Strange camera problem

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum--I found it in my search for some clues to what the heck is going on with my camera. I am an amateur enthusiast, and I have a Canon Powershot SX10 IS.

Yesterday my camera worked fine. Today it doesn't. I turned on the camera and tried to zoom in, and the zoom would not work. I turned off the camera, turned it on--still nothing. Then I discovered the dial with all the shooting options did not work. It would go to some of the options, like landscape or video, but would skip over others. Or it would utterly ignore that I moved it and would remain where it was.
On the function set button, I tried to use the ISO, but instead it brought up MF. In fact every place except the left side brought up MF. And then, when pressing the right side while scrolling menu options, it would not work. I had to press the left side for it to go right! If I wanted to go to the right---well, I was outta luck.
No I'm not making this up.
It has been very humid,(83 degreesF and upper 80's dew point) but would that effect it? My home has AC on, so there is a big difference when going outside. There is no sign of condensation, it has not gotten wet and no one else has used it. I even tried placing the camera under a ceiling fan for a few hours but to no avail. I replaced the batteries. I scoured the manual. I stared at it willing it to work.
*sigh*

Any thoughts or suggestions??

Thank you ahead of time.

You say it hasn't got wet but it sounds like it did. If you tried to operate it at all with any sort of wetness it could be too late ,,sorry. You need to let a damp, wet camera dry out for days (or longer) with all batteries removed before trying to operate

I agree with Tmwag. Sounds like it got wet.

How old is it? Maybe send it in for service. What else do you have to lose?

I agree, it does sound like electrical equipment reacting to wetness. But again, nothing happened except the high humidity. The last time it was used outside was in a forest with dew points in the upper 80s. Could that have done it? Then a day or two later, it went bonkers. We've been kidding around that maybe our Newfoundland shook his head just right and got drool on it.
But thank you for putting in your two cents.

Hi Abpho, thanks for responding.

I've had it for about 14 months. It was refurbished. Great little camera. *sigh* I'll have to look into the cost factor of servicing it.

Check unsolved mysteries. It's all I got..

Take the battery out and the memory card out. Then rotate the camera and listen for anything rattling inside. Also, as long as the lens is closed/retracted, you could bump it ~gently with your other hand to see if that gets any loose parts inside to move around and rattle.

If you do hear anything, it may indicate a screw loose inside the G9... a problem that has been reported by at least a few folks. (do a Search on this forum as well as googling for that if you want more info). If you do 'have a screw loose' (pun gently intended :razz, it could show up as no power-on dead camera (main board fuse blown, or board shot), or simply loss of some functions like Zooming and Function dial (which are near where a screw comes loose).

Repair is easy for the experts. Just throw some cash at it.

BTW, reinsert the battery and card if you DO NOT have rattling... sometimes cameras reset themselves.

condensation can easily be the source of your moisture. it can be pretty brutal. Could always try drying it out
http://lifehacker.com …ur-soaked-gadgets-in-rice