Canon Powershot A650 IS recalled

All stocks of the Canon Powershot A650 IS are being recalled thanks to a production fault that makes the camera susceptible to bright light. If extremely bright light shines on the LCD screen on the back of the camera, the light can leak inside and hit the CCD, affecting the image.

Shammi Shah of Canon told ePHOTOzine that "the problem has now been corrected and all future cameras will be okay. We are issuing a recall and all consumers who have bought an A650 should return their camera to Canon."

Anyone who has bought an A650 is requested to return the camera directly to Canon, rather than where they bought it. Details of where and how to return it will be published on the Canon UK website here.

The issue of light pollution also affects most DSLRs, where light entering the optical viewfinder on the back of the camera, finds it's way inside and significantly affects the metering. When we testing the new Canon EOS 40D, this was the case. Unless the viewfinder was shielded, light would enter and result in an incorrect meter reading - not usually a problem but in macro photography where the photographer might focus and then simply stand back and trigger the shutter release, it would affect the metering.