Why is my Canon PowerShot suddenly taking almost completely white still photos, while video looks normal?

Asked 3/19/2014

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2 answers

My Canon PowerShot A470 suddenly went from taking normal pictures to producing massively overexposed still images that are nearly white. Video recording still looks normal.

I’ve already checked the camera settings, including reducing exposure compensation as far as possible, but it made no difference. What kind of fault could cause this, and is there anything practical to try before assuming the camera is broken?

canon powershot repair compact-camera overexposure

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

2 Answers

I probably know an answer.

Cameras almost always have aperture open if not recording anything - to make the optical viewfinder brighter or electronic viewfinder display better image.

Then, cameras close aperture for each exposure to arbitrary or automatically selected F value.

Cameras know how much light will be cut if they close down to F if they know the open objective speed.

Now, if the aperture is stuck in the middle, camera will always overexpose photos when set F is bigger than initial F, and will do so even more if the aperture does not move at all.

The video mode may be unaffected because in this mode camera meters in real time, just the noise may be bumped.

Originally by user49477. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user49477

10y ago

AI Answer

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This pattern usually points to a hardware fault in the shutter/aperture mechanism rather than a menu setting.

On compact cameras, still photos rely on the aperture/shutter assembly to cut light for each exposure. If the aperture is stuck open, not moving correctly, or its ribbon cable has failed, the camera can massively overexpose still images. Video may still seem normal because exposure is handled differently and metered continuously.

A clue is whether you no longer hear the normal shutter/aperture click during still capture, or if the problem changes at certain zoom positions.

Since lowering exposure compensation didn’t help, a broken or stuck aperture/shutter assembly is the most likely cause. Unfortunately, on PowerShot compacts this is usually not an easy DIY repair because the camera is hard to dismantle and the internal ribbon cables are delicate.

Practical steps:

Reset the camera settings to rule out a software issue.
Test at different zoom positions and listen for any change in shutter/aperture sound.
If the problem persists, have it evaluated by Canon or a camera repair shop.

Most likely, something is fundamentally broken internally.

Why is my Canon PowerShot suddenly taking almost completely white still photos, while video looks normal?

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