Seen as though this is quite important I better let you know just in case you missed it, which is unlikely as it’s been all over the place.

But better safe than sorry!

We have discovered that, in a very small number of PowerShot A530 and PowerShot A540 digital cameras, the area around the battery cover on the bottom of the camera may become hot. We would like to convey the details of this phenomenon and our service policy.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to customers who use these products. We spare no effort in our quality management to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence. We hope our efforts will earn your understanding.

Phenomenon
We have discovered that in cameras where the opening/closing spring on the inside of the battery cover (see images below) sticks out beyond its regular position, if a battery is put into these cameras and the battery cover is closed, it causes a short-circuit and the following phenomena occur:

1) The bottom of the camera becomes extremely hot near the battery cover.

2) Batteries that are loaded are depleted quickly.

3) The number of shots that can be taken becomes extremely small.

Affected Cameras
PowerShot A530, PowerShot A540 Digital Cameras

Please check the first two numbers from the left in the serial number listed on the bottom of the camera.

The serial number: Cameras with “21″, “22″, “23″, “24″, as the first two numbers from the left.

For cameras with the serial numbers listed above, please open the battery cover and check the hinge part.

Cameras in which the opening/closing spring sticks out like in the ones shown in the images below are affected by this malfunction.

After my problems with my own Canon Powershot A70 I have to say Canon consumer cameras don’t seem reliable at ALL.

I’ll have to think twice about the Canon Powershot A710 IS after all..

Source: Canon USA