Thanks a lot! I gave my Sony DSC-W5 camera a jolt on the bottom and that fixed the problem with the lens not retracting back. Thanks!

Damn that's amazing it really works!

Hi Folks, I had the same problem. I turned off the camera, held it in my left hand, and gave it one gentle rap with my right open palm, turned on the camera to test for lens retration. It didn't work. So I turned off the camera and repeated the procedure, each time, increasing the force of the rap. After the third rap, I had success. I did it this way to be as gentle as possible. Sony wants $180, as a flat rate for any factory repair. A non-Sony reputable camera repair service estimated $70-120, and a local camera sales and repair shop recommended I throw out the camera and buy a new one. When I reminded them that the camera cost $300 in December 2005, they said 5 M pixel cameras are going for $150 today. I'm glad I just gave the camera a little pat on the bottom to solve this one. Thank you for sharing your experience. You saved me a lot of money and time. -John

I had the same problem with my camera and I tried everything I could think of... I looked at several different web sites and finally found this suggested "wacking" technique.... now it is good as new :) thanks! sometimes the old school fix is the good one.....

Will give it a shot. Thanks! Merry X-Mas and HNY all!