Please help! My child took permanent marker to my SD850's lens!

[jshall755]

We got the marker off of the casing of the camera with rubbing alcohol. We did the same with the lens, but all four corners are showing up dark in pictures. I thought there is supposed to be some kind of coating on the lens, which I'm sure is now gone.

I don't have a service plan on the camera (still getting used to having our first toddler), and I realize that this is not something Canon should be responsible for through the warranty. So, is there something I can do myself to the lens to get rid of the black areas? Or, does it need replaced? I assume if it needs replaced then I would have to use a Canon certified repair center to keep my warranty valid. Is that true?

[Gamut]

Keep the camera, exchange the kid.

I'd call Canon. Lenses often have layers of film on their glass to reduce glare and distortion. You don't want to take a chemical to it and destroy that film. Odds are, you'll be getting a new camera for Christmas I'm guessing no matter what you do.

[Roddie]

Sad but True

[jshall755]

The dark areas in the corners seemed to be the result of the flash. So, all of the marker is removed from the lens and pictures look good.

Is there a way to know for certain if the rubbing alcohol hurt the coating on the lens? What exactly does the coating do, and in what cases might problems with it show up?

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Jason

[Jon]

Lens coatings are to help control reflections off the glass (AKA flare). Try shooting toward, but not directly at, some bright lights. IIRC, isopropyl alcohol should be relatively benign though.

[elmarphil]

Jshall755,

Maybe you should take several pictures with and without flash, indoors and outdoors and see what really causes the black areas you get when taking pictures.