I dropped my camera last night and now the lens won't close. I was able to get the pictures off the camera, but now when I turn it on it flashes the message, "Turn camera off and then back on." Is this fixable?

If these are flash pictures, you are experiencing dust particles in the air reflecting the flash back into the camera lens. This is a problem with point and shoot cameras because the flash is so close to the lens.

If these spots are in different places on each picture, then they are actually reflections of dust particles in the air from the flash being so close to the lens. If they are in the same place on each picture, then they are indeed water spots on the lens.

Nikon D80 and D90 have that problem especialy with 18 105 kit lenses. You just need to lean the contact between camera body and len. Thry rubing with pencil eraser, but be careful not tu drop any inside of body. Do it upside down.

Besides the auto-flash mode, you can select fill flash, flash off, self-timer, and nighttime-view with or without flash.
Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON until the desired indicator appears on the LCD PANEL.
Fill flash and flash off modes remain selected after you take the picture. To cancel the selection, press the mode-selection button or close and reopen the lens cover/flash to return to the auto-flash mode.
Fill flash
When bright light indoors or outdoors comes from behind the subject (backlighting), dark shadows (especially on faces) may occur. Use fill flash to lighten these shadows.

1. Open the LENS COVER/FLASH to raise the flash and to turn the camera ON.
2. Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON repeatedly until the FILL-FLASH INDICATOR appears on the LCD PANEL.
3. Frame your subject within the VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE.
4. Partially depress the SHUTTER BUTTON. When the FLASH/CAMERA-READY LAMP turns off and the fill-flash indicator on the LCD panel stops blinking, fully depress the shutter button to take the picture.

Flash off
When you do not want to use the flash, especially indoors where flash is prohibited, such as in theaters and museums, or when you want to take twilight scenes or distant subjects that are beyond the flash range, or capture the ambiance of existing light, use the flash-off feature. Use a tripod or place the camera on another firm support, and use high-speed film because the shutter speed in these situations will most likely be slow.

1. Open the LENS COVER/FLASH to raise the flash and to turn the camera ON.
2. Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON repeatedly until the FLASH-OFF INDICATOR appears on the LCD PANEL.
3. Frame your subject within the VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE.
4. Press the SHUTTER BUTTON to take the picture.

Self-timer with auto flash
Use this feature to include yourself in pictures.

1. Use the TRIPOD SOCKET to attach the camera to a tripod or place it on another firm support.
2. Open the LENS COVER/FLASH to raise the flash and to turn the camera ON.
3. Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON repeatedly until the SELF-TIMER INDICATOR appears on the LCD PANEL.
4. Frame your subject within the VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE.
5. Press the SHUTTER BUTTON. The SELF-TIMER LAMP will glow and then blink during the last three seconds of countdown.
   • To cancel the self-timer selection before the shutter releases, close the flash.
   • The self-timer automatically turns off after the shutter releases.

Night-view with flash
In this mode, the camera balances the flash and existing light exposure so you can take beautiful pictures of people at sunset or at night. Use a tripod or place the camera on another firm support, and use high-speed film because the shutter speed at night will most likely be slow.

1. Open the LENS COVER/FLASH to raise the flash and to turn the camera ON.
2. Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON repeatedly until the NIGHTTIME-VIEW INDICATOR with flash appears on the LCD PANEL.
3. Frame your picture in the VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE.
4. Press and hold the SHUTTER BUTTON for 12 seconds without lifting your finger. Note: If you remove your finger from the shutter button before 12 seconds, the shutter will time out immediately.
   
5. After 12 seconds, release the shutter button to take the picture.

Night-view without flas
In this mode, you can capture the natural existing light of city-night scenes or fireworks at night. Use a tripod or place the camera on another firm support, and use high-speed film because the shutter speed at night will most likely be slow.

1. Open the LENS COVER/FLASH to raise the flash and to turn the camera ON.
2. Press the MODE-SELECTOR BUTTON repeatedly until the NIGHTTIME-VIEW INDICATOR without flash appears on the LCD PANEL.
3. Frame your picture in the VIEWFINDER EYEPIECE.
4. Press and hold the SHUTTER BUTTON for 12 seconds without lifting your finger. Note: If you remove your finger from the shutter button before 12 seconds, the shutter will time out immediately.
   
5. After 12 seconds, release the shutter button to take the picture.

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.

Well, bite the bullet and take it to get serviced.

Lines across your pictures or pictures too bright are due to the shutter not closing correctly or at all.
to check this- turn camera on, turn off flash, turn camera around and look into the lens. Adjust the zoom so that the shutter and internal lens comes up to the end of the lens and whatch as you take a picture. You should see the shutter close completely over the lens. If it doesn't move or does not close over completely then there is your problem.
If camera was dropped it could have jammed the shutter open or obstructed it in some way from closing completely.
camera will require repair/ service.
You may have some luck if you power up and down your camera numerous times before taking a picture. The action of the lens opening and closing may free the shutter.

Tengo una camara digital Olympus fe-170 y solo graba imagen, No graba sonido.
Saludos Jorge

Not only is a repair shop your only option, you'll probably find it will cost nearly as much to fix than to buy a more recent model.

There are three really weak spots in the SD400 and most small digital cameras: the lens mechanism, the battery door, and the built-in lens shade. Care in closing the battery door so you don't break off the little lugs that hold it shut - using a neck strap so you don't drop the camera - and making sure no sand or grit gets into the lens cap mechanism will make your next camera last a lot longer.

In addition to the one year World Wide Warranty,
issued by Olympus Corporation in Japan, the European warranty, issued by Olympus Imaging Europa GmbH, is
valid for two years from the date of purchase, if purchased after 1st April 2004