Lens wont move and camera wont power up

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...
Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try that may (or may not) correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try. Some of the later steps do involve some risk to the camera, so carefully weigh your options before deciding to conduct them.

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...
Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try that may (or may not) correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try. Some of the later steps do involve some risk to the camera, so carefully weigh your options before deciding to conduct them.

Hi,

Send the camera back, it's obviously faulty by what you have explained.
It should be under the manufacturers warranty so there will be no repair costs.


Regards.

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ... Unfortunately, many cameras that fall prey to this can only be corrected by professional repair. But, here are some things that you can do that may correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try:

Most likely the lens has been knocked out of alignment.There are some things you can try but beware.
If your camera is still under warranty, the best thing you can do is to take it to the nearest official repair shop and they should fix it for free.
If your camera is out of warranty, or if the manufacturer refuses to repair it for free (happens sometimes if for example they suspect the camera has not been treated properly) you can try the following methods to repair it yourself.
First, make sure your camera has fresh batteries and it is in recording mode.
Remove the batteries from the camera, wait for a couple of minutes, then put them back in and turn the camera on.
Try compressed air. With a fine tip blow off gun and dry compressed air (20 lbs) set the tip between the lens turret and the camera body and turn on the air while moving the tip around the lens. It should remove all dust and sand. Turn the camera on and it should function fine.
Another method is to tap the padded USB cover part on a hard surface, for example, a desk. Sounds simple, but it works.
Try forcing the camera lens. Turn off the camera. Place it on the back with the lens facing up and take a look at the spacing between the lens and the lens housing. If you notice that the gap is not even all the way around the lens, the problem should be easy to fix. This type of a problem usually occurs if the camera was dropped while the lens was extended. Simply - VERY GENTLY - press down the lens on the side where the gap is the biggest. You should hear a "click" as it pops back into place. Try powering the camera back on.
If the lens doesn't extend at all or it extends, and then retracts again, do the following. Turn the camera off. Take the camera in one hand and with the other gently take one part of the lens and gently move it round in a circular movement. Do so with both sections of the lens. You will hear a "click" as it pops back in place. Power the camera on.
Another version of this fix would be to pull and twist on the largest ring of the lens while turning the camera on. Listen for a "click". If at first the focus seems to be off, turn the camera on and off and take lots of pictures, close ups and distance. Focus should slowly start improving.

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...

Here's some things that you can do to try to correct it. They only seem to work for less than 50% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...

Here's some things that you can do to try to correct it. They only seem to work for less than 50% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

Lens errors are fairly common. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended ...

Here's some things that you can do to try to correct it. They only seem to work for less than 50% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

I like Google. In an attempt to find a solution for this same problem, I stumbled upon this site. Seeing as this was posted months ago, I'm not sure if this will be checked again, but it can't hurt to have a suggestion, just in case it turns out to be right. Without opening the camera for sure, what I can tell is that the lens extends and retracts by rotating. Essentially, the lens is a series of threaded cylinders that, when turned one way, move outwards, and when turned the other way, move inwards. What you're describing, especially the bit about the clicking, sounds like this threaded bit of the lens casing has come either off-track, or snapped, or something to that effect. I would suggest (if you're feeling secure in your abilities) taking the device apart and getting a good idea of exactly how the lens retracts and extends. Once you've determined this, you may simply be able to reason what would stop it from moving. I can almost guarantee that if the lens is designed to extend upon power-up and retract upon power-down, then an attempted power-up would be aborted if the lens can not extend. I might be losing the focus a tiny bit, but the idea is that essentially the lens will not screw in or out because it's either jammed, or cracked, or just off its track somehow. This can easily happen if the camera is dropped or jostled just hard enough. So my solution, if you can consider it that, is to disassemble the camera to see whether the threads are just off-track, or if there's some sort of mechanical breakage inside. If it's the former, then it may be as simple as realigning the threads. If it's the latter, the cheapest solution would be to find another of the same camera on eBay that is broken in a different fashion, then use the part(s) that you need to get yours working again. I hope this helps someone!

You could also have a battery problem. If the battery is weak, it may not extend the lens. But other things could appear to work. It takes a lot of power to extend the lens. Your docking station recharges the batteries on that camera. There has been one report (on this forum) of a Kodak camera having batteries that would not charge due to a bent/missing pin in the connector that mates with the docking station. ......... Some people have reported that a small slap on the side of a camera can jar loose a stuck lens. But don't get slap happy and damage the camera. ......... Some people have reported that they could grasp the lens and pull gently when powering-on a camera to help it extend. Again, don't over-do it. .......... Disassembling a camera would be a last resort and likely to cause more damage.