Help Needed - How to Fix Busted Rebel XT

My beloved Rebel XT got damaged recently. It was crushed.

Here is the damage:

1. Flash head is damaged. Flash does not fire, but you can hear it trying to flash when you engage red eye mode, etc. The flash does pop up, but it does not work. The flash holder with the words "Canon" is bent out of shape, but this does not affect the overall usage of the flash. Hotshoe works fine.

2. Inside the viewfinder, you can see a lot of debris of crushed plastic which looks unappealing, but does not affect the image in any way. Photos come out okay.

Here are my questions:

1. How do I fix the pop-up flash so it will work again? Not a big deal, but this camera has been relegated to backup/beater status, and I'd like to have the onboard flash working again.

2. How do I clean the inside of the viewfinder to remove the fine debris in there?

Photos below:

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Pradeep, you got a nice excuse for getting a 5D2.

Send it in to Canon?

I agree, for both problems you'll want to send it into Canon. It'll cost you, so if it doesn't both you that much I'd just live with it since none of this affects your photos. Well, unless you rely on onboard flash alot.

Thanks for the feedback. I'd prefer to fix this myself, since the camera is out of warranty and I don't want to spend any extra money on getting this camera fixed.

Buy a refurbished xt? http://www.adorama.com …tml?searchinfo=​canon%20xt

Crushed by what? Nasty damage. I wonder if its the bulb if you are still hearing a click.

If you try and clean the focusing screen, you risk losing the focus points so their won't blink when you have focus lock. I know you can get a replacement and do it yourself. I've seen instructions on someone doing it for their 30D but forgot where it was.

hotrod1935 wrote in post #6516936
Buy a refurbished xt? http://www.adorama.com …tml?searchinfo=​canon%20xt

I've already got other good dSLRs, so I don't need this camera. I wanted to fix it up to use as a backup camera, or to give away to a budding photographer as a gift.

casaaviocar wrote in post #6517064
Crushed by what? Nasty damage. I wonder if its the bulb if you are still hearing a click.

Yeah, you can hear the click when it tries to do the multiple pre-flash for focus assist in a dark setting.

HaroldC3 wrote in post #6517365
If you try and clean the focusing screen, you risk losing the focus points so their won't blink when you have focus lock. I know you can get a replacement and do it yourself. I've seen instructions on someone doing it for their 30D but forgot where it was.

Thanks for that information. I tried blowing out the particulates using a blower, but didn't want to risk getting them embedded on the sensor. I might just live with it, but I'd really like to get the on-board flash to work, since then I can use this camera for day hikes or when I don't want to lug around a lot of gear. Having the on-board flash for fill flash work would be good.

You might try to find a defective (but not crushed) XT on eBay for a parts camera...

-js

Guys, he doesn't want to pay money - so I'm a little confused by all the 'refurb XT' comments. The whole point of him wanting to fix it himself is so he doesn't have to pay Canon to do it.

Collin85 wrote in post #6519328
Guys, he doesn't want to pay money - so I'm a little confused by all the 'refurb XT' comments. The whole point of him wanting to fix it himself is so he doesn't have to pay Canon to do it.

Thanks budsky for the post. Yeah, most people don't read the other comments and just blurb out the first thing that comes to mind. Oh well.

I'm rather curious to know WHAT crushed the camera.

Other than that, I'd support the others that offer finding a physically-good but non-functioning XT for replacement parts.

If you can find one for a cheap price, and if you're good with small tools, it may be a saving grace for your own XT.