It’s a simple fact that we live in a throw-away society. You buy that brand new fancy digital camera with all the bells and whistles for $400, and in 6 months to 1 year it’s worth maybe half that, and then the unthinkable happens: you drop it and it breaks. The LCD is cracked, or the lens is jammed; what do you do? You go back to there store where you bought it and the kid working there that knows next to nothing about cameras to begin with, let alone camera repair, tells you to throw it in the garbage and it’s not fixable. You feel ripped off and mad at the camera manufacturer and you toss it out and buy a new one made by somebody else.

There are always alternatives to every problem including this one. Honest! Yes, it may cost 0 to fix your camera, and yes you can buy that camera in the bubble pack on the shelf at Wall Mart for less than 0, but what kind of quality do you honestly expect from a 0 camera? Not very good quality I hope, because you’re not going to get it.

#1 - Broken/cracked LCD screen.

I found it difficult to decide between broken lens repair and cracked LCD screen repair for #1, but I choose the LCD because it can be broken so easily that you can do it without even touching the camera!

The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is the view screen on the back of the camera that lets you see menus, playback pictures etc. An LCD screen is a very thin and fragile part of the camera and on many of them it is completely unprotected! Look at the back of your camera, is the screen recessed slightly or is the back of the camera flat and smooth? If it’s flat you have a protective ‘window’ or ‘glass’ over the LCD to help prevent damage and breakage. If it’s not flat, you have nothing protecting your LCD and should put a good quality LCD screen protector on the camera and NOT those thin, flimsy ’saran wrap’ plastic film screen protectors, they are worthless.

- Don’t leave your camera in your car in summer or winter. Extreme heat can cause expansion of the liquid in the LCD and cause it to ‘crack’, and on the other side of things extreme cold can cause it to freeze!

- Don’t put anything up against the LCD in your camera bag, it will bang against the LCD and crack it (yes, even if it has a window over it, it will break!)

- Don’t put your camera in your back pocket and then sit down!

- Don’t put your camera in your front pocket and then roll over on it.

- … Please do not put your camera in your pants pocket. =)

Ok, so it’s broken, what do you do now?

- The manufacturer will just site impact damage and will refuse the repair even if the camera wasn’t dropped etc. You can try, and I wish you luck, but they probably won’t fix it.

- Search for defective cameras on eBay and use one to repair yours and make one good camera out of them.

- Look for an actual camera repair business and not somebody that will send it to the manufacturer and tell you it’s $200 and 4-6 weeks to repair. (If they tell you this, they are NOT repairing your camera for you, they are sending it to the manufacturer, guaranteed)

Many LCD screens are very easy to install and you can do it yourself and all you need is a small screwdriver. There are LCD repairs that are quite difficult; even seasoned pro’s don’t want to do them! I can’t tell you Brand …. is the best and Brand … is the worst, it’s really not like that. There are certain series of cameras that have one or two models that are more difficult to repair but the others are more straight forward. You need to decide for yourself if you want to open your camera and try the repair yourself or not.

How is the LCD screen replaced?

With most Canon digital camera LCD screens for example (using them as the example because they have the largest market share) all you do is disconnect the ribbon cable for the LCD and the backlight (the light that shines through the LCD and allows you to see what is on the screen) and then install the new LCD. Some LCDs do come with the backlight that shines through it attached and others do not. Some backlights need to be soldered to the mainboard of the camera, some do not.

- Be careful to not touch the flash capacitor contacts! You will shock yourself pretty good if you do it and it will hurt a bit. You may end up tossing the camera half-way across the room when it happens to you. (Yeah, I’ve done it, I’ve been repairing cameras for 5 years now so….) We use an item called a “flash capacitor discharger” and we use them every time we work on a camera.

I hope this sheds some light on the subject of digital camera repair. There’s no need to toss out your camera just because the LCD screen is broken, in fact you might be able to fix it yourself!

Many people have asked about repairing their front covers/flaps on their Canon PowerShot SD series cameras, so I’ve written up some instructions. The barrier kit on most Canon PowerShot SD series cameras is a little tricky but not impossible to replace yourself. All you need is some patience, a steady hand and a small tipped screwdriver. We’ve been using dental picks for some time, they do a good job!

To start, you will need to turn on the camera and extend the lens, then open the battery door to turn off the camera and keep the lens out. This allows you to easily work on the lens barrier assembly.

First the part we need is the ‘barrel drive ring’, it’s the ring with the small piece that sticks down into the lens. Some cameras don’t have one, so if there isn’t one in your kit then your camera doesn’t need it. Be certain that it will rotate slightly after installation, otherwise it is probably not installed properly and can cause the lens to get jammed.

Next are the springs and flaps. There is a small little tab that holds the spring in place when you put it on the ‘flap’ or ‘barrier plate’ as they are actually called. They are TINY, they are hard to hold and if you drop it… please take my advice and don’t drop it, ok? We do have just the springs available for purchase, but please try not to lose them.

Gently put the flap in the hole with the spring laying towards the post that the free end will mount on; then with something with a very small tip (we use dental picks!) gently grab the loop of the spring and stick it on its post.

If you do this with the lens covers or ‘flaps’ in the open position they will stay in place once you get them properly seated. If everything pops off, just start again. Do not stretch out the springs as they must remain tight or nothing will work properly.

Then gently put on the barrier cover, it’s a flat plastic ring. There are tabs on the barrier cover, they match up with little slots on the lens and it locks into place. Be gentle, don’t force anything too hard or you will break it and the parts will not hold it place.

Now it’s time to test your skills! Put in the battery (cross your fingers) and press the power button! Is it working? Did it go flying across the room with a cute little *SPROING!* and maybe all the parts scattered all over the place? I hope not, but you’re not alone I’ve been there too.

Once you have it working smoothly …you’re almost done with your first digital camera repair!

Next put the dual sided tape on the barrier cover. CAUTION: Make sure to take the tape off of the backing paper but DON’T remove the paper that matches the shape of the tape on the other side!! If you take off the small paper part it will ruin the tape because it will fold and stick to itself. Bye bye tape!

The tabs fold over the edge, don’t let them stick out or the lens cover won’t fit and the lens will jam. The tape lines up with one tab at about the 11 o’clock position, then fold the tabs over and press them in so they don’t stick out.

Now put on your chrome or black lens cap, line up the cap with the small indentation at the bottom, you’ll see how it goes on easily.

Fire up the camera again and admire your handywork! Good for you! You now know how easy… and yet still hard digital camera repair can be, and the “Geek Squad” said that it was either unfixable or would be two hundred dollars and take several weeks to complete. Whatever Geek Squad… Whatever.

Hmm… I think I’m seeing the beginning of something big here; affordable do it yourself Canon camera repair!