My Canon S2 IS works fine except the display will not provide picture viewing capability when I turn the camera on for picture taking. It will display photos from the memory card. The viewer is black for picture taking

WD-40 on a camera WOW ,,,,,ARE you ever lucky..

Hello,
Please do the followings.

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the memory card.
3. Remove the batteries.
4. Wait at least 3-5 minutes.
5. Place the memory card and batteries.
6. Turn on the camera in any mode except review mode.
7. Take any ordinary picture.
8. Change the camera mode to review.
9. What happened now. Is everything normal. if not please write a comment to explain the situation.

It sounds bad ccd imager chip in your Canon camera and ccd imager chip will be replaced to get live view in camera mode to take pictures.
Canon offers free of cost repair for few models with same problem, click Canon CCD Imager Advisory for details and ask Canon for free repair of your camera.
Thanks.

When the big LCD is black the view finder will turn on, right?
You need to replace a new hinge unit. Here is similar solution
How to fix an intermittent display LCD on Canon PowerShot S5IS

I have a similar problem with my Canon S3 IS. Dark/black LCD in Shooting mode. However, I can view my existing photos in Display mode. I was about to spend money to get a Panasonic TZ5. Somehow I bumped into a solution post for S2 IS. Here is the link:

http://www.fixya.com/support/t1090569-black_screen

I tried their solutions twice and it WORKS. My S3 is working fine now.

the camera is working , i did what the guy said with turning to tv and 15 and open battery top , it took 5no times working fine ,thanks very much its amazing and unbeleavable im stuck for words , thanks again regards jamie bow th

Piece of junk that took great pictures for 1 year and now shows a black screen. Do not buy any Canon products. We also have one of these pieces of junk at work, now displays a E 18 code. Appears Canon wants to make mucho dollars by producing ****.

Low battery power ? (rechargeables do not last forever).

Try a brand new set of batteries

It sounds like your shutter has become stuck closed. Normally the shutter stays open while you compose the pictures and then closes when you hit the button to take the picture allowing the image sensor to record what it saw at that moment. If it stays closed you will not see any image at all, but the normal icons and text on your camera's display will still show. The same symptoms can also be caused by a failed image sensor, although this is less common. Freeing a stuck shutter requires disassembly of the camera and lens assembly. Check with your manufacturer for recalls and/or warranty support. If they cannot help you for free there are repair providers online who can work on your camera. David Millier Advance Camera Repair

It sound like the lens mechanism was damaged during camera's drop. Only way (to my regret)is to sent it to be repaired in a professional lab.