LCD screen will not display what i'm taking a picture of.

[LoonyLemur]

Hi,

I'm quite new to digital cameras, as I have only used an EOS Canon 60D at College on a few occasions. To practice my photography, I decided to purchase a second hand EOS Canon 350D and for whatever reason, my LCD screen has some faults with it. I was wondering if it was a faulty camera, a setting I had on or the fact that it is a body only camera. So, I'll explain my two faults and let me know what you all think.

Fault 1 is that the LCD screen will not display what I want to take a photograph of, so I have to estimate my aim to get whatever I want in frame, which isn't ideal obviously. 

The other fault, which is also with my LCD screen is that when I select the option to look back at my photos, all I see is a white blank screen. However I did notice, that the shade of white does change slightly for each photo. If that helps identify the problem at all. 

Despite the above, my LCD screen seems to work fine, for instance I can see what my settings are, and pressing the info screen will display what settings are on. But there are problems with taking and reviewing photography.

Any idea on what the issue could be and how to mend it would be great.  

Thanks in advance. 

[kvbarkley]

While you should learn to use the view finder to take images, are you pressing the live view button?

If you are pressing the live view button, It sounds like a bad sensor.

[MikeSowsun]

The EOS XT/350D is very a very old camera from 2005 and does not have Liveview capability.  Liveview did not come along until the XSi/450D was released in 2008.

You should be able to see the photo in the LCD screen after you take it. Do the photos look normal after you download them to a computer or other device?

[LoonyLemur]

No, when I view the downloaded images on my computer. It just shows them as a white blank screen too. 

[jrhoffman75]

Sure sounds defective. Try this:

1. go to the menu and find the option to "Clear all camera settings" - select it.

2. set lens to AF

3. Set Camera to A (usually in a green square)

4. press the DOF preview button near lens mount while looking through viewfiner - does image darken?

5. go outside on a sunny day and snap a photo of something.

Still have that problem? If so, most likely defective. Will the seller take it back?

[Waddizzle]

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@LoonyLemur wrote:

No, when I view the downloaded images on my computer. It just shows them as a white blank screen too. 

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Try John’s test.  You either have bad exposure settings, or a bad camera. 

[amfoto1]

Problem #1 solved (the camera you bought is and older model that doesn't have Live View... use the viewfinder to compose instead... the 60D you were using is a much newer model that has Live View, as well as other added features).

Problem #2... Might be an issue with the camera, but much more likely is simply incorrect settings causing the camera to massively over-expose the images you're taking. Since you bought the camera used, it might be a good idea to do a "Factory reset", since the previous owner may have left some settings behind that are causing you problems. Go into the menu and look for "reset".

Then go into ISO and set it to 100, set the camera to Program ("P") auto exposure or fully "AUTO" mode (the little green box) on the dial on the lefthand shoulder of the camera) and try a few shots outdoors in daylight. Either of these exposure modes should compensate and give more correct auto exposure.

FYI: When settings are going to cause severe under or over-exposure or exceed the capabilities of the camera or lens, you will probably see some of the settings display in the viewfinder flashing as a warning.

You also might want to go to the Canon website of your choice and search for your camera model, then go to the support area for it and download the free PDF of the user manual. If you don't have a manual, I'm sure that will help you get started using it.  FYI: The EOS 350D is also known as the Rebel XT in N. America and the Digital Kiss N in Japan. Same camera in all three markets.... just different names. So the user manual for any of them can apply to all, so long as it's in a language you can read.

***********

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

[LoonyLemur]

I tried what John suggested and haven't had much luck. When I pressed my DOF button, what I saw through the view finder didn't change at all. For the fifth test I took a photo of a brightly lit room due to it being night time at the moment, and the image came out as a blur of yellows and browns.

If I compose using the view finder what I see through it, is shown through the LCD screen displays, so not a LCD screen fault but perhaps a camera fault? 

I also noticed shooting in M gives me the greatest quality of image, despite it still being a blur of colours some features can be made out, also when I shoot in AUTO, I get the most overly exposed images. Any setting that could cause this?

Also how do I go about doing a factory reset?

[LoonyLemur]

I tried what John suggested and when I press my DOF button what I see through the view finder does not change, I also noticed that what i see through the View finder is what I see when the image is viewed on my computer too, so its not an LCD screen fault but perhaps a camera fault? But before I return it, I'll try a factory reset, i'm just curious how I go about doing it?

[jrhoffman75]

1. The screen varies from camera to camera, but press Menu and scroll through the screens until you find “Clear all camera settings “

2. When you go to press rhe DOF button is the exposure aperture a larger number than the lens maximum aperture? If you go outside on a bright sunny day it should be. What you want is for the lebs to stop down to the indicated aperture.

3. Do I understand that the file on the card is what you see in optical viewfinder and properly exposed?