What to do with broken cameras (Page 4): Good idea. Maybe I could practice cleaning the sensor too. Thanks for the ideas.

boomboom Loc: Stow, Ohio

Good idea. Maybe I could practice cleaning the sensor too. Thanks for the ideas.

bdk wrote:

I would take it apart and see what makes it work, then mount the parts on a board or tied to a string with the parts hanging in the air showing the exploded view and then take pics of it.

boomboom Loc: Stow, Ohio

Good idea. I never knew they do that. Thanks for the suggestion.

SharpShooter wrote:

Keep them around and use them to send to Canon when you buy a refurb that's on Loyalty Program for an additional 10-15% savings on the already reduced refurb bodies!
SS

boomboom Loc: Stow, Ohio

Thanks for the idea. That might work.

MT Shooter wrote:

It's a common issue, the shutter button just wears out. If you want to keep using the cameras just get a cheap wired remote and use that to trip the shutter.

Chicopee Loc: NY State, USA

amfoto1 wrote:

A very common and easily fixed problem with both 40D and 50D (as well as 20D and 30D... maybe 60D).... is a dirty, stuck shutter release button.

The symptoms usually start out progressively with the camera having longer and longer shutter lag, but eventually they'll stop firing at all, even though the camera appears to still turn on and operate normally otherwise.

All that's needed is a cleaning of the shutter release button assembly. It's just finger oils and dust that have gotten into and accumulated inside that switch, which can be cleaned out. The proper way to do this is to have a repair tech disassemble the camera to clean it, possibly without removing the switch at all. A local/independent repairer can probably do the fix in about an hour. A DIY repair is to "flood clean" the switch with rubbing alcohol without any camera disassembly (via the battery compartment, with the battery removed and the camera upside down... info/illustrations online, but this needs to be done carefully to avoid some problems). If you have Canon's factory service department do the repair, they'll replace the entire shutter release button module with a new one (assuming they have the spare parts available), so the cost will be higher.

Not saying this is guaranteed to solve the problem... but just from your description I'd recommend looking into it. So long as the camera "powers up", you can navigate the menu, playback images, etc.... but just doesn't seem to release the shutter when you press that button, there's a a pretty good chance chance this is all that's wrong with it.

It's probably unrelated... With those models now being over five years old, you might want to replace the little silver "button" batteries in each of them. This battery shouldn't effect the camera's ability to take a shot, but it might not be able to retain correct date/time, and some other menu/custom function settings might be lost each time it's powered down. Those are very common batteries, widely available for a few $, usually need replacement every five or six years. (Note: More recent models such as your 7DII don't have a user replaceable date/time battery... theirs is part of the main circuit board, is a rechargeable that gets refreshed by the main battery, and requires a tech disassemble the camera to replace it.)

Some other things that "kill" those cameras, though most tend to show different symptoms:

- If the camera has a battery grip on it and won't power up at all, try removing the grip, cleaning the contacts between the grip and camera with a clean rag lightly dampened with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, re-installing the battery grip and making sure it's nice and tight. The earlier Canon BG-E2, in particular, sometimes just don't make good contact and can give intermittent power failures (replacing the rubber on top of the grip with something thinner can help). Later BG-E2 and E2N were better fitting and assured better contact. But even they could loosen while shooting, causing sudden power failures.

- If the BP-511/511A batteries those cameras use have been sitting unused for a long time, they may drain and not charge back up correctly initially. Even though the charger indicates the battery is full, it's not. The camera will only power up briefly, may take one or two shots, or even none, then shut down due to the low battery. Charging the battery, reinstalling it and draining it again... repeated several times... might bring the battery back to life and the camera to normal function. Or, if it doesn't, buy new batteries (generic BP-511/511A are cheap online).

- If there has been an actual shutter failure, you should see partially obstructed images and/or an error code from the camera. Eventually the shutter might lock up completely though, with similar symptoms to what you describe. Shutter failures are more common on 40D than most of the other models in that series. For some reason, a lot failed rather early. A failed shutter might be too expensive to repair, assuming replacement parts are available (they might not be). If so, the camera might still have some value and be sold "for parts".

- Another common problem is a bent "pin" in the Compact Flash memory card socket. This might cause symptoms such as you describe, but more commonly it either causes corrupted files, or causes the camera to only be able to take one shot, or shorts out the camera entirely (so it won't power up at all). From your description of the symptoms I think this unlikely.... still you might want to inspect the pins down in the memory card socket carefully with a flash light, just to be sure.

Note: No, "back button focus" setup shouldn't/can't cause this sort of problem. The shutter should still release, at the press of the button, whether using BBF or not.

A very common and easily fixed problem with both 4... (show quote)

right re: BBF.....wasn't thinking....

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

boomboom wrote:

Hi all. I recently had two cameras stop working. T... (show quote)

Get out your telephoto lens, put the camera on video, take your old camera to the park, place it on a bench, walk a hundred yards away and video folks as they walk by your camera and decide on their options. Good study on human behavior.

BartHx

10MPlayer wrote:

This camera lamp thing doesn't bother me so much. But it really saddens me when somebody makes a lamp out of a musical instrument. It just shouldn't be done. Even a cheap sax or clarinet can be repaired and given to a kid who needs an instrument. /rant over...

You don't need to fret quite so hard. Among a large percentage of clarinet people, the clarinet lamp is a joking reference to bad taste (though, as you see above, some people do it and enjoy it -- more power to them). One of my other hobbies is repairing clarinets. When not doing so for people in the groups in which I play, I search for clarinets that can be saved, overhaul them, and donate them to school music programs.

BartHx

FYI, one of my overhauls is being used by a young girl whose family spends the summer in this country and the rest of the year in Russia. It's a plastic instrument but, apparently, her instructors in Russia consider it a wonderful instrument. You just need to be aware of the subtile things that can make an instrument hard for a beginner to play and make sure they are taken care of before the student gets discouraged.

cpkeith

I use them to teach students how cameras are made and how light travels through the camera and to a sensor. Most students have never seen a sensor for example. I have several old cameras that are partially disassembled and cut away to show circuit boards, prisms, etc.

coj Loc: NJ, USA

Great idea!

cpkeith wrote:

I use them to teach students how cameras are made and how light travels through the camera and to a sensor. Most students have never seen a sensor for example. I have several old cameras that are partially disassembled and cut away to show circuit boards, prisms, etc.

coj Loc: NJ, USA

You know, If I could rent one of those metal monsters in perfect condition for a day, It may be interesting to play a symphony rehearsal on it with my
mouthpiece & reeds.
This would be a fun experiment because a good deal of the quality of the sound produced is by the mouthpiece & reed, second by the type of barrel. Unfortunately you cannot put a Moennig barrel on the metal monster. I had a student that owned a "good" clarinet, a Selmer Signet (ugh!), and it played so badly out of tune I thought it was her. I let her try an old Hite mouthpiece and a Moennig barrel on it and it sounded like a totally different horn, almost like a Buffet R13. BTW, that's a great thing you do, overhauling Bundy's and the like for free. There's a special place in clarinet heaven for you.

BartHx wrote:

You don't need to fret quite so hard. Among a large percentage of clarinet people, the clarinet lamp is a joking reference to bad taste (though, as you see above, some people do it and enjoy it -- more power to them). One of my other hobbies is repairing clarinets. When not doing so for people in the groups in which I play, I search for clarinets that can be saved, overhaul them, and donate them to school music programs.

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

Hi. My name is Rick. I’m the owner and lead technician at Discount Camera Repair and a member in good standing here at the UHH. I’ve been doing repairs for other members here at greatly discounted rates and would be glad to help.

I'd be more than happy to take a look at the cameras for you and, if repairable, keep the cost as low as possible. If you’re interested, please respond by private message.

boomboom wrote:

Hi all. I recently had two cameras stop working. T... (show quote)

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Given the age of both camera bodies, are the internal battery still working. If if the shutters are near the end of their cycle, that may also be a problem, I just had to replace the shutter on a 7D and it had 168,211 actuations, the shutter cycle was rated @ 150,000, the $266 for a new shutter, cleaning < was certainly less expensive than the purchase of camera body the price reflects the CPS discount by the way. CPS membership is a great buy at the Gold level, $100, cleanings are provided at that level and one clean and check pays for the membership. You might want to join, for the future. I also think the Canon loyalty program is a great way to recycle your old camera bodies and gain a discount on a newer body

anotherview Loc: California

Wipe them down with a slightly damp terry cloth towel, to clean them. Then put them on the shelf as conversation pieces.

boomboom wrote:

Hi all. I recently had two cameras stop working. T... (show quote)

BartHx

I have a friend who did that with an old Rolli TLR since he started doing most of his work underwater. For those who know what it is, it is an amazing conversation starter.