Canon PowerShot A80 -- E18 error!

[GailSuzann]

I bought this model at the advice of my sister 2 years ago, and she and I have had no problems so far. I then referred the model to my daughter who purchased one in Sept. 2004. The other day (out of the blue) upon turning off the camera, the lens would not retract, a buzzing sound occurred, and the message "E18" popped up on the LCD. Changing batteries, etc., made absolutely no difference. After reading various problems that others have experienced with this same problem, I told her that it probably would not be worth it to even attempt to have the camera fixed (since the warranty expired 3 months ago). Personally, I have DROPPED my camera (carelessly) on two occasions and I still have NO problems (and I use it a LOT). So.....as a last gasp solution, I told her to drop it on the floor, and then toss it in the garbage if it still doesn't work. (This did not sit well with her husband!) To make a long story short, she called me this morning to give me the good news that the camera is now working perfectly fine! She whacked it on the palm of her hand, and.... WOW.... the lens retracted, she can take and view pictures, and is now a happy camper. Hopefully, this will be a permanent fix! It sounds to me like something jarred loose from the lens mechanism....

Anybody else tried this solution????:)

[ktixx]

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3810

[BruceMitchell]

Yes, I just did - and it has worked for me too!:)

I'm not placing any bets about how long it will last now though!

[tstroff]

I got the E18 on my Canon A80 that's a few years old and figured the end was here. It was my son's first day of pre-school so the timeing was awful.

I pulled the batteries, tapped it against my palm a few times, put them back in and it worked!

Thanks to this forum!!!

Tom


My picture site... http://24.228.26.52:8880/

[charlesr]

I've got an Ixus 50 (European name for powershot I think).

It's worked great for ages. Today, I took a photo, and it worked fine. I downloaded it to my PC and turned it off. 5 mins later, I decided to take another photo. When it turned on, the lens came out and wouldn't focus and then I got the E18 error.

After finding some fantastic guide on taking it apart which looked like it would take 10 hours, I looked around more and found the advice here on just a bit of impact therapy and decided to give it a go. I knocked it on the desk and tried this bit a few times, but that didn't help. Then I knocked it on the desk WHILE it was coming out of the main unit and it now works fine! edit: When I say "knocked", it was pretty hard.... but it wasn't like it would make it any worse :) Everything seems to still be intact.

In case this happens to anyone else, while it had the error, it wouldn't retract into the main case on it's own. After a few seconds of error, it would turn itself off. When I turned it on again, it would retract the lens and pump it out again. It was on the way out when it tapped it. I didn't want whatever dirt or whatever getting lodged even further back into the mechanism but doing it while it was shutting.... :)

[erikristen]

It is not my camera so i went to my mom and let her read you post she started to giggle then wacked it a few times:rolleyes: and thought what could it hurt Then to our amazement it worked:D You have saved us lots of money and time running to the repair shop or looking and compairing new ones
SHE LOVES THIS CAMERA i dont think i could have gotten her to buy a new one THANKS SO MUCH