S3 Sluggish Zoom Control

[mrhodes]

Recently I have started having trouble with the zoom control on my 1 year old S3IS. I have not dropped it so I doubt there is anything physically damaged. However, it is almost impossible to stop the zoom where you expect or want to. It is almost as if the control function is heavily damped. Wondering if it would be safe to flush under the zoom lever with something like electrical contact cleaner or is there something else I should be looking at or doing. Hopefully it won't require a trip to the factory, especially since my warranty expired last month.

Thanks,
Mike

[eccles]

I wouldn't try flushing anything in your camera. Has it been idle recently? If so then the contacts may have acquired a thin patina of oxidisation that will clear once it's been used a few times. Assuming your batteries are fully charged, try actuating it back and forth a few times to see if it will free up. Failing that I think it's a repair job.

[mrhodes]

eccles,

Thanks for the reply but the problem is not with the lens but with the physical operation of the zoom lever itself. The zoom function itself works fine, except for the fact that I cannot control it with any sort of accuracy or consistency due to the lever returning to zero at its own leisurely rate. If I try to force it back to zero, I have either already overshot the desired zoom length or zoom the opposite direction because I overshot the center off position myself.

I think I might try cleaning under the control with dental floss rather than a spray liquid. Maybe that will lubricate and clean things. Anything (short of completely broken) is better than what I have at the moment.

Thanks again,
Mike