A70 Viewscreen Black and Pictures Come Out Black

My Canon A70 mostly has a black viewscreen and it takes pictures but they just come out black.

At first I could fix this by putting in very fresh recharged batteries but now even that doesn't work.

Is the camera dead or anyone know what can be done about this?

I bought the camera new when it came out about 5 yrs ago but it doesn't have a lot of shots on it. Probably less than 2000 shutter releases.

Does it "power up" when you switch it on?

When you say "it takes pictures"....Can you see any images on the card if you view them on a computer?

How about trying non-rechargable batteries - just in-case they are not holding their charge?

TJ

You might want to check out this thread on a service notice of Powershot cameras that exhibit the same behavior you are describing.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=238911

>[QUOTE=TeeJay;6671374]​Does it "power up" when you switch it on?

Yes

> When you say "it takes pictures"....Can you see any images on the card if you view them on a computer?

I haven't tried to download the pics to a computer. I could try that. I reviewed the pics in camera and they just came out as all black.

> How about trying non-rechargable batteries - just in-case they are not holding their charge?

I have proven good rechargables and I tried brand new Duracell alkalines also with the same result.

S45_fornow... wrote in post #6671678
You might want to check out this thread on a service notice of Powershot cameras that exhibit the same behavior you are describing.https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=238911

Hi, Maybe that's the problem. Thanks for the link. I'll follow those instructions and contact Customer service about it.

Do check with Canon about the service notice. My A70, which was 5 years old, was repaired by a local service center at no cost to me. Works like new again.

Hi,
I got a free shipping label coming from Canon Customer Service via email and they will be fixing the camera for free if it turns out to be the Sensor Problem which I'm pretty sure it is from the match of the symptoms. (Hope so.) Customer Service and Technical Support that they transferred me to were aware of the sensor situation and the interaction went smoothly and quickly.

Thanks for the heads up on that situation.

darntoothysam wrote in post #6696233
Tom: Your A70 definitely has a defective CCD
http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.h​tml

Hi. Those pics look like my problem. I get the black screen almost all the time now. I think I got the washed out non-black image at first before it got worse, but I can't remember for sure now. The problem started and then got worse pretty quickly but I don't use this particular camera much so I can't remember for sure.

It seemed to get cured by putting in freshly recharged batteries at first, but even then it would only take a few more good pics before reverting to the problem.

I had a similar issue that was fixed by Canon via this service notice. I also had an A70, and one trick I noticed that would temporarily fix the issue was to twist the camera body slightly (the camera body is plastic) by holding it with two hands and "wringing" it gently. I hear the issue is related to some loose wiring or something connected to the sensor, so sometimes twisting the body fixes that connection momentarily.

It's an old camera, you might consider asking Canon about the Customer Loyalty program that allows you to trade in old cameras for discounted prices on refurbished newer models.