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:
I have a problem with Canon SD850 in zoom mode and low light. Outside in less than sunny weather, if...
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I have a problem with Canon SD850 in zoom mode and low light. Outside in less than sunny weather, if I zoom on a subject the LCD gets really dark (almost black) when I compose a picture. Picture will come out just like LCD.