Powershot A80 for years and gotten a lot of use out of it, but the darn E18 has been a problem on and off since just after the warranty expired (that's the error where the lens gets stuck and the camera refuses to work, and we learned the hard way that it's really common after the warranty ends). Usually a few taps of the camera against my palm will fix it, but lately it's just not happening. Time for a new camera, and we'd like to stick with the Powershots but I'm afraid of this happening again.

Does anyone know if Canon has fixed this issue yet? I'd like to think that since it's been happening for so long they would have addressed it, but you can never tell...

Thanks.

[paul79uf]

I've never heard of it happening on a newer model.

I've had/have the Sd110, SD200, SD400, SD700 and S3 without that E18 problem or any other problems.

[RadAL]

I hope it doesn't happen to my A620... its popped off almost 11,000 pics.

[DavidW]

E18 isn't a single issue - it's the error code for any lens electromechanical fault.

The problem is that the market demands these cameras are built down to a price, and that they're small and light. That limits the robustness of the engineering available - you certainly won't get the build quality of my big EF series f/2.8L zooms in a compact.


All you can do is to try to keep the camera away from dust and grit when not in use, attempt to avoid impacts to the lens particularly when extended, and recognise that at some point, the camera is likely to break.

If Canon could engineer the compact camera lenses more robustly, but the camera was rather more expensive, larger and heavier, would the consumer really benefit? Battery life may be affected by a larger, heavier lens assembly. Frustrating as it is to have to replace something that has broken, the trade-offs may be right as they are - when you replace the camera, you get a new model.



David