Amazing...I received the E:61:00 error on my Sony Camcorder. I dropped it a couple inches from the floor and that seemed to take care of the problem. Thanks for saving me repair $$$$!

Great tip on the "give it a good knock" solution, my DSC-P9 starter playing up lat night after working perfectly for almost 3 years, I thought I would be consigning it to the bin. I initially looked on the Sony site for some support but nothing there, and after reading the posts here gave my camera a couple of hard slaps with the base of the camera into the palm of my hand (Wasn't that keen on dropping it onto the kitchen floor) and it has started working perfectly again. I'm very grateful for who ever put the solution up, and in hindsight I can see why Sony wouldn't be so keen to tell their customers that there is a frequently experienced problem fault that requires the camera to be thrown or thrashed to resolve it.

The same happend to me!!!! 10 times softly whacked the camera(P52) and I get so angry, waked it so hard on a peace off bamboo ...... that was the 1!!!! power off , back on ....and it works !!!! thxs guys, greetings from Belgium....

I am very dissapointed with Sony. I have a 6 week old DSC-W1 - sure as Moses, I got the same error - I was on a camping trip and the lens would not retract - great! (with all the dust around) I eventually "coached" the lens gently back into position...then read this site when I got home. At first glance I reckoned you guys were 'cuckoo' to suggest dropping such a delicate micro engineered device (the hand slaps were not an effective treatment). After reckoning that Sony service would take a month to get back to me, I too got the book out (Fortune magazine to be exact), and let the baby slip from my hands from a distance of 15 cm (gentle thud!) Hey, presto ! it works again no problem. Thanks to your site I am taking pics again! Shame on Sony to produce a camera mechanism that plays up as it does...across a number of models so it seems. I think Sony needs to do a recall or something.

Hey i have a sony P-52 camera, today i was getting the E:60:00 error and i dropped it like 8 times and it still came up. i finally got mad enough and dropped it again. now it works again :-D thanks people.

Isn't the internet just the best tool! My DSC-S50 Digital Still Camera has worked faultlessly for over 4 years, but I turned it on this morning to take photos of the kids and dreaded E:61:00 displayed. Bugger - 3 days before christmas and the camera needs fixing! Thought I'd check what the Net had to say about it - a good sharp bang - why not - it now works - you little ripper. Thanks all, but I do wonder how long the camera will continue working for, or is it now on its last legs?

I refused to send mine in for service for the 61:00 error... so since it was already a goner... I banged it a few times and now it works. (Turned it off... banged it on the counter... turned it on... not fixed... turned it off... banged it again from a different direction... turned it on... worked!) If you are considering throwing it away anyway, try giving it a good bang and getting a few more months of life out of it! :)

Hi, I live in buenos aires, argentina, i had that E:61:00 error on my sony DSC-S30 display. i thouhgt of dropping the camera, but instead i read the great solution for this problem in http://www.fewin.com/sony/sony.htm AND IT WORKS!!!, and to tell you the truth, i didnt believe at the first time it would work!! but its true!! and i avoid taking the camera to a sony service center saving many bucks!! thanks to the internet!!

We had the same problem, and we fixed it! First, identify that it's the AF motor drive by A) Turning it on and putting your ears against the camera, then hearing a humming noise for about 5 seconds. B) The error comes up flashing on the screen: "E:61:00". Okay, so you've identified your problem! Next you wanna fix it, right? ;) A) Put the camera about a half inch from a hard surface. B) Let the lense go out and hit the surface and retract a little bit. Let it go out all the way when it tries the next time. If that doesnt fix it, try this: A) Turn it on and let the lense go out fully B) See where the lense comes out of the camera? The little round crack that surrounds it? Wiggle the lense a bit and blow in there a bit. (Be sure not to blow on the lense!) Now turn it off/on again, and it should be fixed! If not, try these steps a few more times. If still nothing, then I suggest phoning Sony, but this DID work for us, so hopefully it'll work for you :)

I can't believe that this actually works. Two sharp smacks to the side by the lens. Sorted! Cracking job guys.