Digital cameras 101

[praynman]

Camera has worked well until today. when turned on lens came out and I
can zoom all way out. Turning wheel to retract it will only go back so far but not all the way in. Have I touched a button somewhere that won't let it go back all the way. Help if can.          Thanks,Gene

[bdery]

Hi and welcome!

If I understand your problem well, you mean to say that the lens on your FZ18 will not retract completely when you try to zoom "back". Is that correct?

Will the lens retract if you turn the camera off? Is the problem only happening when you try to zoom in or out?

Maybe switching the camera to macro mode can limit the zoom range available, it happens on some cameras but I'm not sure about yours. If your lens will not retract even when turnnig off the camera, then it looks like a hardware problem. I would contact Panasonic with this.

[ShutterbugGail]

Maybe switching the camera to macro mode can limit the zoom range available, it happens on some cameras but I'm not sure about yours. If your lens will not retract even when turnnig off the camera, then it looks like a hardware problem. I would contact Panasonic with this.

Macro mode on the FZ18 does not limit the zoom range.

I agree with Bdrey's suggestion to contact Panasonic. But before you do, take the battery out for 5-10 minutes, put in back in and see if the zoom works. You'll lose some settings but it may do the trick.

Make sure the battery is fully charged and clean the contacts before reinserting in the battery compartment.