G11 internal flash strange issue

[vixtor]

As this is the holiday season, I will have to wait until January to consult a service, so I will try to ask here first. My G11 exhibits a very strange behaviour, which I only fully understood during today's dive.

A few days ago I have noticed that the flash button was not working anymore (not doing anything). After playing through menus, I have also noticed that all the flash related settings, everywhere, were greyed out (unavailable), as if the camera was thinking that the flash is not available at all. It was not a software issue, as everything that I have did didn't solve this issue. This happened at surface. Hard to tell when it really started, as I haven't used the camera for some time, but anyway the last dive with the camera was in September and I don't remember if I have used the flash since then or not.

Today I have made a dive and have noticed by mistake (trying to press the macro button with 5mm gloves) that the flash button was working. The flash itself was functioning correctly, all settings were again available in the menus. When I have reached the depth of 4 meters the flash disappeared again from the menus, and the flash button didn't work. Descending again to ~5 meters, everything worked properly.

Now, officially the inside of the housing (the original Canon version) stays at 1atm, so it should not be influenced by the pressure in any way. But obviously the pressure does something to the camera, as the flash works only at over 1.4ata. At less than 1.4 ata or outside the housing it doesn't work at all. My only guess is that the housing - pushes somehow on the camera, fixing a contact issue or something, but I cannot reproduce it on the surface. The housing doesn't leak, so I guess the internal pressure really remains 1.

Has anybody ever noticed a similar problem with a camera?

 

[Jax]

How does the camera work out of the housing? Same issue?

The pressure *does* work on the buttons.

If you have a stuck button, for example, the pressure may cause it to cycle once you get deeper. Again, how does it work outside of the housing?

 

[vixtor]

Outside of the housing the flash, at surface, doesn't work and the flash settings are not available in the menus. As I said, I don't have a chamber into which to pressure me&the camera without the housing, for testing purposes.

I don't really think a button is the cause because when I have noticed the flash to be working again, I have tested all buttons, and all were acting correctly (doing their job). If one button was pressed, that one would not have worked I guess.