Canon EOS problems

Why does nothing ever work properly for me?

Back in October, I bought a new camera, an EOS 3000v, and the other day, I took a photo in my bedroom, put it on the desk, came back about 20 minutes later and the display had gone off.

Basically, it won't switch on or do anything, as if it is recieving no power. Has anyone experienced any problems like this with EOS cameras before? I have checked the batteries but they appear to be fine.

I don't want to take it apart as it should still be in warranty. I could get some new batteries to test, but at about 2.5V each (should be 3V), this shouldn't be the problem, as the meter in the camera was showing them as full.

Anyone got any suggestions, or would I be best off sending it back to Canon?

Cheers
Steve :(

Does the camera have a reset button on it? Usually you would use this when replacing the battery.

Or does the camera have a separate CR2032 or similar battery for settings memory? If so this may be flat.

I would remove the main battery, and any other backup batteries from the camera over night and then try the camera again in the morning. This will give the camera's circuits time to clear and reset.

I'm not aware of any batteries other than the two main CR2 batteries. I will leave them out overnight though and see what happens.

If it's under warranty then I'd get in touch with Canon and see what they suggest.

I tried leaving the batteries out and that didn't make any difference.

I will see about contacting Canon.

Did you purchase it from a physical store, or online? Most camera shops are happy to have a quick look at a camera and give you helpful advice. The best being small independent stores as it is in their best interest to give good customer service as it could lead to a sale.

I got it online.

Although I am wondering whether it may have been an odd battery problem. I just measured them again and one was at about 0.6V, with the other at about 2.6V. maybe I measured them wrong last time. That I would expect would make the camera not work, but it wasn't showing them as being low before. So, to test this out, I ordered some new ones.

That would make sense if one was that low. Hope that is all it was.

Got some new batteries today, and the camera worked, so it was a flat battery. I'm surprised the originals didn't last that long. According to the manual they are supposed to last about 20 films. I've only taken about 6.

That was good then. Much less hassle than needing the camera repaired.

Do you leave the batteries in the camera the whole time? If so this will drain them even when it isn't in use. If you take them out between uses it should increase their life.

I'm quite surprised by the life expectancy of the batteries your camera uses. In contrast my old Minolta Dynax 500si uses a single 2CR5 battery. These are a bit more expensive at about £6.99-9.99 but each battery lasts a very long time. Each lasting a good couple of years and that was with quite a lot of use. Not sure how many rolls of film I got through with each battery, but it was definitely more than 20 rolls.

20 rolls isn't entirely accurate. The manula says the following

At 20 degrees C:
0% flash use: 67 rolls
50% flash use: 30 rolls
100% flash use: 22 rolls

At -10 degrees C:
0% flash use: 44 rolls
50% flash use: 20 rolls
100% flash use: 15 rolls

I don't intend to use it at such low temperatures and don't use flash very often so according to this I'd expect to get about 35-45 out of it.

I do leave them in when not in use. I didn't think that would make much difference, but I will remove them between films in the future.

Was this the original batteries that came with the camera? Many manufacturers of electronic equipment that include batteries only provide poor batteries that don't last very long "only for testing purposes" and recommend that you switch them for proper ones as soon as possible. So that list may be for when you have gotten new, good batteries for it and not for the original ones.

It is annoying common practice with all electronics it seems. With printers you only get a partly filled or smaller than normal ink cartridge included. With camcorders you get the smallest battery available, and with digital cameras the smallest memory card they make.

I know they only supply these with the theory that it is so you can have a play around with the hardware as soon as you get it, but for example the memory card supplied with the last digital camera I bought was 32MB and the camera was a 7.1MP camera. This meant it was good for 6 photos at full resolution. So the memory card was basically useless and not worth having in the first place. It would have been better if they had not included it and reducing the price of the camera by a few pounds.

I'm pretty sure my Canon inkjet printer came with full cartidges. They certainly lasted a long time, and didn't say trial size on them like some Dell ones which I have seen.

My digital camera didn't come with a memory card at all so I ordered a 512MB one. It did however have about 32MB internal memory.

I would be surprised if the batteries that canon sent to me were only short life ones. Though they could have been.

Going back to printers, I really did get a good bargain with my LaserJet 4M Plus back when I got it in September 2006. Second hand from a company that services printers, it was in excellent condition, came with a toner cartridge that was not gaurunteed, and still has plenty left in it now, and it has been used alot. And the whole lot cost me £25 inc postage.