The lense is stuck and cannot open and close - Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS / Digital IXUS 95 IS Digital Camera

forcing it closed usually ends badly...stripped or sheered gears.TRY putting pressure on the lense durring power up...if it feels like it will move let it go....next using a small jewelers screw driver try to pull the lense open ...may take a bit of playing...be patient!

Contact the Nikon USA Repair Center at 1-800-645-6687 9AM-8PM EST, Monday to Friday, for instructions for obtaining a free estimate for repair. Your camera has damage that you will probably not be able to fix yourself.

The proper order of exposure should be:

Curtain opens/Lense stops down (unless wide open)
Lense shutter closes
When releasing button, curtain closes
When winding, lense shutter opens

If this isn't what's happening, something is wrong. There is only a simple mechanical screw connection between body and lense, so it'd have to be an issue with the gears in the body.

Looks like theres something stuck in the lens mechanism, some grit or dust or something.

Hi! Better check it with qualified technecian. It might damage everything if you force it. The lense broke inside. It needs to be replaced or adjust the screw to lossen so that lens will go back to its original position.
Please feel free to comment.

jonags3

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, sometimes with lines, 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.

Here is a site that discusses things you can try to fix this for free. They do a much better job than I could, and they let you know the risks and steps to take, in order. Try this first, you might get lucky- they say 50% of stuck lenses or lens errors can be fixed.
http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html
Don't worry, this is a huge problem with extendable lenses, due to their construction with small, plastic gears that are easy to break with a bump or fall, or obstruction while extending.

It is time to send it in for service if it is an expensive camera ($200 or more retail price) or throw it away if it is inexpensive. A repair for that may run $100, espcially if it was bumbed ot dropped and ther is mechanical damage. If it is under the warranty then definitely send it off.

Use the vacuum cleaner to suckout the dust/sand particles stuck between the lens casing and the body.

There could be two things causing this problem.

1- some dirt somehow got on the outside of side of the lense. So the lense could not fully retract or open out. As a result you can not take any picture. If the lense comes out even a little bit, try to pull it out NOT too hard a few times. If it does not retract, turn the camera off and push the lense in (up and down) NOT too hard for a few times. If the camera opened up 100% or retracted 100%, your camera should be back to normal. Make sure to clean the outside of the lense when fully open and keep it clean always. If this did not help, read 2.

2- If you dropped the camera, some mechanical part of the lense is broken or dislocated or the cable may have come loose. In this case you need to take out the lense from the camera and inspect it for broken pieces or loose cable. clean the outside of the lense and push the lense in and out a few times. Put the lense back on the camera and your camera would be back to normal.

Good luck!!!!!!