Fixing a Lens Error Stuck or Jammed Lens on a Digital Camera Do It Yourself Digital Camera RepairLast Update 1. February, 2. 01. 4 If this information helps you, please pay it forward, and share this article with others who may be experiencing the same problem. Your help in sharing will be appreciated, and karma will prevail This has to be THE most common failure mode for a digital camera, a stuck lens, jammed lens, or a malfunctioning lens. Some common error messages that might show up on the LCDs of cameras with this problem include E1. Canon Powershot, ACCESS error Sony Cybershot, Zoom Error Fuji Finepix, Lens Obstructed Kodak Easyshare, lens error, restart camera or just lens error Nikon Coolpix and some other camera makers lately are using this variation. Some cameras might show nothing at all, but merely make a beeping noise as the lens goes out, then in, then the camera shuts off. Radio Shack Products by Part Number. Below is a list of all the Radio Shack products, derived from Radio Shacks website. Windows Serial Console Program Java. The list is sorted by Radio Shacks SKU or. The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually its sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the cameras. List of USB IDs Maintained by Stephen J. Gowdy If you have any new entries, send them to the maintainer. Send entries as patches diff u old new. Lists of hospitals in each United States, state and district A Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, arkansas C California, Colorado, Connecticut. Sometimes the lens wont even move. The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually its sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the cameras 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. Believe it or not, one BIG contributor to lens errors is using a camera case. Download the free trial version below to get started. Doubleclick the downloaded file to install the software. List of USB IDs Maintained by Stephen J. Gowdy If you have any new entries, please submit them via http or send. Sand, gunk, case fibers, etc. These materials love to cling to the camera by electrostatic build up from the camera rubbing against the side of the case especially those cases with soft fibrous intreriors. Once these materials work their way into the lens mechanism, thats all she wrote. I have many Canons, and NEVER use a case for this very reason. Note that this problem applies to ALL cameras with telescopic lens barrel optical zoom. Digimax 5050 T User Manual' title='Digimax 5050 T User Manual' />With Samsungs release of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, Im really curious to see if this will also be a issueproblem with this camera phone and other phones with optical zoom. I predict on June 1. If it occurs, Fix 5a would likely be the best technique to correct this problem. A camera owner that suffers this problem may have no recourse for having the camera repaired. Many camera makers will not honor repairing this problem under warranty as they claim it is due to impact damage to the camera, or sand or debris getting into the lens gearing mechanism neither of which is covered under warranty. The quoted repair cost is usually close to or more than what the camera is actually worth. Fortunately, about half the cameras that suffer this failure can easily be fixed by one of the following methods. None of these methods involve opening the camera, although some have potential to cause other damage to the camera if excessively done. If the camera is still under warranty, before trying any of these, please please first contact your cameras maker to see if theyll cover the repair, or to determine how much theyll charge for the repair. Who knows, you might get lucky. But if they quote you a number thats higher than the value of your camera, you may want to consider the following methods. First heres a video summary of most of these fixes, and following that a detailed text description of the fixes. Recommend reading the text first along with the readers comments and tips section as these provide additional tips for situations that the video does not. For example, the video focuses on repair fixes for a camera that does not have obvious damage to the lens barrel such as from a fall. Thus it does not cover straightening the lens barrel if it is crooked, which the text does. Use the video primarily for further clarification on how to conduct these fixes if you have questions. Video Summary Fixes 1 through 7. Erlang Write Term To File'>Erlang Write Term To File. The methods are listed in the order of risk of damaging your camera. Thus make sure you try them in the listed order. And remember, these fixes especially 6 and 7 should only be considered for a camera thats out of warranty, whos cost of repair would be excessive, and would otherwise be considered for disposal if unrepaired Fix 1 Remove the batteries from the camera, wait a few minutes. Put a fresh set of batteries back in preferably rechargeable Ni. MH 2. 50. 0mah or better and turn the camera on. If using rechargeables, and theyre more than a year old, consider purchasing new rechargeable batteries as they may not be providing sufficient power to startup the camera. Fix 1a If new batteries didnt work, try pressing and holding the Menu, Function, Function Set, or OK button while turning the camera on. This along with Fix 1c and 2 sometimes work for lens errors that occur from batteries wearing down while the lens was extended. Fix 1c For those of you who can still access your cameras menus with this error, try finding and selecting the factory reset option to set your camera back to its original factory condition. On some Canon cameras, this requires holding the menu button down with the camera powered on for up to 1. However note that a lens error might sometimes override the reset option, and thus the option might not appear. Fix 2 If the cameras batteries ran down completely while its lens was still open, the camera may show a lens error or not start properly when new batteries are installed. Remove the memory card and keep it removed, then install the new batteries. When you turn the camera on with the card removed it may come back to life, as this triggers a reset in some cameras. Error E3. 0 for older Canons means that you dont have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the SD card and turn it on one last time. Fix 3 Insert the cameras AudioVideo AV cable, and turn the camera on. Inserting this cable ensures that the cameras LCD screen remains off during the start process. Thus extra battery power is available to the cameras lens motor during startup. This extra power can be useful in overcoming grit or sand particals that may be jamming the lens. If the AV cable doesnt fix the lens error by itself, consider keeping this cable installed while trying fixes 4, 5, and 7 as a means to provide extra power to help to these fixes. But note that I DONT recommend keeping the cable installed during Fix 6 as you may damage the AV port while tapping the camera. Reinsert the cable only AFTER tapping the camera. Fix 4 Place the camera flat on its back on a table, pointed at the ceiling. Press and hold the shutter button down, and at the same time press the power on button. The idea is that the camera will try to autofocus while the lens is extending, hopefully seating the lens barrel guide pins back into their slots. Fix 5 Blow compressed air in the gaps around the lens barrels with the idea of blowing out any sand or grit that may be in there jamming the lens. Other variations include blowing with a hair dryer in no heat setting, or sucking the gaps with a vacuum careful with this one. Some people also have actually used a Shop Vac with this fix to help extend a retracted lens. Now were entering into the realm of potentially damaging your camera in conducting the fix. There is definitely some risk here, so take care when conducting the following fixes Fix 5a If you actually do notice sand particles stuck in the gaps around the lens barrel, and blowing air does not help to dislodge them, consider using a thin piece of paper or a sewing needle to help dislodge them. Pay particular care not to scratch your lens barrel with the needle.