shutter release not working S100

[sandysorlien]

Hello,

I am suddenly having problems with my S100. It will not take the picture when I press the shutter release. In case I had accidentally changed something, I did a Reset to Defaults. Then it worked, briefly, before returning to not working. It also would not let me change My Colors.  Everything else seems to be working fine.  Any ideas?

[AngelaX]

In my case the issue is the shutter release, as Is Tiffany's.

[ianyoung]

I don't think they are taking this very seriously

[John_]

I believe this is the most chronic problem in these forums and Canon should take these reports seriously considering the quantity of reports on these S100.

The older G5 modles had the same symptoms which I have personally repaired. In fact I targeted those models with these symptoms on auction sites to buy, repair and resell. The fix was easy, no parts needed, and I sill believe it is similar if not the same with these S100's.

From normal use, not abuse, the circuit board which holds the switch that the shutter button activates comes loose and moves away either to far to realease the shutter at alll or just far enough to make it intermittent and annoying. It could also be the solder joints on the switch as temperature would effect a faulty solder joint.

It would be beneficial to hear from someone who has paid to have it fixed and the details of what the fix was. Usually a local camera repair place will give a better description of what the repair was as opposed to a larger company which by design is vague or limited in the details they can provide.

[tronnebonne]

Good point Ian... I just assumed "lens error" was related to the shutter problem since Canon S100 had an open statement about this problem:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer?pageKeyCode=prdAdvDetail&docId=0901e024805ab992

Is the "lens error" they are describing the same as the shutter release not working? 

The camera's defect is that I hold down the button to try and take photos. I used to be able to take them after a second or two. It then took 5-6 seconds. Then 8-9 seconds. Now not at all. I haven't tried to hold down the button for more than a minute (and why should I have to? That's not how a user takes photos. Unless this is a new feature of cameras to make it "fun" for the user to see if they get impatient enough, whether they can take photos first or decide to buy a new camera 🙂 ). 

Tronne

[tronnebonne]

Hah! I live in Canada too. So the camera just dies in Canada now or what? 🙂

[tronnebonne]

Just for clarification, the mod that edited my post name is Tiffany 🙂 But yes I have the same problem as you Angela 😞 And I am very disappointed. 

[tronnebonne]

Interesting and thanks for sharing your findings, John. I agree with John - someone who has had it fixed, are there any details on what the fix was? I'm curious.

So you were able to repair a similar problem on the older G5 models? Nice to know the fix is easy, but I don't want to attempt it incase Canon voids my... oh wait I don't have warantee since a year has definitely passed by now. voids my whatever, I suppose. There could be a chance if I send it in that they do fix it for free.

Definitely for me it was normal use. I was very disappointed because I brought this camera to a fabulous hiking event and I wasn't able to capture some quick wild life shots (they move fast!) 

Just as a note, I do love my Canon s100. It's an extremely great camera and a good use for people who don't want to carry heavy SLRs but don't want to use their crappy camera phones 🙂 There is still a big difference between my canon s100 and the iphone and nexus 5 camera phones for sure. 

So to have my S100 fail like this and there is no real resolution is quite a disappointment.

[Powershots100]

Hi John,

I fully agree to what you are saying... sounds reasonable to me and also reflects the experience I got with my S100 - see my post on July 3rd:

Finally my problem was solved!! I sent in my Powershot S100 to Canon Germany and they repaired it for free. Now everything works fine again. The repair note states that the circuit board directly below the shutter switch was replaced. FINALLY!!! Don't stop believing folks. 😉

...the part that was replaced is called FPC ASS'Y, TOP... maybe that helps you guys.

[Dani]

John,

I just recently got my camera back from the Newport News, VA location for repairs.  I wish I could have waited to see if they eventually own up to this problem and fix it for free, but I was missing too many shots of my little babies, couldn't afford a simlar camera at full price, and ultimately just decided to pay for the repairs.

In case anyone is interested, the repair came to $175USD, which included the labor, shipping, and tax. It was also a very speedy repair. Once I authorized it, it must have been completed same day or next day, because I got a shipping notification very quickly.

The repair slip says "Your product has been examined and it was found that the uper cover assembly did not operate properly, the dial could not operate properly. The upper cover assembly was replaced. Further, it was found that the optical assembly did not operate properly, causing black spots. The optical assmebly was replaced. Product functions were confirmed."

Also, it says Cover ASS'Y, TOP, BLACK Part#CM1-7355-000, and OPTICAL ASS'Y, BLACK Part # CY1-9182-000.

The repair was warrantied for 3 months. If this thing breaks on 3 months and one day, I'm contacting the BBB.

I'm not a camera techie, so I don't know what those parts are, or what the repairs were, but I can tell you that I have babied this camera since I got it. It lives in a padded case and I can't recall ever dropping it or anything else of the nature. The camera functioned perfectly until it was just outside the 2-year warranty I had purchased, then started having a shutter delay, then eventually stopped taking pictures at all. I could still turn it on, focus it, and zoom, so I'm not sure what they mean by the dial not operating properly. One day it took great photos, the next day it took photos six seconds late, then the next day it just stopped working.

I hope this information is useful to someone. The camera is working fine again...for now. Unfortunately, I keep handling it like it's a tiny egg or piece of crystal! I'm afraid if I just look at it wrong, it will stop taking pictures again!

[John_]

Tronnebonnne yes I was able to repair the similar problems on the G5. All it was was a metal tab on the printed circuit board  bends causing the board to move to far away from the shutter switch. No parts needed just about an hours worth of time to repair it. I reinforced that area to prevent it from bending again. It bent from normal use of the shutter button.

Powershot100 ...FPC is the abbreviation for Flexible Printed Circuit. It is the cicuit board I am referring to which holds the switch the shutter button presses on to take the shot. Did it need to be replaced or was it just bent or had a bad solder joint? Who knows right ? My thoughts are even more reinforced now though and I bet the board could have been repaired. OEM's get those parts for very little money and as a matter of both policy and efficiency they tend to replace rather than repair.

Lens errors and replacing lens assemblies require expensive test equipment and software to repair properly. I would never attempt that and I think it is unrelated to the shutter switch problem. They would only replace the lens assembly if it were absolutely necessary.