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?

[Danluckett]

Hi olaamocondios

Here is where things stand: Some have had success spraying in a contact cleaner called "Deoxit" available on Amazon. For most this fix was temporary. For some it seems to work well for a very long time. For me, after taking of the front cover and spraying deoxit on the shutter button, the camera worked fine for a couple of weeks and then it didn't. If you try that, protect the microphones from the spray and use sparingly. Since your shutter sort of works this may do it for you. See posts 186, 241 and 248. See posts 252 and 288 for excellent photos of the part that gets replaced. the shutter is that white button. 

I (and at least one other member) had success ordering the part and replacing it myself. See post 354. At least two members replaced the part and then the camera would not turn on. The process of removing and replacing the part does not require very special tools or skills, but the more patient you are and the better you are at working with tiny parts, the more likely you will have success. I spent a couple of hours on it, working carefully and slowly. Make notes where each screw goes. Be sure that the representative who you order the part from knows what camera you have. In the photos you will see that the part has a number ending in 020, even though we ordered with a number ending in ooo. One member got a part ending in 030, and had an unsuccessful repair experience. We don't know if the part was the problem. the trickiest part is inserting into the main connector. You can't push hard because the circuit is flexible. You can't grip it with pliers because the circuit is extremely delicate. It's a matter of aligning and wiggling. Good luck. If you read the posts from about page 28 on, you will learn pretty much all that is known. Most earlier posts are basically rants. Best of luck.

[olaamocondios]

Thanks!

[rbarribeau]

I posted a few weeks ago that my DeOxit fixed S100 was still working fine – since then, it’s started acting up again.  I guess I should have kept my mouth shut.  I’ve always used Canon SLR’s, back from the A1, and EOS 1N to the 5d Mk3 I bought recently, and they’ve all been great cameras, never had any issues. Previously for compact cameras, I had always purchased Sony, and aside from some minor issues in image quality (red oversaturation, etc.), that were easily corrected in post, I really liked them.   When I needed to upgrade, I decided to try the S100 since I’d always liked the Canon SLRs.  That was a mistake.  I’m not going to bother fixing my S100 – I’m going back to Sony for my compact cameras from now on.

[Danluckett]

I will give you $35. for it

[tronnebonne]

I was about to buy deoxit until I saw your message.

My canon camera is still in the closet and hasn't worked for a year now.

S100 really does have a glitch batch and its not an insignificant number looking at the number of users on this thread.

[Danluckett]

If Canon reads these posts it's shameful how they maintain that this is not a known manufacturing defect. I am sure that if they looked at the frequency of this repair they would see the problem also. Deoxit works for some -- sometimes for a long time. For me after 2 weeks I was back where I started. It is possible to do the repair yourself -- see my posts.

[olaamocondios]

I have opted to not use my S100 compact for anything other than my daughters monthly photos with a tripod, so the shutter issue for me is when I try to take the 8 HQ photos all at once it only reads a portion of the depression... That's how I figured out it was a down press for focus and then kind of a roll forward for the shutter from that position when pressing.

To be honest it sucks, I miss a lot of great smiles because of it, but I bought the camera a few years ago and I'm almost certain I don't have the original receipt for even attempting warranty anything...

So the mobile devices handle the majority of my photos, the canon very specific and not fully functional minority

[Danluckett]

Eventually work-arounds, like special ways to press the shutter, will stop working altogether. $18. is not a lot to spend if you think you have an appropriate level of skill (and luck) to give repairing a shot. If you have the part on hand there may come a time when you have nothing better to do, and can tackle it like a puzzle. Resolve to do no harm, take notes and progress photos, and take your time.

Every camera (or any other machine) will fail eventually. I used mine to take a heck of a lot of pictures -- sometimes under adverse conditions of temperature and humidity. Naturally I would have preferred Canon to fix my camera for free, but it was 3 or more years old and well used. It would have been very good press and loyalty building for Canon to stand behind this weak link, but that's their choice. When you open the camera up you see just how much is crammed into a tiny space. It's impressive that it works at all. When I thought I was going to have to replace it I looked for something comparable at a comparable price. If you want that physical size and that large a photo-sensor there isn't much out there without going into much higher $.  I guess I am feeling philosophical about this because I am one of the lucky ones whose repair was successful. It's a great camera, but Canon is not Toyota.

[crossbiker]

I have the same problem. Sometimes i can take fotos (but never properly) and sometimes i can't take fotos any way.

[Danluckett]

You can do an easy, but likely temporary fix or a more permanent fix that may result in other damage and not work. See posts 186, 241 and 248 and 361.