I dropped the camera in the sand. I turn it on and it says Lens error OX 04110000

Hi.

I experienced the lens error message after taken the camera to the beach. Sure enough, there was sand all over the lens mechanism. First, I cleaned the area by blowing air to remove all sand particles (this took me almost a day). In my case, I did not have to remove the lens from the body of the camera. Once clean from dirt, sand or any other foreign object replace the batteries.

Cameras and beaches don\'t do well at all. The most important thing is to remove as much sand as possible without scratching any part of the camera. I\'d suggest to not wipe it at all, but take it home and try to vacuum the sand and dust off. It can get wedged in the drive mechanism for the lens focusing and will stop the camera from going through its normal initialization cycle. Check around the edges of where the lens moves in and out for sand, and try to suck it out.

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 are some troubleshooting steps that you can try that may (or may not) correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty (or repair cost approaches that of the camera), they're worth that try. Some of the later steps do involve some risk to the camera, so carefully weigh your options before deciding to conduct them:

Went to the beach yesterday, by the end of the night my camera gave me this error: "lens error, restart camera". The lens would no longer come out.

I figured sand got stuck within the lens, so I did the following:

1. Turn camera up-side-down (with lens facing down)
2. Gently tap the sides of the camera (to loosen particles in lens)
3. Turn camera on
4. The lens will eventually come out
5. Gently tap the sides of the lens
6. Turn camera off (continue tapping side of lens as it retracts)

I turned the camera on and off a couple of times to ensure I removed all sand particles from the camera.

Now the camera works...thank god....


thanks.

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 ...
Unfortunately, many cameras that fall prey to this can only be corrected by professional repair. But, here are some things that you can do that may correct it. They only seem to work for less than 40% of the lens errors, but if the camera is out of warranty, they're worth a try. Pay particular attention inspecting around the gaps of the circumference of the lens barrel for any sand particles. A single grain stuck in those narrow gaps can jam the barrel.

Anyone who has ever been near the beach knows that as soon as you are within 100ft of the sand you will feel sand in between your toes even with your sneakers and socks on. That's because sand is in the air and contaminates everything. Therefore, if you value your camera, mp3 player, radio, cellular phone PDA, or laptop computer, DO NOT TAKE IT anywhere near the beach. Solution: use an air compressor. Blow air & dust through the hose first. Use clean air to blow out extended lens area. Open and close lens and blow out several times. Firmly jolt the camera into the palm of your hand to dislodge the dirt particle. Use more air. You may notice sratches on the side of the lens cylinder that were created by the particles of sand. 99% pure isopropyl alcohol (91% if you're in a pinch is available at any drug store) can also be used on a Q tip and swabbed around the lens barrel cylinder. Make sure you use a few CLEAN Q tips on the lens. Now go buy a disposible camera and $10 mp3 player for the beach and leave the $200+ camera and IPOD at home or at the hotel room. Now you'll surely have a wonderful time at the beach.

This is not a user solvable problem. One thing that should not be done is to turn on the camera when it has been dropped in dirt, sand or water. This will, in your case, grind the dirt around and parts try to move and contaminate additional parts of the camera. It's only worse if water is involved as this will likely cause shorts in electrical areas.
Take the camera to a repair shop and get their opinion on whether it is fixable and if so what they estimate the cost to be. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new or used camera.

This is probably THE single most common failure among digital cameras. There's a halfway chance of fixing it yourself, described here: http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html

You may want to call Olympus Customer Service and discuss their repair process and procedures for sending the camera in to have the lens assembly cleaned. Their telephone number is 800-622-6372 option 2 and then option 3

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:

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fixing-lens-error-on-digital-camera.html