G7X moisture inside lens

[pixyl]

I've been unfortunate to get a couple of moisture spots inside my (just over 1 month old) G7X camera lens. Does anyone know how to remove this?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The camera is not moisture proof, put it in a warm and dry place. Many store camera equipment with a dessicant to keep it dry. A Warm Dry box with dry (Not cooked) rice will absorb the moisture. By warm, I mean 70 - 85 degrees. I would not try to cook it out with higher temps.

Air Travel can result in moisture condensing, a camera gets warm humid air inside it in Miami, and condenses when its cooled off. It literally rains inside aircraft when going from a warm moist environment to altitude. There is a moisture barrier that collects and channels the many gallons of water to drain overboard. The drain is heated so it won't freeze. A little air is lost thru the drain, but its not significant.

Something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Dry-Packs-Silica-Desiccant-40gm/dp/B006L882NM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1453169591&sr=8-8&keywords=dessicant+packs

 

[pixyl]

Thanks for your suggestion. I have now put it inside a plastic bag along with some rice and sealed it to see if that helps.
I was unfortunate to get a bunch of snow into the front of the lens. I'm not sure if there's any actual moisture left in the camera as I took out the battery while the lens was extended, removed the memory card and battery and left the door open to leave it to dry about a day and night, but there are a couple of spots (contamination?) inside the lens. I wouldn't mind wiping the lens with lens tissue or whatever, but that's not directly possible of course.
Has anyone disassembled the camera before?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Thanks for your suggestion. I have now put it inside a plastic bag along with some rice and sealed it to see if that helps.
I was unfortunate to get a bunch of snow into the front of the lens. I'm not sure if there's any actual moisture left in the camera as I took out the battery while the lens was extended, removed the memory card and battery and left the door open to leave it to dry about a day and night, but there are a couple of spots (contamination?) inside the lens. I wouldn't mind wiping the lens with lens tissue or whatever, but that's not directly possible of course.
Has anyone disassembled the camera before?

Don't try to disassemble it. Those small cameras require experienced technicians and the right tools. So much is crammed in such a small space that disassembly must be done in the correct order.

If the spots do not go away, consider having it professionally done by Canon or a authorized repair station.

 

[pixyl]

Unfortunately repairing this camera here seems to cost almost as much as the camera itself! :-[
If the G7X's design is close to that of the S90/S100/S110 etc. (and it does look like it is) the lens comes as a sealed "lens assembly" which I believe can't be opened by just anyone (I assume this is what you're referring to when you talk about special tools/experienced technicians?), then buying a new lens assembly and replacing that myself might prove more economical.
Do Canon sell these kind of parts themselves? I know there are eBay sellers having lens assemblies for the Powershot S-series (S90 etc.) but I'm a bit sceptical that I'll receive a fake, sub-par lens that way...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Unfortunately repairing this camera here seems to cost almost as much as the camera itself! :-[
If the G7X's design is close to that of the S90/S100/S110 etc. (and it does look like it is) the lens comes as a sealed "lens assembly" which I believe can't be opened by just anyone (I assume this is what you're referring to when you talk about special tools/experienced technicians?), then buying a new lens assembly and replacing that myself might prove more economical.
Do Canon sell these kind of parts themselves? I know there are eBay sellers having lens assemblies for the Powershot S-series (S90 etc.) but I'm a bit sceptical that I'll receive a fake, sub-par lens that way...

I repair or try to repair cameras and lenses. The first mistake people make is assuming those cross headed screws are Phillips, and ruin the heads of the screws to the point where they can't be removed without drilling them out. They are JIS heads on the screws and need jis screwdrivers. I say this just to illustrate the kind of trouble a person can get into tearing into a camera. The lenses are indeed assemblies with lots of wires and ribbon cables, they are not sealed as in moisture proof.

The powershot cameras I have disassembled were $1 units I bought at garage sales for practice that were damaged, so were junk. Getting the lens assembly out was a exercise in futility, I finally did it, but damaged it and probably some other items in the process. This particular lens was jammed, and I could see teeth broken off the extension gears as I tore it down. That is a common issue with power shots, sand gets in the lens barrel and it jams. Then the gears strip.

If you want to repair it, get the factory repair manual if available, or at least buuy a couple of used powershots, some jis screwdrivers, and see how they are assembled. Beware of the high power in the capacitor of the flash unit, it can really jolt you (Speaking from experience). Discharge it with a jumper wire as soon as you can get to it.

I'd buy parts from Canon. A new model like this one will not have used parts floating around or for sale. The lens is quite a good one, and it will be expensive. Taking the lens apart to clean it is likely not going to work.

 

[fugu82]

Do the spots actually affect image quality?

 

[pixyl]

Do the spots actually affect image quality?

Yes, mostly it confused the auto-focus.
But great news -having additional problems with the camera (unable to insert a memory card -it popped out immediately) I got it all repaired under warranty!!!
I've learnt my lesson -not to use my G7X in any sort of moist environment. Buying an additional waterproof camera for those situations will probably be a better solution and more cost effective in the long run. Olympus TG-4 seems to be the best option out there at the moment (fast f/2 lens, RAW support etc.) though still a small sensor, so I won't expect the same image quality as from the G7X.
Still, the best camera is the one you have with you

 

[pixyl]

Do Canon sell these kind of parts themselves? I know there are eBay sellers having lens assemblies for the Powershot S-series (S90 etc.) but I'm a bit sceptical that I'll receive a fake, sub-par lens that way...

I repair or try to repair cameras and lenses. The first mistake people make is assuming those cross headed screws are Phillips, and ruin the heads of the screws to the point where they can't be removed without drilling them out. They are JIS heads on the screws and need jis screwdrivers.

Thanks for pointing this out. I'd never considered any other type of screwdrivers than the regular Philips.

I say this just to illustrate the kind of trouble a person can get into tearing into a camera. The lenses are indeed assemblies with lots of wires and ribbon cables, they are not sealed as in moisture proof.

Actually, would it be so hard for Canon to seal the lens assemblies with a little silicone or something? A little sealing would be a lot better than none at all. But fortunately as I just pointed out my previous posting I got it all repaired under warranty, so I'm no longer going to assume this camera will take any moisture at all.

The powershot cameras I have disassembled were $1 units I bought at garage sales for practice that were damaged, so were junk. Getting the lens assembly out was a exercise in futility, I finally did it, but damaged it and probably some other items in the process. This particular lens was jammed, and I could see teeth broken off the extension gears as I tore it down. That is a common issue with power shots, sand gets in the lens barrel and it jams. Then the gears strip.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I actually have both a Canon S100 and an S110 which are damaged in different ways: the S110 a faulty lens assembly and the S100 a crushed display (or was it the other way round?). I got hold of a new compatible display from eBay (avoiding overpriced original parts for something which doesn't affect image quality anyway), but damaged the "flexible PCB" when trying to remove the old display/reattach the new one. It seems the two cameras share the same lens assembly so I figure I could take the working lens assembly from one camera and move it over to the camera with the working LCD display, or replace the LCD display on the camera with the working lens assembly... in that case I probably need a replacement part for that flexible PCB which attaches to the display and is around the buttons area on the back of the camera.
Buying cheap $1 damaged cameras would be great for this, but I haven't found anything like that here.

If you want to repair it, get the factory repair manual if available, or at least buuy a couple of used powershots, some jis screwdrivers, and see how they are assembled. Beware of the high power in the capacitor of the flash unit, it can really jolt you (Speaking from experience). Discharge it with a jumper wire as soon as you can get to it.

Where do you get the repair manuals? Do you happen to know if the lens assembly in the S100 and S110 are the same?

I'd buy parts from Canon. A new model like this one will not have used parts floating around or for sale. The lens is quite a good one, and it will be expensive. Taking the lens apart to clean it is likely not going to work.

In your experience, would it be possible to take the entire lens assembly from one of the cameras over to the other? Actually I'd prefer to replace the display instead of messing with the optics in any way (provided I get that "flexible PCB" spare part).