Canon Powershot S40 (lens will not close) - Help

[rdouglas]

We have an S40 (4.0 Mp) Canon Powershot that will not respond to fresh batteries. The lens will not close and there is no display- dead! The local shop where it was purchased (Ritz Camera) has a repair book that says it will be $190 to send it off. The only other information that I have, is that it may have been used in very light rain. Are there any self service fixes on this - or should we write this one off and get a Water Proof camera? Any related experiences in this area - :?:

[S45_fornow...]

there are several smf's (surface mount fuses) located on the different electronic boards on your camera. chances are that one of them is blown which is why the camera will not power on etc... most common that gets blown is located near the shutter button assembly. it is small and rectangular in shape. can't offer any more than that without actually having the camera to test myself. i would recommend you let canon fix it or buy a new camera...

another possibility is corrosion on the electronic components/boards from having moisture (especially bad if salt water) in the form of condensation accumulate inside the camera.

[rdouglas]

The best digital cameras we owned were Kodak DC5000s.
We still have 3 documenting field work around rivers and lakes. They are constantly splashed and dropped. Unfortunately the 2MP unit never moved up and was discontinued. Now we use Canon Powershot S40s in waterproof housings - very clunky, and since we are not actually diving, most of the crews take them out of the case. I am considering the new Pentax OPTIO43WR, but no one in the area has a unit to test. Does anyone have any experience with the WR43 or the earlier model.