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From: Tom in PA on 24 Mar 2010 18:16
I just pulled my Canon S410, which I haven't used since '08, out of
the drawer to make sure it was working OK, as I wanted to take it as a
backup camera on an upcoming trip. It was fine when last used. It
now has a strange problem: all normal functions (such as changing
settings using Function, Menu,etc.) are working and the screen will
display photos taken back in '08 from the CF card. But in picture-
taking mode, the screen is black (except for all the usual icons):
there is no image of what the camera is pointed at. Also, it will
snap photos (and fire the flash) that, when viewed on either the
camera screen or my PC, are there but are totally black.

No, I didn't leave the lens cap on! Doesn't have one. Lens extends
as usual, zooms in and out, etc. No odd behavior there.

I'm guessing I'm screwed with respect to using the camera, but am at
least curious. Any ideas regarding what has gone wrong here?

Thanks in advance!
From: DanP on 24 Mar 2010 20:11
On 24 Mar, 22:16, Tom in PA <v...(a)aol.com> wrote:
> I just pulled my Canon S410, which I haven't used since '08, out of
> the drawer to make sure it was working OK, as I wanted to take it as a
> backup camera on an upcoming trip.  It was fine when last used.  It
> now has a strange problem:  all normal functions (such as changing
> settings using Function, Menu,etc.) are working and the screen will
> display photos taken back in '08 from the CF card.  But in picture-
> taking mode, the screen is black (except for all the usual icons):
> there is no image of what the camera is pointed at.  Also, it will
> snap photos (and fire the flash) that, when viewed on either the
> camera screen or my PC, are there but are totally black.
>
> No, I didn't leave the lens cap on!  Doesn't have one.  Lens extends
> as usual, zooms in and out, etc.  No odd behavior there.
>
> I'm guessing I'm screwed with respect to using the camera, but am at
> least curious.  Any ideas regarding what has gone wrong here?
>
> Thanks in advance!

Could be a connector came lose.
Worth opening the camera and see what's inside.


DanP
From: Frank ess on 24 Mar 2010 21:06


DanP wrote:
> On 24 Mar, 22:16, Tom in PA <v...(a)aol.com> wrote:
>> I just pulled my Canon S410, which I haven't used since '08, out of
>> the drawer to make sure it was working OK, as I wanted to take it
>> as a backup camera on an upcoming trip. It was fine when last
>> used. It
>> now has a strange problem: all normal functions (such as changing
>> settings using Function, Menu,etc.) are working and the screen will
>> display photos taken back in '08 from the CF card. But in picture-
>> taking mode, the screen is black (except for all the usual icons):
>> there is no image of what the camera is pointed at. Also, it will
>> snap photos (and fire the flash) that, when viewed on either the
>> camera screen or my PC, are there but are totally black.
>>
>> No, I didn't leave the lens cap on! Doesn't have one. Lens extends
>> as usual, zooms in and out, etc. No odd behavior there.
>>
>> I'm guessing I'm screwed with respect to using the camera, but am
>> at least curious. Any ideas regarding what has gone wrong here?
>>
>> Thanks in advance!
>
> Could be a connector came lose.
> Worth opening the camera and see what's inside.
>
>
> DanP

Seems to me there were a few Canon cameras from that era with problems
similar to that. Worth checking the 'Net and the Canon sites for
recall information. I doubt you'll get it back in time for any
near-future trip, but it may not cost you much for a repair.

--
Frank ess

From: Fred McKenzie on 25 Mar 2010 00:46
In article
<56ddc4df-e0ea-47ca-9a37-3d08c79fac05(a)30g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
Tom in PA <vmcw(a)aol.com> wrote:

> I just pulled my Canon S410, which I haven't used since '08, out of
> the drawer to make sure it was working OK, as I wanted to take it as a
> backup camera on an upcoming trip. It was fine when last used. It
> now has a strange problem: all normal functions (such as changing
> settings using Function, Menu,etc.) are working and the screen will
> display photos taken back in '08 from the CF card. But in picture-
> taking mode, the screen is black (except for all the usual icons):
> there is no image of what the camera is pointed at. Also, it will
> snap photos (and fire the flash) that, when viewed on either the
> camera screen or my PC, are there but are totally black.
>
> No, I didn't leave the lens cap on! Doesn't have one. Lens extends
> as usual, zooms in and out, etc. No odd behavior there.
>
> I'm guessing I'm screwed with respect to using the camera, but am at
> least curious. Any ideas regarding what has gone wrong here?

Tom-

Suppose the battery was nearly discharged at some point, and you turned
the camera on. Its RAM memory might have gotten corrupted and never
recovered. Even if the battery was subsequently charged.

If there is no master reset, try leaving the battery out of the camera
over night. Then, with a fully charged battery, the CPU should load a
fresh copy of its firmware into memory, and everything should work
correctly again.

If the memory card still has the last photo taken, the camera will read
its number and continue from there. Otherwise, it will start over at
number one.

Fred
From: Laurence Payne on 25 Mar 2010 06:32
On Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:46:00 -0400, Fred McKenzie <fmmck(a)aol.com>
wrote:

>> I'm guessing I'm screwed with respect to using the camera, but am at
>> least curious. Any ideas regarding what has gone wrong here?
>
>Tom-
>
>Suppose the battery was nearly discharged at some point, and you turned
>the camera on. Its RAM memory might have gotten corrupted and never
>recovered. Even if the battery was subsequently charged.
>
>If there is no master reset, try leaving the battery out of the camera
>over night. Then, with a fully charged battery, the CPU should load a
>fresh copy of its firmware into memory, and everything should work
>correctly again.

I recently dug out a first-generation digital compact camera, unused
for several years, that displayed similar behaviour. I forget
whether I had to perform a reset procedure or just leave it to soak up
power for a bit, but it corrected itself soon enough.
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