I repaired my own P&S :)

[dbmk]

My Canon Powershot SD450 got busted (I thought) during a vacation in Sept. last year. The lens got stuck in the out position and when turning it on, it just beeped and there was a small "E-18" text on the screen.

Couldn't really research that on the vacation, so I resigned myself to the fact that it was gone - and given the fact that I had thought about upgrading I didn't really think about sending in for repair.

So I finally got around to buying a G10 last week - and then I started wondering about what to do with this busted one. Could I salvage the parts for some interesting project or give it to someone who might want to look into repairing it?

Turning it on, I was reminded of the error message "E18". A little googling later I found this:
http://www.e18error.com/
and
http://members.shaw.ca/gregs_space/Canon_E18_repair_guide_for_SD300.pdf

Procedure 1 in the pdf was all it took for me. Take of the covers and prod the small mechanical sensor wheel a bit. Presto. 5 minute operation from start to finish.

I even had a chance to clean out the rests of the little melting chocolate accident I had on a skiing vacation some years back. :)

So if you get the E18 error, don't despair - and think twice about paying big bucks (compared to the cameras value) for a repair.

It probably goes without saying, but just to be on the safe side; Take care not to touch the electronic parts once you have the cover off. There does not seem to be anything exposed that could lead to uncomfortable experiences, but you never know what you could break or mess up.