Canon A520-- How do I put it back together? (please!!)

[katie ta achoo]

I'm trying not to vomit with rage as I type this:
I was taking pictures of my nephew.. he gets mad, tells me to put it down. I have the camera in "review" mode, pointed at my feet, and he thinks it's still on.. I yell at him to let go, and right as I get out the first syllable of his name...

you guessed it:

the power-save mode kicks in, and the lens retracts.



The whole front part came off in his hand. I have all four parts of the lens cover that came off and the little thing that keeps it on (the ring you can see in that pic)

it's only the part that keeps the lens away from the outside elements, not a vital-to-taking-pictures part.. but one piece of dust or I grab for it the wrong way and BAM! huge scratch, ruined forever.

Right.. now, this is where MR comes in :
How do I put it back together???

Even though it's just a little P&S, I still love that thing; it comes with me everywhere. I use it to take pictures of my hands, amusing bumper stickers I see in parking lots, and uni-related activities...

As I can already see this veering this way, I will not make it look like an accident and have the warranty take care of it. It was accidental. Nor will I "teach my three year old nephew who didn't know any better" a "lesson".

I have 2 pair of forceps, a pair of super-long tweezers, a pair of normal tweezers, a super bright lamp, a not so bright lamp, and a rockin' magnifying hands-free-thingiee. Tell me how to put it back together? Please? Help??
you'll get a mention in my sig.. I'll remove word "neato!" and replace it with your name!

 

[jsw]

OK, dumb question, but do the four parts of the lens cover look broken? Or, rather, does this seem like a matter of simply how to put it back together or - more difficult - how to unbreak some broken pieces?

If the camera is still functional, would it be possible to use it - or any other camera - to take detailed pictures of the pieces which have come off?

 

[katie ta achoo]

how to put it back together is the one I'm lookin' for; none of them are broken. if need be, I can just glue on the outer ring if anything is cracked.

I took picks of the outer ring and lens cap dealie, but the front of the camera has to come later. the only other digicam in the house syncs over SERIAL and there's only a serial port on my dad's computer at work, so they'll get posted tomorrow.


sorry for the crap light-- it's night, I'm ticked, and it's dark.



e-hugs 'n' e-love 'n' e-kisses to anyone that can help!!


EDIT:
it has come to my attention that I am in possession of this newfangled invention called a "mirror."
*smacks head*

 

[jsw]

Well, I'll wait to see pics of the camera front and post back then. I'm happy the camera still works, and I'm somewhat optimistic that this is fixable.

Edit: OK, now that you posted the front, truth be told, I'm dead tired, so I'll still wait until tomorrow to post back.

Edit 2: but be very careful not to lose those two tiny wire pins I see on the front - they're crucial!

Edit 3: I think we'll need better-lit, higher-res pics to help - use the voices account if need be. For example, the two larger pieces in your attached pic clearly fit together as they're oriented there - just slide them closer together diagonally, and they're in place - but we need better pics to determine how the two smaller pieces fit and tie into those wire clips on the camera.

 

[jsw]

Question: as you turn the camera on, watch the lens casing - does anything move noticeably? I'm trying to figure out if the lens cover (the four pieces) is closed by default and sprung open when the lens protrudes or open by default and forced closed when the lens retracts.

 

[iMeowbot]

For reference, here is how the leaves are oriented when the lens barrel is retracted.


I thought about popping off the cover on the A520 here to see how it was put together, but chickened out. Sorry.

Question: as you turn the camera on, watch the lens casing - does anything move noticeably? I'm trying to figure out if the lens cover (the four pieces) is closed by default and sprung open when the lens protrudes or open by default and forced closed when the lens retracts.

Springs hold the leaves shut.

 

[Oryan]

I've been looking on Google, but so far I haven't found anything too helpful. The most promising page no longer exists. If you can find a diagram for any PowerShot camera, they are probably the same design. I wish I had my A80 with me so I could open it up and see how it works. Ah, well good luck! It's too late for me to keep thinking about it tonight.

Edit: Here's my best guess:

 

[katie ta achoo]

iMeowbot, I don't want you destroying anything on my behalf.

A small country, MAYBE, but not a camera.

pic warning: huge and noisy

With how the leaves fit together from imeowbot's post, alls I need is how to do the springs.

I only see turning from the middle ring as it turns on.

also thankyouthankyouthankyou for all the help so far.

edit to merge:
Oryan-- do I put the green ones down first or the red ones?

here's what the leaves will look like once I get them laid out correctly on the camera, yes? or are my little black things messed up in relation to the large ones?

and does the little nub on the tiny black "leaf" go in front of or behind the spring?
(nub is in the box)

again:
I love y'all (MR as a whole, but esp. posters in this thread.)
thanks!!

 

[Oryan]

Oryan-- do I put the green ones down first or the red ones?

here's what the leaves will look like once I get them laid out correctly on the camera, yes? or are my little black things messed up in relation to the large ones?

I think that might be how the little ones go. I'd say put the big ones down and then see how the little ones could fit. If the middle ring turns, I think that would push the big ones apart. Maybe the little one's hold them closed when the camera's off. The spring could go between the circle and peg (or nub) on the little ones to do this, I think.

 

[katie ta achoo]

Sounds like it will work! *hopeful*

well, I have a maths test tomorrow (well... this) morning that I haven't studied at all for and I should probably sleep.. I'll try it when I get home from Uni tomorrow...
again, THANK YOU!

 

[iMeowbot]

The spring could go between the circle and peg (or nub) on the little ones to do this, I think.

That seems to be right. Poking around with an, erm, poker, I'm seeing that the small pieces are the sprung ones.

 

[Oryan]

I hope it works out! I need to be getting to bed myself. 8 am classes with mandatory attendance should be banned.

 

[jsw]

OK, some quick things before running off to work:

The sides of the big pieces which are shown go towards the camera (clearly, as otherwise you'd see the circled numbers when the camera was closed).

Your best bet is to play with assembling the pieces on the camera lens - small pieces first, then the big pieces.

I think the rings on the big pieces go over the "movable" prongs on the camera lens assembly - so that the prongs on the big pieces go into those semi-curves slots between the lens and the movable prongs.

I then think that the small piece rings go over the remaining, non-moving lens prongs and that the wire clip-springs hold them against the big pieces.

Edit: what Oryan said... sorry, missed that pic.

Just a guess, though.

 

[jsw]

here's what the leaves will look like once I get them laid out correctly on the camera, yes? or are my little black things messed up in relation to the large ones?

I think the little ones move diagonally, as shown below:

 

[jsw]

I think it'll look like this when assembled - but note that I mirrored the lens assembly, so actually the cover parts would be flipped over - I just didn't have time to do it "right" while here at work:

 

[katie ta achoo]

jsw, that IS how it fits together.

BUT.... I can't snap the front plastic thing back on; it has to line up SUPER-exactly, which I'm doing, but it won't press down..

I'm trying to think of if I can fashion another one out of something.. I don't think the original is going back on!

..that's gonna look nice.

 

[iMeowbot]

BUT.... I can't snap the front plastic thing back on; it has to line up SUPER-exactly, which I'm doing, but it won't press down

Does it make any difference if you turn it on to expose the snout first? (he said, with visions of four little bits of metal sproinging across the room) -- may want to do this with the lid held over, just in case...

 

[jsw]

Just be sure to press gently! You don't want to strip anything, and I highly recommend removing the batteries just to ensure the thing doesn't get accidentally turned on when you're fidgeting with it (ah, but that's a matter for another thread).

I'm sure the cap will go on, but maybe it's just a bit warped or bent. Make sure it's oriented correctly (er, duh, I doubt you thought of that... ). Does it just not press all the way down, or does it not even want to go on at all?

Edit: dumb question: does it screw on or rotate into place (as opposed to clicking down)?

 

[katie ta achoo]

it doesn't screw on. or twist on.. it just pushes down, but there are two TINY plastic tabs that won't line up but NEED to line up.

it clicks about halfway on, but when I try to press it down all the way, it won't stay in place securely. this lets the little leaves jostle about.

perhaps I could whittle a new cap out of some plexiglass?
I don't need all my fingers..

 

[iMeowbot]

it clicks about halfway on, but when I try to press it down all the way, it won't stay in place securely. this lets the little leaves jostle about.

Peek at the two tabs with a really good magnifier, if you have them. Are there supposed to be barbs there that may have been torn off during the little accident? There could be bits of plastic still in the slots blocking the cap, and you may need to resort to glue to keep the cover down now (assuming this is what happened).

If there are bits of plastic in there and you can't get them out, you could shave down the remainder of the tabs a little to avoid them.

 

[katie ta achoo]

Peek at the two tabs with a really good magnifier, if you have them. Are there supposed to be barbs there that may have been torn off during the little accident? There could be bits of plastic still in the slots blocking the cap, and you may need to resort to glue to keep the cover down now (assuming this is what happened).

everything is still in one piece, but there are little plastic barbs that are keeping it from clicking on. looking at it, I don't see any signs of plastic damage (how it gets white if it was bent wrong)

I'm thinking that glue will be the way to go.. tomorrow afternoon, I'll try again when it's daylight outside, and if that fails, the crazy glue is getting introduced, after all those little barbs meet my friend.. the nail file.

 

[jsw]

Just be sure not to glue the lid so tight that the components won't move, or else you're screwed.

Perhaps a very light tapping would set the cap?

 

[katie ta achoo]

Just be sure not to glue the lid so tight that the components won't move, or else you're screwed.

Perhaps a very light tapping would set the cap?

Yeah.. light tapping did nothing.
Same thing with cursing at it and pressing down a bit harder.

oh, jsw, I know about gluing things. I have a pair of loved shoes that are probably 50% well-placed glue at this point.

looks like I get to find the krazy glue, yes? hopefully I won't glue myself to the camera... that would be embarrassing.

 

[iMeowbot]

looks like I get to find the krazy glue, yes? hopefully I won't glue myself to the camera... that would be embarrassing.

You never know, if could start a fad! Just a random thought: super glue on coated glass is probably a combo you want to avoid, do this while awake

 

[jsw]

I tried to see how the cover would fit on (see poor non-Photoshop attempt below), where I'd mirrored things to help me line them up:

It seems to me that you should put the cover pieces into the cap to make sure they're not pressing against those side "B"-shaped protrusions in the cap, then put them into the camera lens. Maybe the little pieces are not exactly in place, which keeps the cap from going on, and putting them into the cap would help you to see how tight the fit needs to be.