Canon PowerShot SD450 Troubleshooting

The terminals on the battery or in the battery slot may be too dirty to maintain a good connection. Try cleaning them with a pencil eraser.

If the battery isn't pushed all the way into its slot, it won't be able to connect to the camera. Try holding the battery all the way in with your finger while pressing the power button.

If your camera still won't power on, the battery may be dead. If you can, try testing the battery in another Canon Powershot. If not, you may need to buy a new battery. If this doesn't fix the problem, the issue is with the camera.

Check the internals of the camera for any loose ribbon connections. These could keep the camera from forming a circuit and being able to power on. Loose connections are especially likely if you've taken apart your camera before.

If these solutions cannot fix the problem, the cause cannot be determined. The camera should be sent in to Canon for a repair estimate or recycled.

If you hear grinding noises when powering the camera on, or the lens only partially extends before contracting again, the lens might be blocked with dirt or sand grains, or the lens may be bent. There is a tiny motor and plastic gearbox assembly inside the camera that is not completely sealed off from the rest of the camera interior. If the camera is contaminated, particles can work their way around to the area where the gears are exposed, and then into the gearbox itself, jamming it. Many owners have taken great care with their cameras and have still experienced this problem.

Try using compressed air to clean out the camera through the gap between the lens and casing. You can also try tapping a corner of the camera against a hard surface, like a desk. The idea is to dislodge large particles from any moving assemblies.

If the camera has been dropped while powered on and the lens wont retract back into the camera, the lens may have been bent or shifted out of place. Inspect the lens and see if it is off center in the cutaway of the camera. There should be a small, even gap all the way around. If the lens is off center, you can try to set it back in place by pressing down lightly at the spot where the gap is largest. You'll hear a "click" if the lens pops back into place.

If none of the methods described above work, you will have to replace the lens assembly.

Any of the buttons on the back side (the same side with the LCD screen) don't work.

If the buttons are not working, some or all of the button sensors are fried. The entire button ribbon, the thin orange plastic piece directly underneath the function buttons, is one piece. There are no function button ribbons available for purchase, so you must accept that the button is stuck and continue use, or send the camera to Canon for repair.

The camera may have a bad flash bulb. The bulb has been worn out or damaged in some way. If this is the case, the bulb will need to be replaced.

Picture on the LCD screen is black or at all different than it should be. The camera still turns on and otherwise works as normal.

Check the internal connections of the LCD screen to other components of the camera. If re-connecting components does not fix the problem, the LCD likely needs to be replaced entirely.

Check to make sure there is no obstruction or problem in the lens. You can do this by taking a picture, viewing it on a computer, and comparing it to what the LCD screen shows. If both the picture and the LCD image are incorrect, the problem is with the lens and the lens assembly must be replaced.

Follow the process stated in the above "Bad Lens" section. If the picture is fine and only the LCD image is off, the screen must be replaced.

The camera lens assembly may be bent or misaligned slightly. If you had just solved an E18 issue, you might simply have to take lots of pictures at various distances, and turn the camera on and off. It might adjust itself after a little while.

The lens might be misaligned. This is likely to happen if the camera was dropped with the lens extended. If the lens was simply pushed out of alignment, you can try to gently work the lens around in circles while extended. If that doesn't help, then the assembly is indeed bent, and you'll likely have to replace the assembly entirely.

The screen displays the message "Memory Card Locked" or "Card Locked" and you can't write to, or read from, the SD Card.

Most SD memory cards have a colored switch on the side that "locks" the card. One direction should read "locked". Make sure the switch on the card you're using is in the opposite direction. If you can't tell for sure which direction is "unlocked", try both settings.

Try using other memory cards that you know work on other cameras. If the other cards work, your original card is defective.

The camera may be flipping the lock switch when you enter the card into its slot. Try unlocking the card, inserting it into the slot, then removing it. If it comes out locked then camera is flipping the switch. A simple fix for this is to just cover the entire switch with a piece of scotch tape. For a more long term fix, examine the card slot and find the piece of metal sticking out that is flipping the switch. Carefully push the metal towards the wall, leaving more room for the card.

If the card always comes out unlocked, then the problem is with the sensor in the card slot. Look down into the slot and identify the piece of copper-colored metal that protrudes out into the slot; this is the sensor. It can easily become stuck due to dust or lint, telling the camera that the card is always locked. Simply reach into slot and try move the sensor around to loosen it.