My G15 has quit – with the lens still extended. Says lens error

[diannavh]

My G15 has quit working – with the lens still extended.

When I push the on/off button it says “Lens error. Will shut down automatically. Restart camera.” But when I try to restart, I get the same error.

Now what?

[John_]

Not good...try removing the battery and holding the power switch in the on position for at least 30 seconds then replace battery, cross fingers and try it again.

You can also try to "jiggle" the lens lightly to try and free it up and look closely in the seamsin the lens for any debri that might have fallen in there to jam it up

Oh and one more thing check that your battery is charged up fully

[jrhoffman75]

Look also - does the lens appear "bent", like it was bumped and knocked crooked? If so, carefully try to move lens back in opposite direction of bend.

That happended to a friend's camera and he was able to snap it back into position and it worked fine after that. As John_ said, light pressure.

[diannavh]

Thanks for the suggestions. After reading yours and others, here's where it stands...

Everything I'm seeing/reading suggests that it's either the battery of dirt/sand/whatever in the lens. Changed the battery to one that's fully charged – no difference, even after doing that several times with different batteries and even plugging it in.

Haven't had it in sandy/dirty/whatever conditions, but some suggeted it could be dirt from the case (which hardly anyone ever cleans). But that's still always a possibility. So I turned it lens down and gently ran the edge of a piece of paper all the way round where the two lense pieces meet. One post said not to push it in too far, so I kept it no more than 1/2 inch.

Didn't make any difference the first time; but when I did it again a little later (trying anything, you know), the lens finally retracted and now it seems to work fine.

I've never had any problems with my Canon cameras and I love this little fella – so I'm glad to have it back. Will certainly be cleaning the case. And researching the recall that someone mentioned. And carrying another photo option whenever it's important to be able to take photos and video.