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]

keep looking for the part. Try ebay for the part or for an S100 with some other problem, for cheap.

[hivoltage]

Here is another S100 with the faulty shutter button. Went bad about a year ago so I threw it on a shelf. Decided to try to fix it yesterday and found that i is a common problem. C'mon Canon, take care of your customers. I have been a Canon man for many years but this is not the way to take care of your customers. This is a pretty expensive camera to be sitting on  a shelf.

[Danluckett]

i have heard of a few customers getting Canon to help by complaining to the Better Business bureau. First call customer service. The rep will tell you that this problem is "not a known defect." Show the rep how many complaints are on  their board for this exact defect. Then ask where you can send a complaint. Write to the BBB, with a copy to Canon.

[PO]

Canon S100 shutter problem is probably happening to many more users than those listed in this forum. I had the same problem and probably exhausted all possibilities of DIY repair except taking it to Canon. I know the cost of repair is not worth it. However, I do like this little camera although I also have 4 other Canon cameras and three Fujifilm cameras. I love the nice size, controls and picture quality. 

Last night, all of a sudden, the shutter resurrected after I took a long video with it(5 minutes). The shutter worked all of a sudden. I was so happy but then it is not working today again! Thinking back I might have found the reason why it worked last night. After taking a 5 minute video, the camera was warm to the touch and that heat probably helped the shutter contacts to come closer to each other. So I tried to warm it up in my pocket and even put it near a cooking pot. After being warmed up for a while, the shutter started to work again!  I tried putting it in my pocket and also hand hold it for a longer while too. It works!

I am not sure if all S100 shutter will start working again (at least for a while) when it is warmed up or not!! But mine does! I hope it works for some of you who has the same problem with your S100. Eventually, I shall one day dismantle it and see if I can fix this problem inside the camera. But that won't happen until I am ready to give it up! 

PO

[MartinSmith]

thanks for sharing this "experience" - for me it clearly shows that it is a serious design or/and quality issue and it is amazing that Canon doesn't care at all. It is not only arrogant but also stupid because obviously a lot of people won't buy Canon again and THIS is expensive compared to a free repair...Who makes such decisions ?

I am still quite happy with the older Sony RX 100 I have bought as a replacement... 

regards

[Danluckett]

Interesting that warmth helps -- we will see how long. Try Duct taping a hand warmer to the camera on a semi-permanent basis. Kidding. 

I would not disassemble until you have the repair part on hand. Meanwhile, many have gotten temporary relief by spraying shutter button with Deoxit. But you will eventually need the repair part. See earlier posts on finding it.

[PO]

I am guessing that the micro switch has gone bad and exchanging one will surely work! I noticed there is one S100 on ebay that has a lens not opening problem and is being sold for $56 (something like that). If the seller can come down to half the price, it may be worth trying exchange the shutter realease mechanism. However, I am not ready to do that because after this "warming" experience, the camera seems to be working even in normal room temperature (20 C). May be the spring has come back to life after hibernating for over a year:-) Will see how it goes! See if you take a 5 min video and warm up the camera to see if the shutter will work or not. I am curious! Cheer!

[PO]

The RX 100 is a great camera. My brother has one and loves it. It is bigger than the S100 though and quite a bit more expensive. With this S100 (I went up to this one from the beloved S90) I can slip it into any pocket easily. I have not found one that has this size, features and price range!

[Danluckett]

With relatively little disassembly you can get to a good view of the shutter switch, but removing / replacing it requires a lot of disassemly of vanishingly thin parts (think butterfly wings) and printed circuit ribbons. You can find youtube videos of the operation.

[Gregs100]

Someone posted that the turning off of blink detection solved the problem. I did it and it's still fixed on day 3.