Unfortunately I dropped my lumix camera today. The outer rim of the zoom part is a tiny bit dented. When I turn the camera on, the zoom tries to come out, hunts a little and then goes back in. The camera appears to be fine apart from the rim which I think may be rubbing on the side of the zoom. What can I do, does the outer rim come off? Thank you in advance, I am on holiday in India and devastated I can't take photos.

Does it say anything about the lever under zoom levers in your owner's manual?

Unfortunately, many cameras that fall prey to lens error problems can only be corrected by professional repair. But, here are some last resort troubleshooting steps that you can try 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 (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try.

Chances are you have sand or some sort of grit in the lens mechanism. Try blowing firmly but gently in or around the lens mechanism when it is extended, or use an antistatic photographic brush to gently brush off the outside of the lens. You may want to try a tiny bit of alcohol -- VERY tiny -- on the end of a dry, lint-free cloth as well.

It's likely that the spot is a speck of dust that has found its way inside the camera and onto the sensor. Apparently when the lens barrel extends after the camera is turned on a small amount of suction is generated - enough to pull tiny specks of debris inside. Please refer to the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nmwt0frZns

HI there, the camera lens gear is damaged from internal. So you must changed that. Other wise it gives you lot of trouble. Thanks.

Sounds like there is some issue with the lens mechanism. Most probably something like a grain of sand fell into the cogs in the zoom mechanism (been taking pictures on a beach? ;). Dirt gets into the mechanism through the gaps between the zoom barrels and the camera body. One tiny grain of sand is enough to cause the lens mechanism to jam or malfunction.
Unfortunately, this is a problem with pretty much all compact zoom cameras. Usually there is not much you can do with this. First thing I try in cases like these is gently tapping the camera to shift whatever might be blocking the mechanism. If unsuccessul, then only way I know to fix this is completely stripping the lens to clean it or swapping the lens with one taken from another camera ("donors" available on ebay ;).
If you are not keen on tinkering with your camera I would suggest selling it on ebay - TZ3s with lens mechanism issues still fetch pretty good prices.
Sorry if this is not much of a help, but unfortunately there is no easy fix to this one.
Good luck,
Raf

in this case it seems like the lens is dent and it will not gen inside, if you try to force it in it will be worst. . there is not really an easy way to fix it, you may need to send it to the manufacturer for repair. it will be from 40 up to 130 dollars. your camera is recent so i will recommend just send it back for repair o replacement. if it under warranty in some cases they let it slide and won't charge you more than the shipping cost. good luck
terry

Have you tried manually trying to pull out the part that is pushed in?

Unfortunately this is a repair issue with the camera. You may want to call Olympus Customer Service to discuss their repair policy and procedures. Their telephone number is 800-622-6372 option 2 and then option 3.

Dear I have the same problem with a DMC FX-55! A mess!! Any solution?