The lens will not retract seems to be jammed. It requests that I turn the camera off and restart but to no avail.

The lens mechanism had probably got some dust, sand or grit jamming it and stopping it from retracting. Sadly the lens will be difficult to repair yourself as it needs to be completly stripped from the camera. Find a good repair shop and get a quote locally.

According to Sony, storing the camera lens-down in a warm area for an extended period (a week) can help re-lubricate the retractor drive in cases like this.

This camera seems to have a predisposition to lens retraction problems. Try some gentle nudging, Even a small piece of debris can jam the mechanism, so it might just need a little push or pull.

Lens has jammed. Usually becuae of a drop or because sand or grit has got into the mechanism. Only solution really is to get it professioanlly repaired.

Lens error is usually caused by mechanical faults concerning lens assembly. The lens cannot extend or retract fully, the error is detected and lens error is returned.
Sometimes this can be fixed playing with the lens during extraction or retraction to help the lens asset getting back to normal.
More often the camera lens must be disassembled and re-assembled by a technician to fix the problem.

When the lens will not retract and camera is not functional (no picture on display, and does not shoot) , and you already tried replacing batteries with a new fresh set (ensure please) , and then restarting camera with no memory card inside, then camera is faulty.

Try an easy fix by pushing gently the lens (do not force them, just help them) while you turn off camera at same time. Try also switching the mode selector.

If still no luck , then the camera must be disassembled to fix the problem.

Possible reasons are :

• Faulty lens mechanism or jammed lens (camera usually turns off by itself in this case)
• Main board faulty.
• Ribbon cable to main board broken or connector defective.
• If there is no power at all it is the connector from batteries to main board, this is also a ribbon cable.

If the camera is less than one year old will be replaced by manufacturer.

If your warranty is expired you can get an estimate for repair from manufacturer, or from a third party like Advance Camera here :Advance Camera Repair you can book the repair online.

I had the same problem. It was because the lens had just begun to retract and then jammed. I tried pushing back it in to no avail. I was considering it was time for a new camara anyway. Hoping to get a little more life out of it, with nothing to lose I was about to take it apart to see if I could clean out any obstruction as other posts had reccommended. Before I did that, I let my Mr. Goodwrench cousin take a look at it. Instead of trying to force the lens back in, he pulled it out. Apparently the slight play in the lens allowed him to do so and whatever was jamming the lens from retracting must have fallen out. Suddenly, the lens retracted and the camara is working fine. So before you throw the camara away or take it apart, try pulling out on the lens housing. You may also have to move it slightly back and forth while pulling out to get whatever is jamming the lens to move out and away releasing the lens to retract again.

Sorry to here that you can send it to a repair company like me for repair. cost about $120.00 plus shipping to fix.

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.

Here's some things that you can do to try to correct it. They only seem to work for about 50% of lens errors, but they're worth a try:

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

The original problem was a camera with jammed lens mechanism or faulty lens motor. I think the camera had been replaced.

The following post is directed to new users following up on this thread, as the original problem had already been sorted:

When the lens will not retract and camera is not functional (no picture on display, and does not shoot) , and you already tried replacing batteries with a new fresh set (ensure please) , and then restarting camera with no memory card inside, then camera is faulty.

Try an easy fix by pushing gently the lens (do not force them, just help them) while you turn off camera at same time. Try also switching the mode selector.

If still no luck , then the camera must be disassembled to fix the problem.

Possible reasons are :

• Faulty lens mechanism or jammed lens (camera usually turns off by itself in this case)
• Main board faulty.
• Ribbon cable to main board broken or connector defective.
• If there is no power at all it is the connector from batteries to main board, this is also a ribbon cable.

If the camera is less than one year old will be replaced by manufacturer.

If your warranty is expired you can get an estimate for repair from manufacturer, or from a third party like Advance Camera here :Advance Camera Repair you can book the repair online.

Since your camera should be still under warranty, best thing will be to conntact to the appropriate factory service center for correction of the problem. Good luck!