s230 lens issue

[Seltzer]

Okay so basically had a snafu with my s230 a little while back where I had to open it up to clean it, got it cleaned and then the zoom wouldn't work properly, was playing with that tonight and thought I had it going (it worked great when I powered it up) and then there was a small 'pop' or somesuch and the lens wouldn't close all the way.. I opened it up again to find that the main spring on the inside is only attached on one side now. I have been playing with it for a while and found some specs online ( http://www.micro-tools.com/pdf/Canon/POWER%20SHOT%20S230%20-%20IXUS%20V3.PDF ) but this particular spring doesn't appear to be on there. Anyone have any ideas as to where it connects?

*edit* okay.. I ended up trapping that spring under the metal casing for the lens and this seems to have fixed that issue but now it's back to not zooming properly, it zooms out to max (just before the digital zoom) and sits there, then after a little bit (10 seconds or so) it allows zooms to the digital, if you want to zoom out it's the same thing, there is a small range that i can freely zoom in and out.

Thanks!
-Seltz

[S45_fornow...]

If you've had it apart, then you saw the row of gear teeth on the outside edge of the largest diameter barrel. If one or more of those teeth is damaged or broken, then you will encounter such problems. You said you cleaned the mechanism out already, so I'm assuming a broken tooth on a gear.

When you hear of people getting the infamous E18 error message which indicates a jam in the lens mechanism, the root of the problem is usually broken gear teeth or dirt/sand in the slots where the lens barrels ride.

[Seltzer]

ahh, lovely, so probably not permanantly repairable.. guess it's time to start looking for a new digicam.... might just scour e-bay for a bit to see if i can get a functional s230 until i shell out for a brand new digi

thanks for the info

[S45_fornow...]

ahh, lovely, so probably not permanantly repairable.. guess it's time to start looking for a new digicam.... might just scour e-bay for a bit to see if i can get a functional s230 until i shell out for a brand new digi

thanks for the info


I have a broken s200 at home. It uses the exact same 2x optical lens mechanism as the s230. I can take it apart and see if the gears on the barrel are OK, and then if you wish I would gladly sell it to you cheap. Check yours first to verify which piece is actually broken.

Your other option is buy a brand new optical unit from Canon Parts in NJ and replace the one in your S230. Not sure how much they are, but I paid $105 shipped for an optical unit for an S400.

PM me if you decide you want buy that piece from my S200 and we can work something out.

[Seltzer]

Well, when I said I opened up my camera, I didn't do more than just open it up and get the basic parts cleaned out, I'm not an expert at all and my tinkering didn't get me far enough to the point of removing the optical unit.
As it is, I was seeing s230s go for right around $100 on ebay so that would probably be cheaper and easier than buying just the optical unit and attempting to figure out how it all goes together (or even comes apart for that matter).

[S45_fornow...]

Well, when I said I opened up my camera, I didn't do more than just open it up and get the basic parts cleaned out, I'm not an expert at all and my tinkering didn't get me far enough to the point of removing the optical unit.
As it is, I was seeing s230s go for right around $100 on ebay so that would probably be cheaper and easier than buying just the optical unit and attempting to figure out how it all goes together (or even comes apart for that matter).

Jes' trying to help. :D

[Seltzer]

it's appreciated..