Camera just died....

[RockoSmith]

My Rebel XS was working fine, then it had the busy message in the viewfinder, now it won't power up. Checked the battery, lens, contacts, battery door switch, SD card. Nothing happens. Just won't power up. I saw that this issue may be covered by Canon even though the warranty is long expired. Any ideas on this? Thanks.

[hsbn]

I haven't heard of anything Canon will cover after the warranty expired. You'll have to pay for it. But first, get another battery to test if you can.

[TCampbell]

Do you own more than one battery?  As the XS is a fairly old model and batteries do not last forever, it is possible that the battery may be the problem.

The cameras have a micro-switch on the card slot door as well as on the battery door.  Make sure you check both.

The camera will power up without a lens.  You can always leave the lens off while powering up if you think the lens may be to blame.

The camera will also power up without a memory card (although it may display the "no card" message and refuse to let you take photos -- at least you would know it can power up.)

I have heard of Canon covering some issues for out-of-warranty cameras.  This is more or less like the "silent recall" that some cars have (an issue not pertaining to safety does not require a full blown recall, but a manufacturer agrees it was a manufacturer's defect and agrees to cover the repair anyway.)  But I have not heard of anything like this with the XS.

If you are convinced the camera is dead, it is probably not worth the effort to repair it as it's a pretty old camera body.  You would probably enjoy a more updated body.  DO NOT discard the XS.  Contact Canon support (via their phone number) and inquire about their loyalty program.  They allow you to trade in old/dead bodies for a pretty attractive discount on a new model (often that newer model (or models... they may offer several choices) will be a refurbished body, but don't let that scare you.  The refurbs come with a 1 year warranty just like a new camera and are basically indistinguishable from a new camera.

A friend of mine had the original "Digital Rebel" (the body so old that it had no model number on the body) and used the loyalty program for a nice discount on a T2i -- which he still very much enjoys using today (it's been a few years since he upgraded.)

The lens mounts are still the same so any lenses compatible with your XS would still be compatible with a newer Rebel body (or any Canon body with an APS-C size imaging sensor.)

[RockoSmith]

Thanks for the reply. I have 3 batteries, so that is not the case. I tried the micro door switch, nothing.

I will contact Canon and see what their loyalty program would offer. Thanks.

[RockoSmith]

Ok, well the camera is on so to speak. In the viewfinder it says busy. It still focuses, etc. No display. I found that a firmware update may fix this. How can I update the firmware if I can't see the screen and if it won't communicate to the computer?

[amfoto1]

"Ok, well the camera is on so to speak. In the viewfinder it says busy. It still focuses, etc. No display. I found that a firmware update may fix this. How can I update the firmware if I can't see the screen and if it won't communicate to the computer?"

You can't.

Try removing the battery again. Leave it out for an hour or so. This might "reboot" the camera, much as we do with our computers (Note: some Canon cameras have a separate date/time battery that also needs to be removed. I don't think the XS does... I think it relies upon the one, LP-E5 battery.) 

Also try a different memory card. "Busy" usually indicates something being written to the card. It might be a bad file or fault in the memory card has caused the problem. Note: you might lose photos currently on the memory card, but may be able to recover some or even most of them with a recovery software (there are a variety of these online, some free... some that cost a little).

There are no guarantees either of these will help. But they are free and easy to try!

***********
Alan Myers

San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM 

[TCampbell]

You may need to leave the battery out of the camera for an extended period.  

Some Canon cameras have a separate date/time battery (often a small coin-size battery) which retains the date/time and a few configured settings in memory even when the main battery is not installed.

Other Canon cameras have a "built-in" date/time battery.  This battery gets recharged by drawing power off the main battery so that it can retain settings even while the main battery is not in the camera.  

The Canon Rebel XS seems to fall into this second category (the date/time battery is a built-in rechargeable battery.  Not a separate battery that you can replace.)

I suppose it's possible that the camera configuration is corrupted due to inadequate power.  Leaving the main battery out of the camera for a while can help deplete the date/time battery.  Once it drains, the camera will lose it's configuration and revert to factory defaults (you'll know if this happened because upon power-up, one of the first things it will do is ask you to set the date/time clock.)

[Stephen]

Hi RockoSmith!

We think we can help. Email us at canonfriends@cits.canon.com with your story and we'll take it from there!

Have a great day!