Help me jerry-rig my camera back to life

October 29, 2017 9:46 AM

I got a pretty good deal on a FujiFilm S4430 a few years ago. It takes great pictures. Recently the bottom cover where the batteries and disk are housed broke.

The cover slipped on with a tiny knob that fit into the camera. I figure the knob is what broke off. Sure, it's cheap plastic, but I keep thinking there is a way to repair it rather than buy a whole new camera.The cover has to be flush with battery/receptacle for the battery charge to take.

Ideas (besides buying a new camera, I'm not quite ready to do that)?

posted by intrepid_simpleton to Technology (6 answers total)

Not a good solution, but when the battery cover of my camera broke off, I used a piece of gorilla tape to tape it back in place. Gorilla tape is strong and reusable enough that I was able to use a single piece for months.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:57 AM on October 29, 2017 [2 favorites]

I like the Gorilla tape idea a lot, and that is what I'd probably do. I think I have, in fact, because battery covers are always the first thing to break.

Alternate ideas, although I don't have a really clear picture of the problem in my head, so I dunno if they'd all apply:

Try Sugru or something similar to recreate the broken piece
Find someone with a 3D printer to make a whole new one
Look around thrift stores or post on Craigslist asking for cheap and/or broken compatible models to use for parts.

You can also buy replacement parts on Ebay, but I'm not seeing one for your model right now.
posted by ernielundquist at 10:08 AM on October 29, 2017

You might see if Fujifilm carries them. I couldn't find one, but if you call they might have it.
posted by Slinga at 11:26 AM on October 29, 2017 [1 favorite]

Assuming the battery cover looks like the one I saw in this eBay listing for the camera, I'm going to throw in with those saying to tape it up. There's an internal latch mechanism on that type of battery cover so I'm doubting that you'd be able to craft a suitable replacement with Sugru or 3D printing. It might be possible (though probably unlikely) that the latch itself might be repairable, or that getting a replacement from FujiFilm would work, but without seeing your specific battery cover, I can't give any suggestions there.
posted by Aleyn at 1:14 PM on October 29, 2017

Another option might be to epoxy a small steel plate (non-stainless, ideally with a weatherproof coating such as zinc or thin plastic so it doesn't rust) next to the cover. This could be either a washer or a thin shim which can be cut with scissors. Then glue a high strength rare earth magnet to the cover, with appropriate spacers, such that it overhangs the plate and makes contact when the cover closes. With a bit of care, you can probably find an option that opens only when you want it to. (It might be worth taking some photos with the magnet in place before adding glue, just in case it interferes with something mechanical in the camera.)

There's also the option of using industrial hook-and-loop (velcro) strap in place of tape. Since you're connecting things side-by-side rather than face-to-face, getting stuff without an adhesive backing and epoxying it in place is probably the less sticky option.
posted by eotvos at 1:25 PM on October 29, 2017

Oh, eotvos got me thinking, if you don't use the tripod mount, you could use it to secure something rigid (like a steel plate or something) to the bottom of the camera that extends far enough to cover the battery cover.
posted by Aleyn at 11:11 PM on October 29, 2017 [1 favorite]