Fixing a cracked LCD on a Canon Powershot Elph. SD600 ( SD750,SD1000,SD1100)

Note: if you are replacing the Backlight please see read the instructions submitted by a reader at the bottom of this post.

Hello future LCD replacers. I hope it goes well. This process seems scary and is made even more scary by voiding the warenty. But it is cheap and fairly easy, so give it a shot. I hope these photos and tips will help. These photos are of a SD600 but they may well be good for most similar Canon digital cameras.See the comments linked from the bottom of the page for some additional tips and encouragement. I try to add them in as the come but they might be worth checking out. And for those of you who have commented THANK YOU I appreciate the kind words.
Diagnosis: First determine that a cracked LCD is the problem. Here this is very clearly the case. The backlight is still functioning. This can be seen because a bright white light is still coming through but images are not present. If the display is completely black the problem may be the backlight and not the LCD. Replacing the backlight is very similar but not shown here.

Finding the parts: To order a new LCD for the Cannon SD600 you need to find out which of two different screens are in your camera. I found this out by calling the Canons Eastern USA suplier. 732-521-7007. They will sell you a new screen for about $50 including shipping once you know which screen you need.

step 0: take out the battery and memory card (thanks 4salmon I forgot to write this step down)

First remove the six exterior screws shown below. Two on the left, two on the right and two on the bottom(shown with one already removed).

Next gently remove the casing. It should come off in four pieces. A front, back and right panel and a small circular piece that is inset in the right panel.

Once the back panel is removed you can tell which LCD screen is needed. You are looking for the presence or absence of the word "SONY" on the left side of the metal rim around the LCD screen. When ordering the part tell them which one you have.

You can now order the correct part.(732-521-7007 in the US)To continue removing the LCD screen take out the screw in the upper right hand corner above the LCD screen.


Once the screw is removed gently slide the the screen to the left. Lightly lifting the piece of clear plastic next to the screw hole might be necessary.

Now you should be able to lift the LCD screen while it is still attached to the backlight. Two ribbon cables come out from them. The thicker is for the LCD screen and the thinner is for the backlight. The thicker is attached to the back of the backlight with adhesive.

Gently pry the LCD screen away from the backlight. You may need to use a small flat head screw driver.

Between the screen and backlight there is a a thin plastic sheet.

After separating the the LCD from the backlight peel the thick cable off of the back of the backlight. There is no need to clean off the remaining adhesive it will be useful with the new LCD cable.Next flip the the camera over and pull out the thick ribbon cable from its socket. Now tape a strip of paper to the end of the cable (props to this website for this great idea). This will allow you to easily thread the new cable.(UPDATE: It may be easier to do this by removing the tripod piece instead of threading it with paper. See Jamie's comment. I would love to know how this works for people as I would rather not take mine apart again just to look. 1/28/08: This has been confirmed.)

Now pull the ribbon through leaving the paper in the place where the ribbon was.

Cut the paper and discard the old LCD screen.Press the new LCD screen on to the backlight until it clicks into place.Now tape the ribbon for the new LCD screen to the paper and pull the paper through


Carefully pull the new ribbon through. Press the ribbon against that back of the backlight, it should stick to the old adhesive.Slide the backlight and LCD into their old position (from the left to the right). Now replace the screw in the upper right hand corner.

Now remove the paper from the ribbon and attach plug the ribbon cable into its socket. Make sure to push it in deep. I did this by putting a small screwdriver into each of the two small holes on the side of the ribbon and pushing the ribbon into the socket.

Once the cable is plugged in all that remains is to reassemble the case and replace the six screws of the exterior case. It is easiest to put them on in the order: Back, right and than front. When putting on the back panal make sure the switch on the panal is in the same position as the switch on the camera.

I had a problem that once the new screen was in place it showed a black screen in camera mode. I fixed this by holding down the menu key, turning it on and off and reseting the menu options. I am not sure which one is correct so try one at a time and tell me which one worked.(UPDATE Anonymous posted:To get the LCD to display in "camera mode" go to settings and do a "Reset All..."This should take care of the LCD being blank in camera mode.)

Replacing a cracked Canon IXUS 55 / IXY 60 / SD450 LCD screen

Here’s a step by step guide on replacing the LCD screen on a Canon IXUS camera. Whilst, the model shown here the IXUS 55, it is fairly similar for other IXUS models.

The cheapest LCD I have found online is through The Foto Geeks for $55, however you can actually buy a cheaper whole (working) camera from eBay, and usually accessories are included with it. Note to make sure it is only the LCD which is cracked and not the backlight, in order to get the correct replacement parts.

My poor camera with cracked LCD screen:

Tools required:

small Philips head screwdriver
small flat head screwdriver

First remove the 6 Philips screws on the edges of the metal case, location defined by the arrows in the photo below:

Remove the front half of the metal case by starting at the camera’s base, at the top there is a metal clip which connects the front and back halves. Removing the front half free form this clip requires a bit of manipulating . The clip is circled in the photo below:

Once the front half of the metal housing is removed, the back half can be removed extremely easily. You will be presented with the LCD screen, remove the single Philips screw which holds the LCD in place as per the photo below:

Slide the LCD screen to the left, and this will release the screen from a little clip. Once the screen is free, remove a Philips screen holding the tripod mount is place:

Turn the camera over, and remove the front screw which holds the tripod mount. You can then remove the tripod mount which will allow the removal of the main LCD ribbon cable. The ribbon cable is disconnected by lifting up the brown tab on the connector:

Once the main ribbon cable is removed, the backlight’s ribbon cable can then be accessed easier. It is removed by simply pulling the cable away from the socket perpendicular to the PCB:

The LCD can now be removed from the camera. The below photo is the replacement LCD screen:

To connect the replacement LCD and reassemble the camera, perform the above instructions in reverse. It is a good idea to test the replacement LCD before assembling, to make sure everything works fine.

How To Replace a Broken LCD Canon Powershot SD400

So, I abused the hell out of my camera. It rode in my back pocket as I stumbled through the last few months and I ended up smashing the screen on my Canon SD400 (sometimes known as the IXUS 50.) It was not the camera it once was. Note the dents, scratches and the fact that all the coloring around the optics is gone. Despite broken screen, I’m pretty happy with the amount of abuse it absorbed. The camera still worked and took pictures despite not having a working screen, but the optical viewfinder was all clogged with dirt and I was attempting to navigate the menus from memory and without feedback. It sucked.

This was sad, so I started googling for the possibility of a user replaceable screen and while what I found certainly voids the warranty faster than throwing the camera under the wheels of a moving van, it worked. Nuts to you warranty.Andy Ozment has a nice (if google adword covered) multi-model write-up about repairing the screens, but no pictures. I *guess* this is an understandable side-effect of writing a guide on repairing a camera, many people might find it tough to photograph the repair while trying to repair the object that would be used to take photographs. I am not one of those people. Oh, now is as good a time as any I guess:

Perform at your own risk. This shit WILL void your warranty, oh god don’t sue me

Here we go.
I got a new screen from Foto Geeks it came in a silly little box and seemed tiny for costing 65bux.

From reading on the internet I took a guess that my backlight was *NOT* broken, the chief indicator of its well being was the glow it gave off through the shattered screen, this is good. I don’t know where you can order a new backlight, but I’m pretty sure you could replace it in nearly the same method I use here

I used two Craftsman Professional screwdrivers, a flat head 3/32×2-1/2, and a philips 00×2-1/2. I love these screwdrivers ’cause I’m pretty sure you could prison stab someone with them and my Dad gave them to me. (thanks Dad)

You’ll also need Scotch Tape, a Post-it note and scissors.

First, remove the battery and memory card, I guess you should also be worried about static discharge frying the camera, but I did this repair whilst wearing socks on the carpet, I think you’ll be fine. I’m fairly sure that static electricity doesn’t really exist.
Here’s the unboxed replacement SD400 LCD screen. I tried to keep the new screen as dust free as possible so as not to trap any crud under it during installation. Determining the orientation is going to be important later, so notice that the screen has two distinct sides.

There are six screws on the exterior of the camera, REMOVE THEM!

When all the screws are out, pull the two overlapping halves of the camera apart, being careful as it is possible to bend the metal.

Parts that will fall out:
Silvery plastic circle thing.
Rectangular silver mount for the wrist strap
Buttons

I did a powerup here to check that I hadn’t messed anything up at this point, and ’cause I didn’t have a picture of the screen in all it’s glory.This may have been a shock risk or just stupid, I don’t know.

At this point I installed an InvisibleSHIELD on the new screen while it was still outside the camera

Removal of screw number 7, this screw is a different size than the others, so don’t get it mixed up.

This is one of the hardest parts of the whole procedure. The backlight and LCD are held together with a series of metal clips that have to be freed before you can replace the screen. I used a small flat head screwdriver to wedge in between the two and try to get the claps undone. This is also the part I have the worst pictures of. The goal is not to get the LCD off right now; it’s just to get it detached from the backlight.

When it comes loose, you’re going to want to slide it to the left before you lift it up like the pictures shows. There’s a few little catches that you don’t want to break off, but sliding the screen out a little bit before lifting should avoid this.

Flip the camera over and using the screwdriver, lift up the small black plastic gate holding the ribbon cable in, and pull it out.

Now comes the really unpleasant part. The ribbon cable is threaded through the internals of the camera, if you pull it free, it’ll be very hard to get the new cable back through. That’s where the tape and Post-its come in; you can use them to make yourself a little retrieval cable and pull both the ribbon cable and the post-it through. You can then use that same bit of paper to guide the new ribbon back through.Make sure that the new screen is going on in the same orientation as the old one; there likely won’t be room to turn the ribbon over when you get it threaded.

Here’s the old screen with retrieval post-it attached and ready to go

Now the old screen, ribbon, and post-it have been pulled through.

Transfer of the post-it from the old screen to the new one, with the new screen in the correct orientation

Threading of the new ribbon through the cameras internals, this would be quite hard without the post-it already in place as the path inside the camera goes up and down. Also consider applying tape to both sides of the ribbon/post-it interface to make sure nothing gets snagged inside the camera.

When you have the ribbon cable back through, reseat it very deeply into the channel and lock the gate back down. Then give the camera a power on:

Counter-Terrorists WIN!

Put it back together and do a little dance, that wasn’t so bad.

How To Replace a Broken LCD Casio EX-S500 / Casio EX-S600

If you have a damaged LCD follow the steps below to repair this problem.
Step 1: Make sure that the LCD is what is the problem and that by fixing this the camera will be like new again. The best way to do this is to take the A/V cable that came with the camera and plug it into the camera and TV (A/V slot on camera found by the USB cable)

Step 2: Unscrew housing, keeping track of the screws. You should have a total of six (6) screws (4 from the bottom and 1 on each side). You should also have where the wrist strap attaches (that comes off).

Step 3: Remove the housing and then remove the battery cover by removing the screw shown below (now total of 7 screws)

Step 4: Seperate the LCD from the Backlight and both from the body of the camera. They can be removed by taking a small flathead screwdriver and prying gently (note: there is a little glue holding the backlight onto the body of the camera). Fold down the LCD unit.

Step 5: Turn the camera over and remove the screw on the main circuit board of the camera (now total of 8 screws)

Step 6: Remove the ribbons attach the lens to the main circuit

Step 7: Pass the ribbon of the LCD and the blacklight so that they are fully on the front side of the camera (DO NOT PULL ON THE WIRES FOR THE BACKLIGHT).

Step 8: Flip over the main circuit board so you can see where the LCD ribbon attaches (it will be on the same side that the SD card is inserted)

Step 9: Now get the new LCD. (information on how to get a new LCD can be found on the repair shop link).

Step 10: Attach the LCD ribbon to the camera. Make sure it is FULLY inserted.

Step 11: Reverse the steps, being sure to fully insert the ribbons for the lens and putting back all the parts in the correct order. There is nothing worse than finishing and seeing a small part or screw that belongs on the inside of the camera still on your work station.

Step 12: Replace the housing. Use a microfiber cloth to wipe off any finger prints that may be on the new LCD, or on the inside of the plastic covering the LCD. They will show after the unit is closed and you will not be able to get rid of them without re-opening the unit

Step 13: Insert the battery and test to see if the LCD unit works. \

Congratulations, you did it!!!!

Didn't work? - If you only see white, this means that there is either a problem with the LCD unit you inserted, or that you failed to insert the ribbon fully. If you see an image, but is dark, then the backlight power was removed. You can repair this with a steady hand and some solder, or bring it to a jeweler who has the correct materials and know how, or bring it to a repair shop, but if you were willing to do that you wouldn't be here in the first place. If the camera doesn't power on, then you may have shorted a circuit, and failed to take the proper precautions as mentoined here.