Broken Canon Powershot S30 Shutter/Diaphragm/Aperture

The Shutter/Diaphragm/Aper​ture on my S30 has broken. When I half-press the shutter button the diaphragm/aperture doesn't actually open. As such, I always get black images as the camera is taking a picture of the back of the diaphragm with no light. I've tried doing a long exposure to hopefully force camera into trying to open the diaphragm, but that doesn't work. I really don't know what else to do. I have compared the distance which the last portion of the lens protrudes upon start up to that of my S45 (having the same lens, the distance ought be the same). The last segment of the S45's lens protrudes around 6.25 mm according to my calipers while the S30 only 6 mm. I'm not sure if these are really all that statistically significant numbers, but could this be the problem? I tried pulling the last part of the lens out more to no avail. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

What happens if you press the DISP button or equivalent to get a preview on the LCD screen? If the answer is nothing, then the camera is likely beyond economic repair, sadly.

My understanding is that Canon tend to change whole assemblies on these cameras - for example, if there's something wrong the the lens, they change the entire lens assembly rather than attempting to service it. That's not too surprising considering the cost of technician time. I suspect the cost of parts - if, indeed, parts are still available - means that this repair would cost more than the camera is worth.

If you can confirm the fault, it may be worth calling a couple of service centres for an estimate, but I would suggest you keep the value of a fully functional S30 in mind when weighing up any quotes.

David

Yeah... I figured the same, but I was hoping someone might have had the same problem and just like taken off the outer shell of the lens assembly and cleaned it or something. But yes, indeed, toggling the display button for a preview on the LCD has no effect.

I recently got my powershot A510 repaired after doing something dumb and dropping it when the zoom was out. I sent mine to canon to be repaired. https://www.usa.canon.​com …ct=OnlineRepair​BookingAct was what I used. It ended up costing me about $87, (plus shipping to the factory). Looking at the cost of the cameras now it may not be in your best interest to get it repaired. But they do offer options when they send you your quote. So if you are interested in getting it repaired by them send it in, worse thing is you have to pay to have it sent back if you change your mind.

the elf wrote in post #1668613
I recently got my powershot A510 repaired after doing something dumb and dropping it when the zoom was out. I sent mine to canon to be repaired. https://www.usa.canon.​com …ct=OnlineRepair​BookingAct was what I used. It ended up costing me about $87, (plus shipping to the factory). Looking at the cost of the cameras now it may not be in your best interest to get it repaired. But they do offer options when they send you your quote. So if you are interested in getting it repaired by them send it in, worse thing is you have to pay to have it sent back if you change your mind.

FWIW,
My S30 had the bad lens door, I took it over to the Canon service center and without even looking at it I was told a flat rate of $139.95. It sounded like they just went by the model and after that no matter what is was that amount. I ran out of the place

You can get a nice used S30 or S40 on Ebay under $100 so that might be the way to go.

John