How to repair the E18 error on Canon digital cameras

There seems to be a relatively large population of Canon owners who are affected by the E18 error. In this article I will teach you a few simple methods you can try to repair the error yourself.

This article is intended for people whose cameras are out of warranty. If your camera is still under warranty, go to your nearest Canon repair shop and let them fix it. If it’s not, you can either choose to pay around 150$ for the repair or try one of these simple techniques.

First I should explain what exactly an E18 is. According to Canon’s web site, it is an error that involves the lens unit or lens cover. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off. It can happen if you apply pressure to the area surrounding the lens while it is in the recording mode (this includes dropping the camera), or if sand or dirt get into the lens area. The lens gets stuck, you get a black screen with a small "E18" sign in the lower-left corner, the camera beeps a few times and turns off.

Lately, I noticed a number of people online who are having troubles with this error. It happened to my Power Shot A520 as well a couple of weeks ago, but fortunately, the camera was still under warranty so Canon fixed it free of charge. In order to help the unlucky ones whose cameras are out of warranty, I decided to write this article.

Basically, there are a couple of simple things you can try. I can’t guarantee they will work for you, but I know these methods have helped some people get rid of their E18 problems:

1) One method is to tap the padded USB cover part on a hard surface, for example, a desk. I know it sounds to simple to work, but this can get some of the dirt out of the lens.

2) Try compressed air. With a fine tip blow off gun and dry compressed air set the tip between the lens turret and the camera body and turn on the air while moving the tip around the lens. It should remove all of the dust and sand. Turn the camera on and it should function fine.

3) Another solution is to try and push the lens back into place. This is the least preferable method. Try it only if the camera is out of warranty and DON’T apply too much pressure! If the lens can be set back into place with a light push, great! If not, don’t force it!

4) If nothing else works, there are a couple of online guides in different languages for dismantling the camera and cleaning the lens thoroughly. Try this only if your camera is out of warranty! Some of them are:

- http://www.ixus-world.de/tips/repair_guide/e18_01en.htm - a guide in English
- http://menthol.hit.bg/E18.html - a guide in Bulgarian
- http://www.artecdesign.ee/~jan/Kaamerad/PowerShotA70/index.html - Estonian guide

The last two are not in English, but they have a lot of pictures which should help with the whole process.

So you’ve learned how you can try and rescue your camera. Try out the methods for yourself, and contact me with good news.

If you want more information about the E18 error, or would like to read other people’s experiences with it, stop by my site at http://www.e18error.com. Feel free to drop me an email.

75 percent of people buy the wrong digital camera

When I teach a new class learning digital photography, over 75% of the students turn up with the camera the salesman suggested.

Guess what? They soon find out that it’s the wrong one for them. This can be a very expensive mistake. So the big questions are what is the right one for me and how do I know which is best for me.

One of the first things that you want to know about the camera that the salesman is trying to sell you is as follows -
How long does the camera take to turn on and be ready to take the shot? In the consumer market this can range between 1 to 5 seconds most being towards the 3 seconds mark. 
How long does the camera take to focus on the subject? (Not to take the picture) most cameras take between 1 to 3 seconds most at around the 1-second mark. How long does the camera take to actually take the photo after you have pushed the shutter button completely? Again, most cameras take between 1to 3 seconds this is called shutter lag time. Now you can see to take a photo can take up to 5 seconds just to turn on and up to another 3 seconds to focus in and the up to another 3 seconds just to actually take the photo.

In a cheaper camera, but not necessarily cheaper it can be up to 9 seconds to take a photo from the camera turned off. You may say “yes but I will leave my camera on” ok that’s fine, but you may still have a lag time of up to 3 seconds just to take a photo. Just imagine how annoying it will be now that you have purchased your new digital camera costing you around $400 - $500 to find that you just can’t catch your child blowing out the candles because your new camera at the critical time of blowing the candles out took 1 second to focus and a further 2 seconds to take the photo. What was the result? A child sitting in front of a cake with black smoldering candles.

Can you set the white balance on your camera? Just what is the white balance?

About 60% of digital cameras don’t have this adjustment, you must buy one that can be set manually, not just one that has an “auto white balance” as they are not as good as they advertise.

Does your camera have different exposure modes?

Exposure modes are simply where does the camera take a light reading? The cheaper cameras just do an all over reading which can be very limiting to say the least. A good camera will have a “spot”, “centre weighted” and “matrix” metering system, which allows you to take great photos in any light situation.

When buying a digital camera, buy it for the fact that it’s a camera not a video camera as well. One student showed me all the features her camera had and that’s why it was more expensive – the only thing that it didn’t do well was take still pictures!

You can get so much out of your new digital camera! you just have to put some time in for learning how to use it properly and how to take better pictures – remember no one will ever want to look at a poor quality photo twice!

If you want to take really great pictures that will be in your family for years put in a little effort with your new digital camera.

Cameras – Pictures Capture Time

The magic of capturing the smile of a beloved, the blending hues of a sunset, the expression on a baby’s face, sends thrills of anticipation to people of every culture,of every age.What was considered a miracle two hundred years ago now casually blends into one’s every day activities.The
invention of the simple black box in France started an industry that has evolved as fast as the technology required for any new-age product.

Cameras now come in price ranges that allow you to even throw them away after taking one roll of pictures.They also come in the most complex, computerized packages that only the richest pros consider purchasing. Although the original concept of the camera began to be developed around the
1830s, it wasn’t until around the 1900s that more people could afford to buy one or have the film developed or have their picture taken professionally. By the 1930s and 1940s, cameras acquired a permanent niche in the hearts of the average person. Since then thousands of brands and models
have appeared, only to be replaced with the newest technology of the day.

In order to focus more precisely, the earlier camera had a bellows, allowing the distance from the lens to the film to be adjusted. The greatest fear of those owning the bellows-style camera was an accidental, fine pin-hole that allowed unwanted light in.Being opened and closed hundreds of times
tended to create cracks in the corners where they folded. The leaky bellows problem ruined many a picture, to the sorrow of the photographer.

Features the photographers wanted, and after a while received, were film on a roll rather than having to use a plate. Next came film stop mechanisms so that winding the film to the next spot became more accurate. Features that kept one from making double exposures delighted many
photographers. Adding flash in such a way that it was actually usable surged the sale of cameras forward.

Just as the movies were originally silent movies and only came in black and white, the first still cameras only used black and white film. The two industries moved forward on parallel paths. Once color film technology existed for one, the other quickly adapted its products. Colored slides and
slide projectors became favorites for taking those vacation pictures and showing them to friends. It wasn’t long before a regular homeowner could make a color movie of the kids. When sound was added to the movie theaters, the movie fan began adding sound to the home movies. That home movie film was sent to a professional developer for processing.

The speed of technological inventions increased. Along with computers in every home came the age of the Video Camcorder and the Digital Camera. Instant pictures! Instant movies. No developing necessary. Everything happens with instant playback!

One aspect of the camera industry hasn’t changed over the years: the thrill, the magic, of capturing a moment in time,to be treasured and shared with the world.Cameras have reduced the size of the planet in our mind’s eye and fostered understanding among the different cultures and races of the world. This is a camera’s most priceless quality and gift.

Buying A Digital Camera

When it comes to buying a digital camera, you need to ask yourself one question. “What type of pictures am I looking to take?” Then from that point on, try to envision the image perfectly in your mind, also how you would like then to turn out for others to see. From there on in, it can be easy clicking and all this can be done just by picking out what you are looking for in the features of a digital camera and the picture you have seen in your mind. Buying a digital camera should not be stressful.

Most digital cameras come with the essentials things such as picture storage and a viewfinder and other times when it comes to buying a digital camera, you will find that some extras may be helpful to you on making what envisioned seem real on paper or on a screen. Some digital cameras come with zoom, a self-timer and even flash, so choosing these qualities just might be right up your ally for great picture taking. One of the neat features that some digital cameras offer these days is a moviemaker or mpeg maker, this allows you to capture a few seconds worth of homemade film and can complement any picture you have taken.

Buying a good digital camera does not have to cost a lot of money for anyone, even for the beginner. The good thing about a digital camera is that it takes out the cost of developing the film at a local store plus the drive to the store and back. There is an instant gratification feeling, just by viewing the pictures on the viewfinder or they may also be downloaded from your camera to your personal computer. Almost all digital cameras come with software that can be installed onto your PC and it gives you full freedom of editing your pictures until you are content and happy with them.

Basics of the Digital camera

Like most things in life when your experiencing something for the first time you are often unsure how to go about it. The same can be true when buying your first digital camera. You will undoubtedly be inundated with facts, figure and more jargon than you know what to do with. We will attempt in this article to help you along with some of the jargon and show you what to look for when buying a digital camera. Some of the feature may not interest you unless you need your camera to perform specific tasks, however its always worth knowing exactly what you are buying so you can pick a good deal when you see one.

Megapixels

The resolution of a camera is measured and advertised in megapixels. The idea behind this figure is the number of pixels that the camera has to take an image with. In this case the higher the number the better quality of picture you will be able to take. For example if you purchase a camera that has a resolution of 4 Megapixels, pictures that you take with that camera will be able to take images made up of 4 million pixels. Its obvious when you think about that a camera with a 2 megapixel resolution will not create as image as crisp or as detailed as the 4 megapixel one.

If you often print out your images on your PC or have them sent away to be printed then the megapixel rating of your camera can be very important to you. Higher megapixels on your camera will allow you to make prints larger in size while still keeping the quality. If you try to print a picture too large than what you camera was designed for then the image drastically loses quality.

The last thing to know about megapixels is the higher the resolution you take pictures in the more space on your memory card will be taken up. A picture taken on a 4 megapixel camera will need twice as much space on a memory card as a picture taken on a 2 megapixel camera. Be sure if you want quality pictures have enough memory on your camera to back it up., Either that or have spare media cards to plug in once your space has been used up.

Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom

No doubt when you are buying a camera you will want some sort of zoom function to take those in the distance shots. This is a troublesome area for some first time buyers. There are two types of zoom on the market for digital cameras. Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom. The only one that really matters is Optical zoom, this is true a true zoom function that brings the objects closer to you using the optics of the camera. Digital Zoom is like using the zoom function on an image editing software package. It enlarges a section of the image so it looks as if its closer to you.

Anything you can do with digital zoom you can do with a photo editing package so don't splash too much money on a camera with digital zoom only. Sometimes you will also so "total zoom" advertised this means the number that is quoted here is the optical zooms magnification added to the digital zooms magnification. Try to find out the magnification level of the optical zoom alone for the true value of the camera.

Aperture Size

We may be going a little further here than some of you would like to care about but bear with us as the aperture size can make a big impact on your pictures. The size of the aperture determines exactly how much light is let into the camera when your picture is taken. Think of the aperture like the iris of your eye. No big deal you may think, however having more light allows you take better pictures in a variety of lighting condition, cloudy days is a perfect example.
With a large enough aperture you would be less likely to need the flash, personally I don't like to use the flash function, the artificial flash of light does not always do justice to the picture you are trying to take. Also effects like red eye are also common.

Shutter Speed

Great effects can be made to images using a variety of shutter speeds. The thing to look for when buying a decent digital camera in terms of shutter speeds is the broadest range you can find. This will give you the best chance of manipulating the picture the way you want it. Combined with a pro-active aperture the shutter speed can make pictures come to life or freeze images in an instant.

This technique is great when you want to take moving objects exactly how they look as if they were still. Setting the shutter speed on a slower setting gives more exposure to the CCD (charge coupled device - the digital equivalent of film). The effect is that the picture almost seems to run. Moving objects are slightly blurred. You may think this is a bad thing but take an example of running water leaving the shutter speed on for longer will soften the image creating a pleasing image to the eye much like the way a waterfall appears in real life.

You can take digital photography to the extreme with a camera that has a very wide range of shutter speeds. With an incredibly slow shutter speed, you can have a long exposure of light to the CCD and hence receive like the famous traffic scenes where the headlights blend into each other into a constant stream.

Storage Media

Digital Cameras come with a slot for a variety of media cards. Check when you buy your camera what type of storage media it requires. There are several popular types including Smart Media, compact flash and xD picture cards. As long as you know what type your is you should be able to safely by the correct type. Always ask at your local store if you are unsure. If you give them your make and model they should be able to point you in the right direction.

The size of the media card you choose depends on your budget but get as much as you can afford. More memory means that you don't have to change media cards, and you will be able to take pictures in the highest quality all the time. You will soon learn the benefits of having plenty storage space when you start to use your camera regularly.

The good thing about cameras media is that its just like a film if you do run out you can simply insert another one if you have one with you. It can be a bit of a pain when downloading your pictures to your PC but much less more of a pain than having to delete some picture because you have run of space on your media card.

Buying the Digital Camera thats Friendly to Your Wallet

Digital cameras can be pricey - but they can also be cheap. Who wants expensive, anyway? Instead of immediately shelling out hundreds of dollars for a newly-launched model, learn to buy on your terms. You just need to pay attention to the features and bargains and you can have your own camera according to what suits you best. Here are some tips on buying cameras.

The physical design of the camera is not everything. Admit it, consumers always fall for the physical aesthetics. Just because a camera is small, sleek and eye-catching, doesn't mean it will perform well.

" Know your budget. If you are an average photographer with minimal interest in photography, then a $100-199 camera will probably do just fine for you. If you have a passion for photography and are very particular about your shots, then you can have a $200-900 camera. If you consider yourself a professional photographer, then you can spend more than $900 for your camera.

" How many megapixels? The quality of the photos is the number one query of most camera buyers. A 4-megapixel camera is sufficient for average users with a very slim budget.

" What capacity memory card that will work best for you? To get a sense of the capacity you will need, ask yourself some questions about your lifestyle. How often do you take pictures, and how many pictures do you take when you do take pictures? If you take a lot of pictures at a time, then you will want a higher capacity memory card. When and where do you take pictures? If you go on extended vacations then you will want higher capacity as well and you may want to consider back-up memory for your camera.

" Keep yourself in track with sales and promotions. Almost all gadget stores have year-end sales especially when new models are about to come out. You can strike the best deal when you are not rushing to make a purchase.

" When buying discounted digital cameras, set a budget ceiling and stick to it. However, do not compromise quality and warranty for a cheaper deal.



Here are some additional points that you may want to consider:

If you are not a professional, but still want to have latest technology on digital cameras then ask yourself these questions to help you find the right one for you.

Does size matter? The size of the camera is an important factor for most buyers. Almost always, the smaller the camera, the better.

Do you want to achieve best quality photos? Then check out the sensor photo detectors (mega pixels).

Do you want a camera with a good LCD monitor size? It’s always safe to get a camera with an average size of LCD monitor for this gives you a peek to the photos you have taken.

Does the camera feature digital zoom? Does the camera support manual focus?

How often do you take pictures? Do you store photos in your camera? Remember to check the size of the internal and external memory of the camera before buying. If the memory is not enough, you can purchase additional memory sticks or large capacity memory sticks.

Does the camera support USB? A USB connection is the easiest way of transferring or uploading photo files to your computer when your memory is full.

Can you set your own shutter speed? Setting the shutter speed controls the exposure of the picture. You may not be interested in this now but you may be later so this is a good feature to have.

Can you set you own aperture? The aperture setting controls the size of the shutter opening. Like the shutter speed, this is an advanced feature, which you may want to experiment with down the road.

Does your camera have video features? Videos are great fun, and like most functionality, you might find you use it all the time once you have it!

How much does the camera weigh? Look for a camera that is easy to handle and light.

Inject some practicality when spending your money. Hype is not everything. Just because a certain digital camera brand is getting all the attention in the media, does not mean you have to have it. Know what you want and what you need. It only takes a few hours to make a research and comparison of brands. Then you can get a cheaper digital camera brand that can reflect you and your personality.

Fujifilm FinePix A303 Digital Camera

Two years ago I purchased my first digital camera. At that time, prices for a 3.0 and higher mega pixel camera were around $350. Since then, as with all electronic gadgets, prices have dropped significantly while the mega pixels have gone up. I chose the Fujifilm's A303 digital camera, which has fared well for me, so permit me the opportunity to tell you why.

I desperately needed a digital camera when my web business took off. On many different occasions I found myself wanting to take a picture of a person, place or thing and having to rely on a 35mm camera. Trouble was I wasn't very good at taking pictures. Usually my subject came out blurry or the picture needed cropping. Yes, getting pictures developed on disk would have resolved the latter problem, but it was the former problem -- blurry pictures -- that was causing me the most grief. If only I could see "on the spot" how my picture turned out. If it turned out poorly, I could reshoot. Naturally, a digital camera presented to me something that no 35mm camera could offer; I made the purchase of a 3.2 mega pixel camera by Fujifilm after considerable shopping around and reading product reviews online.

Packed within a tough grey shell, the A303 is lightweight and can fit easily into your pant pockets. The camera's controls are simple to figure out and include a Menu/OK button, Back button, viewfinder, viewfinder lamp, a display buttion and LCD monitor to preview pictures without looking through the viewfinder or to review pictures already taken. A round dial in the back of the camera features a self timer mode where you can set the camera and ten seconds later have the picture go off. Great for when you want to get the entire family's picture and no one is around to take it. There are also close up modes, still image, playback and movie modes. The movie mode results in a fairly choppy and short film, but it is a neat feature to have nevertheless.

The standard camera comes equipped with a 16mb picture card. Most people will find that inadequate, so I paid a little bit extra and bought the 64mb upgrade. I also purchased rechargeable AA batteries -- it takes two -- and a recharger. You will sap your batteries quickly if you take 30-40 or more pictures at a time, so the recharger makes sense. I purchased the accompanying Fujifilm carrying case to house my other supplies.

Pictures come out clear and in two years of picture taking I have not experienced a single problem with the camera. At 3.2 mega pixels the pictures are more than adequate as virtually everything I do gets posted to the internet. Supposedly you do not need more mega pixels when posting/viewing pictures online. With the included USB cable and HP software, you will be uploading pictures to the internet in no time.

If there are any drawbacks with the A303 there is just one and it is a glaring problem: the time between shots can seem endless! I suppose the elapsed time is only about ten seconds, but it seems like an eternity especially compared to 35mm cameras. Technological improvements have closed the gap considerably with newer models, but if you need this camera to take a group of shots quickly you will be disappointed.

All in all, the A303 is a very good camera. I give it a 4-star rating for ease of use, price, and dependability.