I have noticed recently that the shutter release button on my canon 50d is kind of sticky at times . It's fine to press halfway to get the autofocus to work, but sometimes when I go to press it the rest of the way, nothing happens. It seems to be worse if I press more on the right side of it. I googled and found lots of mentions about dirt, dust, grime etc getting into the shutter release buttons on canon 30d, 40d, 50d. There was lots of info and Utube videos about pouring rubbing alcohol into the battery compartment of the camera (after removing the battery) and then letting it drip through the shutter release button as you push it repeatedly. I am a little nervous about putting a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol into my battery compartment of my camera body. Wondered if anyone has had this problem and tried the solution? Thanks
I've (thankfully) never had this problem with my 50D, and it's had a fairly hard life.
Rubbing alcohol is often used as a synonym for IPA (isopropyl alcohol) but is actually not the same thing. Rubbing alcohol contains primarily IPA, but also contains water, and often perfumes or other additives, all of which are bad for electronics. If you are going to attempt this, you should use pure IPA.
The risk is fairly minimal if you use pure IPA, and the chances are fairly high of success if the problem is caused by dirt -- IPA is very commonly used as a cleaner for electrical contacts, and is very effective at dissolving oils and glue. The other likely failure mode that would cause this problem would be a dry solder joint on one of the electrical connections of the button -- IPA will not improve this, but will not cause any further damage, either.
If attempting this, make sure you remove not only the main battery, but the backup cell battery (located in a sliding compartment in the main battery compartment). Note that by removing this battery, you will lose the custom camera settings, so make sure you have a note of any important ones. Also ensure that you allow plenty of time for the IPA to evaporate completely before replacing the batteries -- it should evaporate in a matter of minutes, but for peace of mind I'd wait at least 12 hours before putting the batteries back in. Also make sure you are in a well-ventilated area, and preferably wear protective gloves.
@abirkill Thanks for you detailed reply, Alexis. I just had a look at what I thought was IPA, but is in fact rubbing alcohol, so I won't try it with this. Will have to search out some pure IPA and then I'll give it a go. I'll let you know how I go. Thanks again.
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Rubbing alcohol is often used as a synonym for IPA (isopropyl alcohol) but is actually not the same thing. Rubbing alcohol contains primarily IPA, but also contains water, and often perfumes or other additives, all of which are bad for electronics. If you are going to attempt this, you should use pure IPA.
The risk is fairly minimal if you use pure IPA, and the chances are fairly high of success if the problem is caused by dirt -- IPA is very commonly used as a cleaner for electrical contacts, and is very effective at dissolving oils and glue. The other likely failure mode that would cause this problem would be a dry solder joint on one of the electrical connections of the button -- IPA will not improve this, but will not cause any further damage, either.
If attempting this, make sure you remove not only the main battery, but the backup cell battery (located in a sliding compartment in the main battery compartment). Note that by removing this battery, you will lose the custom camera settings, so make sure you have a note of any important ones. Also ensure that you allow plenty of time for the IPA to evaporate completely before replacing the batteries -- it should evaporate in a matter of minutes, but for peace of mind I'd wait at least 12 hours before putting the batteries back in. Also make sure you are in a well-ventilated area, and preferably wear protective gloves.