Canon announces service advisory for PowerShot A650 IS

Canon has announced a service advisory for the PowerShot A650 IS, the company's 12-megapixel PowerShot A-series camera. According to Canon, the camera's pivoting, rotating LCD screen exposes the back of the camera and may light leak through when shooting in bright sunlight.

This issue doesn't ruin the camera, it only potentially causes image problems when taking photos in bright light with the screen open. You can still use it with the LCD screen folded against the camera body and facing outward. Still, one of the A650's nicest features is the flip-out LCD, and not being able to use it seems like a waste. Canon says the flaw is specific to A650 IS cameras with serial numbers that contain a zero in the fifth digit (xxxx0xxxxx). Even with those serial numbers, the camera might not have the problem if it features a specific mark inside the battery cover:

If you have an A650 with an eligible serial number and it doesn't have that mark, Canon will repair your camera gratis. For more information, read Canon's full service advisory, or contact Canon's customer service center at 1-800-828-4040 or carecenter@cits.canon.com.