The Austringer

Early in the summer, I noted a problem with my Canon S2 IS camera. It would intermittently show a black screen in camera mode, though the screen worked fine for playback. I was planning on arguing with Canon repair people, since the S2 did not have a service advisory out on it.

Well, I found out something since then. I procrastinated long enough on sending it in that I had to look again for forms to send it in for service. While I was doing that, I found that some other people had encountered this, and found a do-it-yourself fix. The problem wasn’t in the linkage to the sensor chip after all, as previous searching had indicated as the likely thing. Instead, various folks said that the iris sticks in a small-aperture condition. Further, by putting the camera in “Tv” or shutter priority mode and setting the shutter to 15 seconds, tripping the shutter release, then turning the camera off after seven seconds have elapsed, one can force the iris to open again. This process may need to be repeated several times, and the condition may turn up again. But regular use of the camera tends to reduce how often the finder blacks out due to the sticky iris. My S2 is working fine once again, and I don’t have to worry about a repair bill that I can’t afford.

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