Lens will not retract

This is going to require service / repair at the shop, not something you will be able to correct.

I found this on cnet.com Hope it helps.

E18 quick fix

I'm sure that every1 looking at this right now would love to be able to do a quick fix for the dreaded E18 error. Well, I have fixed mine several time in less time that it takes to take a picture. So here it is: This error occurs when the lens is "stuck" or not extending "straight". The error can happen in 3 ways: either when the lens wont "come out", or "comes out" and then retracts, or does not retract at all. Mine did all of these at one stage or another.
1) If the lens doesn't extend at all or it extends, but then retracts again, do as follow:
Turn the camera off. Place the camera on it's back with the lens facing up and have a look at the "spacing" between the lens and the lens housing. You'll probably notice that the gap is NOT EVEN all the way around. To fix this, simply -VERY GENTLY- press down on the side where the gap is the biggest. You will hear a "click" as it pops back in place. Try powering it back on.
2) If the lens is extended all the time and won't retract at all, do as follow:
Turn the camera off. Take the camera in one hand and with the other gently, in turn, take the two part of the lens and gently move it round in a circular movement. Do so with both sections of the lens. You will once again hear a little "click" as it pops back in place. Power the camera on.
This has worked for me many times and it seems to happen when the camera has been carried around and possible had a little knock. I hope this is of help to someone else.

Try to hit the side very gently while switching ON the camera. Do this several times, It should reset the timing of lens.A little bit of more pressure can be applied while it is hitted. If does not reset, then the timing lens gear is damaged. Take it to qualified service technician to get full service. Thanks.

Same thing happened to my camera. I have the same camera. I fixed it though. I know what I'm about to say sounds idiotic, but bare with me. If you turn the power to the camera on, and catch. or grab the lens when it has fully extended and don't let it retract. Wait until it has stopped wanting to move than the fun part happends. Atleast for my camera it felt as if something got in around the lens. so if you twist the lens you will have about a fraction of play to twist the lens back and forth. This fixed mine. Try this with yours. But don't be too rough. gentle. I mean. these camera's are expensive afterall aha =)

If the camera's lens will not retract out, then eventually shuts down, here is what you try to do.

Hold the camera from your right hand with the lens facing down. Then tap the base of the camera to your left palm while turning the camara on; do this several times until the camera's lens retracts out.

This problem often occur when the camera was taken outdoor or in the beach. Sand or a tiny granule of dirt might got stuck in the base of the lens.

Try removing and replacing batteries to reset the camera. Ensure that batteries are fully charged.

If that does not clear the problem, then the lens error is usually caused by mechanical faults concerning lens assembly. This happens because there is dirt inside the lens (sand dust), or one part in the lens assembly is bad or went out of place.
Because of this he lens cannot extend or retract fully, the error is detected and lens error is returned.

Sometimes this can be fixed playing with the lens during extraction or retraction to help the lens asset getting back to normal.
If if does not extend tapping gently the back of the camera, and if it does not retract helping lens back in while turning camera respectively on and off.

More often the camera lens must be disassembled and re-assembled by a technician to fix the problem.

Try the procedures in this tip.

zoom wont retrack saying zoom error

In a nutshell, this error happens when the lens gets stuck while trying to extend and comes slightly out of alignment. Particularly if it's been dropped while open. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off.

If your camera is still under warranty, the best thing you can do have Polaroid should fix it. If your camera is out of warranty, or if Polaroid refuses to repair it for free, the one thing you can try is to If you gently, and I do mean GENTLY push against the lens with the PALM of your hand as you turn it on, it may cause it to depress back into the camera. If that doesn't work, and you can't reset it or turn it on/off several times, then you may have to send it in for a repair estimate anyway.

The LCD goes dark after the camera has been inactive for a time, to save battery. When that happens, you can easily restore the LCD display by half-pressing the shutter. If you want to, you can turn this off by selecting menu-setup-SleepTimeout and turn it off. (I don't recommend it, though, as the LCD always on will drain your battery).