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?
pixyl said: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?
pixyl said: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...
fugu82 said:Do the spots actually affect image quality?
Mt Spokane Photography said:pixyl said: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.