Digital camera lens will not close - when power is turned on, charger light flashes and screen says turn off and then on - I called Sony customer support and they took me through the steps of pushing reset button and a few other things but it did not help - malfunction could have occurred due to low power on batteries and then leaving lens extended for too long.

Try these procedures.

Make sure that the batteries in the camera are good and turn it on. Is there a light that comes on to let you know that the camera has power and is ready when you press the power button? Does that light come on and what color is it?

If the light ends up green, then you know the batteries are good and the camera is functioning properly and is ready to take a picture. If this is the case, then after you turn it on - look on the back of the camera for the focus zoom in and out buttons. Sometimes they look like a switch that you can rock right or left. Press the switch and look through the lens. Does press the switch or arrows in either direction clear up your view and allow you to see anything? Are you looking through the lens hole or are you using a small screen to view on the back of the camera? If you are looking at a screen on the back of the camera and that screen is black - it means that you dont have the exterior view option turned on in the cameras settings. Sometimes there is a button labeled "view" on the back of the camera to alternate from the exterior view screen on the back of the camera and using the lens hole view at the top. Press that key to make the view screen turn on. If this option is not turned on yet, press the menu key on the camera and use the arrow keys to scroll through the option choices until you find the image preview choices and turn this option on. Then save this choice and close the menu features to see if it comes on.

If you are not getting a power indicator light when you turn the camera on, then replace the batteries. If the light comes on and its something other then green and steady - (like red and flashing) check your camera manual to see what this indicator means. Some cameras show a red light that is flashing when you turn them on to indicate that the memory card is full. Some camera have a red light that is steady to indicate that the battiers are almost out of power and they will show a picture on the digital to indicate how much power you have left before they shut down. Each model camera is different according to the options it came with.

It seems your camera needs to be repaired. You can log onto www.kodak.com/go/itg and follow the online steps to book your camera in for repair.

This just happened to me last night. Literally, the EXACT same thing. Here's the sollution:
Wait 'til your camera has run out of chage, it will then turn off. The camera lens will still be sticking out, though. Once it has turned off, take your charger, plug it in, and then charge your camera. Once the charger is actually in the camera itself, it will turn on and resume its' normal mode. :)

the gears within the lens housing are broken. flat rate if sent to sony usually is about 150 i know its almost the price you paid.

there is a friction in the movement of the lense assembly. It is not reaching to its proper position. This happens if you drop the camera, or the camera is exposed to sand. a repair technician can fix it.

What happened is that the camera got turned on in your pocket or somewhere and the lens got jammed trying to open up. The problem is that the outer lens ring is not turning all the way and the camera doesn't fully load.

Solution 1: Put the camera into the charger, press the power button so the green light is flashing, unplug it from the charger. The camera will try to realign its lens. (You might have to do this a few times.)

Solution 2: Manually help turn the outer lens ring clockwise when it turns on.

I had the same problem with my DSC-W55. I actually just called the customer service number on the sony website and they told me how to solve the problem.

- Take your battery out
- Press and hold the power button for 60 seconds
- Re enter your battery
- Voila.. it should work when you turn it on. Mine did.

Please contact the nearest Authorized Sony Service. If you need more info please advice. Arpi

motor drive is shot- tell Sony customer support Be prepared to but a new camers when you see the repair quote.