Taking apart a Canon PowerShot A75
Barry was kind enough to leave me his broken Canon Powershot A75 and i decided to take it apart and have a look at what is inside a typical point-and-shoot camera. Below is some photographs i took documenting the process, together with some comments and descriptions of the parts pictured.
This is the camera before i started to take it apart.
Just managed to pry it open.
This is how the back of the camera looks without its cover.
The LCD screen is made by Sony. Sony owns most of the camera LCD market…
The capacitor that stores energy to power the flash.
Viewfinder lens and the two LEDs next to it that show camera status.
Shutter button assembly.
The underside…
The front of the camera minus its cover.
The plastic cover. Notice the rubber ring that provides a seal against the lens assembly to keep dust out.
The mode dial for the different modes of the camera.
The underside of the mode dial. It’s surprisingly simple. Only 4 contact points to allow for switching to the whole myraid of modes.
The patterned contact point where the mode dial meets the circuit board on the camera. Each turn of the mode dial provides a unique combination of contacts with it so the camera knows what mode you want it to be in without using some tricky mechanism. Such wonderful simplicity…
Prying deeper into the insides…
The two status light LEDs (red and green).
The Sony LCD screen. All the information required for the LCD to display an image is sent through just that tiny flat piece of plastic with embedded wires.
Flash assembly: Bulb, capacitor and microcontroller. I accidentally shorted out the contacts of the capacitor and created a huge spark. Forgot that there might be remaining charge in the capacitor. Should have discharged it before I touched it…
The main circuit board of the camera, with a protective metal shield over it. Still trying to figure out what they’re shield that bit from (EM interference?). It’s soldered onto the board so i cant remove it yet until actually get the motivation to whip out my soldering iron…haha…
A dark piece of plastic used to shield the sensor of the camera from light leakage.
The dark piece of plastic removed from the camera. Notice how it completely absorbed all the light from my flash. Quite cool eh? I haven’t seen such a thin piece of plastic that’s completely opaque before.
Various bits removed from the main chasis of the camera. Left is the viewfinder + lens assembly. Battery compartment on the right.
Front of the lens assembly with the viewfinder. I couldn’t open the lens assembly. The tiny screws were screwed on so tightly! I guess they didn’t really one anyone peeking in on their secrets…and they wanted to keep dust and dirt out from the inside of the lens assembly.
Battery compartment and flash assembly. The battery is directly linked to the flash assembly.
The lens auto-focus motor. Sticky tape is used here. Not sure why but it goes to prove that sticky tape holds the world together…haha…
Interesting screw-assembly used to turn something (auto-focus?). More sticky tape too.
Viewfinder assembly. It has a bend in the middle so there are probably two mirrors inside to direct the light just like a periscope. Probably done so that the input side is placed directly centered over the lens while still allowing a more natural positioning of our eye on the viewfinder.
Lens assembly with the spring stretched out. I think it’s used to hold the lens cover in place.
A microchip made by NEC.
Microchip made by Sony.
Okay that’s all I have for now…If possible, I’ll try to take apart the lens assembly and look inside in the near future. I really enjoyed taking apart the camera and taking pictures of its insides. Hope you guys enjoyed finding out what the inside of a camera looks like as much as I did. In 2 years’ time, i’ll probably be able to figure out what most of the components do…haha…
Sidenote: If anyone has any broken electronics lying around, I would love to get the opportunity to take it apart and post pictures of it up here. Drop me a note if you’re interested in donating anything. Thanks!
Coming up next: I’ll be taking apart a Discman and checking out how it works inside…
Thanks for posting this stuff. My brother just broke the shutter button/zoom switch on my a75 and I’m a bit daunted by the prospect of taking it apart. Now I have more clues about the procedure. I’m still trying to find a spares place which has the part in stock. I might have to buy an old spares/repair camera and butcher that!
Thanks for the useful stuff.Do you know where can I find a shutter (tact or tactile switch) inside?
Anyone know how to use the lcd for other gadget? I did crack open my own broken the A75 and unlucky to find the wiring diagram for the lcd
Did you try taking the lens appart? Also how was the lens attached to the rest of the camera? would it be necessary to take it all appart to get the lens out?