My cannon powere shot is 1 year old. Is it in warranty? Does warranty cover lens error?

It may have been damaged. Was it exposed to a lot of heat?

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.

Usually a stuck lens is caused by dirt getting into the gap between the lens barrel sections. The simplest thing to try is a freshly recharged battery, which might just have the power to overcome the resistance. Plugging in an AV cable sometimes blanks the screen, leaving just a bit more battery power for the lens.

If this camera is only a few weeks old it is stil under warranty. best route would be to take it back to the store and get a new one.
If you did not buy it at a store and it is still less than a year old, contact Sony directly (that will be a bit harder).
In third case, older than a year, means it is out of warranty and you will have to get it repaired.
Here is a bit more on it: http://www.teleplancamerarepair.com/camera-repair-blog/post/Sony-Cyber-shot-Turn-the-power-off-and-on-again-Error.aspx

Sending it to an authorized cannon repair facility. the lens must be replaced.

Lens errors are fairly common for all digital cameras. Usually it's sand (be careful at the beach) 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

If your camera is still under warranty, the best thing you can do is to take it to the nearest official Canon repair shop and Canon should fix it for free.

If your camera is out of warranty, or if Canon refuses to repair it for free (happens sometimes if for example they suspect the camera has not been treated properly) you can try some of the methods listed here to repair it yourself. These simple methods have helped a lot of people fix their cameras.

Before trying any of the suggestions, make sure your Canon has fresh batteries and it is in recording mode.

1) Remove the batteries from the camera, wait for a couple of minutes, then put them back in and turn the camera on.

2) Try compressed air. With a fine tip blow off gun and dry compressed air (20 lbs) set the tip between the lens turret and the camera body and turn on the air while moving the tip around the lens. It should remove all dust and sand. Turn the camera on and it should function fine.

3) Another method is to tap the padded USB cover part on a hard surface, for example, a desk. It sounds so simple, but very often in works.

4) Try forcing the camera lens:

Turn off the camera. Place it on the back with the lens facing up and take a look at the spacing between the lens and the lens housing. If you notice that the gap is not even all the way around the lens, the problem should be easy to fix. This type of a problem usually occurs if the camera was dropped while the lens was extended.

Simply - VERY GENTLY - press down the lens on the side where the gap is the biggest. You should hear a "click" as it pops back into place. Try powering the camera back on.

If the lens doesn't extend at all or it extends, and then retracts again, do the following. Turn the camera off. Take the camera in one hand and with the other gently take one part of the lens and gently move it round in a circular movement. Do so with both sections of the lens. You will hear a "click" as it pops back in place. Power the camera on.

Another version of this fix would be to pull and twist on the largest ring of the lens while turning the camera on. Listen for a "click". If at first the focus seems to be off, turn the camera on and off and take lots of pictures, close ups and distance. Focus should slowly start improving.

If none of this works for you please comment.

Good Luck!

Stay Classy

B.

I dont know what error E18 means, check cannon support for that, but welcome to the world of DISPOSABLE CAMERAS, I have replaced 3 cameras in 3 years, 2 because of lens and shutter issuses.

Store replaced!