Системная ошибка фокус фотоаппарат lumix

1

Hi Everybody,

My Lumix DMC — TZ8 has bricked on me and I just get a error message Saying «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)» and the lens does not go in when I turn it off. It is less than 18 months old. Does anyone know what’s happened and how to fix it?

Thanks,

Frazer

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

Wibe
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New Member

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Posts: 1

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

In reply to Wibe
•

Aug 7, 2011

1

Wibe

wrote:

Had the same thing happen with mine three days ago. Almost definitely due to sand getting into the lens mechanism while on holiday. Took to recommended repair shop in London and got quoted £97 for the repair. Will be buying something else instead. Lesson learnt, I guess…

I see this problem every day . . . and not just Panasonic Lumix cameras, either!

It is funny how so many are quick to assume that this is Panasonic’s (or any of the other manufacturers, for that matter) fault, when nine times out of 10 it is something that the user did to the camera.

Like drop it . . . bump the lens against something . . . accidently turned it on while it was still in the case . . .

got sand in the lens while at the beach

. . . let their kids take it to school . . . etc.

You may not even remember dropping it or doing one of these other things to the camera, but chances are this is exactly what happened.

These cameras don’t just suddently go defective after several months of use . . .

Typically, if a camera is defective it will be that way right out of the box!

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . .

Well it is not always as you say, sometimes some parts in a camera are badly designed and dont last as they should (i remind the dial selector in Fujis S9000-S9500 or the popping shutter button in the Sony DSC-H). This lens error reminds to me the E18 problem of some Canon cameras. Here it is a guide for trying to fix it, maybe it could be helpful even for this Panasonic:

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS15



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1

I’ll go ahead and beat the drum again. Not the first time, sorry

Probably the best solution for gunk getting into the camera’s «works» is to always keep the camera in a loose, plastic bag, particularly if carrying it in a pocket.

I lost a lovely little Minolta Xi — an internally zooming camera — when lint got into the ‘sealed’ lens unit. When I took the camera apart and found that the lens unit could not be taken apart, I noticed lint & such packed in lots of places inside the camera.

So my next camera was always carried in a plastic bag — I use the cheap «Sandwich Bags» I buy by the box for a buck or two, very cheap.

A forum member from the humid UK warned that it’s not a good idea to use a ‘zipper-lock’ bag as any moisture locked into the bag will create a «Mini-Sauna» for the camera when sealed into the bag. And opening the zipper slows one down. I leave the wrist strap hanging out so I can get the camera out

fast!

I have carried cameras for over a year each with no problem — and the smooth bag keeps surface wear (paint wearing off corners, surface scratches) down, too. All of my pocket cameras look & work as new.

I’d use a bag as a liner for a case, too — my sister’s Xi case had lint packed in the corners.

So far I have carried in my pocket during all waking hours, a Minolta X50, Panasonic TZ1, TZ3,TZ5, ZS3 & ZS6 in this manner, and have experienced NO dust/lint/sand problems. The TZ5 was carried in my pocket for a long time and has since been in my wife’s purse — in it’s plastic bag, for several years of constant use, looks & works like brand new.

TZ-1 in plastic bag «Case»:

-Erik

viviano
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New Member

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Posts: 1

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . .

letmealone wrote:

Well it is not always as you say, sometimes some parts in a camera are badly designed and dont last as they should (i remind the dial selector in Fujis S9000-S9500 or the popping shutter button in the Sony DSC-H). This lens error reminds to me the E18 problem of some Canon cameras. Here it is a guide for trying to fix it, maybe it could be helpful even for this Panasonic:

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

hey i also had this problem and my camera is just out of warranty.  called panasonic ‘helpline’ and they werent very helpful, surprise eh? so i tried number 4 on the e18eror.com

«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.  AND IT WORKED!  thank you so much for your help and for saving me a £100 repair bill or cost of new camera!

I haven’t had this problem.

That said, you have «nothing to lose» and I have heard this recommended:

Try turning the camera on & off while holding the lens in contact with something that vibrates fairly hard, such as an electric razor. Keep the lens pointing generally down, but move it around.

Assuming it’s sand (a little rock) you may be able to shake it loose and with the lens pointing down, maybe out of the camera.

-Erik

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

I just had exactly the problem described on my relatively new Panasonic Lumix.  I can believe I could have ‘hit’ it or gotten dust inside of it , as I take it every where, though in  a bog.

However, before I forced the lens to close or tried to vibrate dirt out, I decided to down load the pictures on the camera.

Once I hooked up the camera to my Mac, and turned it, on the lens closed, and the problem completely resolved itself.  Immediately took a few pictures and downloaded them also.

All seems to be working well.  Might be fortuitous, but it worked.  If it ‘uncorks’ anytime soon, I’ll update

1

Iowa Snapper wrote:

I just had exactly the problem described on my relatively new Panasonic Lumix. I can believe I could have ‘hit’ it or gotten dust inside of it , as I take it every where, though in a bog.

However, before I forced the lens to close or tried to vibrate dirt out, I decided to down load the pictures on the camera.

Once I hooked up the camera to my Mac, and turned it, on the lens closed, and the problem completely resolved itself. Immediately took a few pictures and downloaded them also.

All seems to be working well. Might be fortuitous, but it worked. If it ‘uncorks’ anytime soon, I’ll update

I think that you have nailed it… I had this experience with my ZS50 — less than a year old.  I use a PC, but same idea — when plugged in the USB cable to the computer I did it with the camera off (so it wanted to charge) but then turned it on, it extended the lens then retracted it when it switched to USB mode. (normal behavipr)  When I unhooked the cable, it worked correctly (and continued to do so when I tried turning it on and off)  Highly annoying… and clearly a software problem rather than a physical one.

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

Same problem, different fix.

Note- this is for DMC-ZS40

I held the power button down for about 10 sec, twice, and that fixed it (so far at least, half an hour ago).

scoopsr
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New Member

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Posts: 10

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . .

In reply to viviano
•

Feb 22, 2016

viviano wrote:

letmealone wrote:

Well it is not always as you say, sometimes some parts in a camera are badly designed and dont last as they should (i remind the dial selector in Fujis S9000-S9500 or the popping shutter button in the Sony DSC-H). This lens error reminds to me the E18 problem of some Canon cameras. Here it is a guide for trying to fix it, maybe it could be helpful even for this Panasonic:

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

hey i also had this problem and my camera is just out of warranty. called panasonic ‘helpline’ and they werent very helpful, surprise eh? so i tried number 4 on the e18eror.com

«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. AND IT WORKED! thank you so much for your help and for saving me a £100 repair bill or cost of new camera!

Hoorah.  I just had the problem and pushed on the lens.  Never heard a click but it did even out.  After that the camera has functioned normally.  PROBLEM SOLVED.  Don’t get to hear that often enough.

hemingray
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Regular Member

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Posts: 120

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . .

In reply to scoopsr
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Feb 24, 2016

ZS50 here, with the same issue. But the lens goes in and out, but shuts down without retracting it. I did the 10 second hold on the power switch — twice — and it seems to be working normally now, zooming, autofocusing etc. I would have to agree that I think there’s some kind of software bug — especially when it’s clearly capable of operating the lens, but turning off while it’s extended.

I knew it could not be dirt in the barrel — it’s not been out in adverse conditions and it’s in a padded bag, which sits inside a padded bag. Pretty disappointing — not my favorite camera anyway….

Hope this helps someone looking for a fix.

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BCBird
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New Member

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Posts: 1

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . . Or Maybe you should!!

You might, actually, want to blame the manufacturer. Would this be the first time a manufacturer made a mistake and would not admit it??

Anyway, the DMC-ZS50 did the System Error — Focus thing on me today after taking the camera off of charge. I tried the twice at ten second power button tactic — no joy. I would not push, tug, vibrate or otherwise accost the lens unless I worked for Panasonic. So I plugged the unit into my Mac to see if I could access it. First I removed the memory card as a «control», knowing it would not access any data. Well, the camera went through the normal cycle of enabling access, with the Pictures app showing No Pictures message. I then ejected the camera via the proper cycle. Well, heck: Now the darned thing works!

Software, software, software! This camera is babied — no dirt, no drops or bumps. It is three months old and I really like the picture quality it produces. I bought it as a small, powerful camera to use for hobby work and, if it proved tough enough, to accompany me on some long bike trips. Now I am having serious doubts and think I bought a stinker.

Panacam
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New Member

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Posts: 1

Re: Don’t blame the manufacturers . . .

In reply to scoopsr
•

Jul 30, 2016

scoopsr wrote:

viviano wrote:

letmealone wrote:

Well it is not always as you say, sometimes some parts in a camera are badly designed and dont last as they should (i remind the dial selector in Fujis S9000-S9500 or the popping shutter button in the Sony DSC-H). This lens error reminds to me the E18 problem of some Canon cameras. Here it is a guide for trying to fix it, maybe it could be helpful even for this Panasonic:

http://www.e18error.com/repair.html

hey i also had this problem and my camera is just out of warranty. called panasonic ‘helpline’ and they werent very helpful, surprise eh? so i tried number 4 on the e18eror.com

«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. AND IT WORKED! thank you so much for your help and for saving me a £100 repair bill or cost of new camera!

Hoorah. I just had the problem and pushed on the lens. Never heard a click but it did even out. After that the camera has functioned normally. PROBLEM SOLVED. Don’t get to hear that often enough.

Same here. Never heard the click and tried it 4-5 times pressing gently on all sides and it started working. Awesome.

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

Iowa Snapper wrote:

I just had exactly the problem described on my relatively new Panasonic Lumix. I can believe I could have ‘hit’ it or gotten dust inside of it , as I take it every where, though in a bog.

However, before I forced the lens to close or tried to vibrate dirt out, I decided to down load the pictures on the camera.

Once I hooked up the camera to my Mac, and turned it, on the lens closed, and the problem completely resolved itself. Immediately took a few pictures and downloaded them also.

All seems to be working well. Might be fortuitous, but it worked. If it ‘uncorks’ anytime soon, I’ll update

This definitely worked straight away for me. I think it IS the solution — maybe should go to top of page?

Memli
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New Member

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Posts: 1

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

In reply to belton43
•

Dec 16, 2016

I fixed it !

I just tried it and it worked. Turn the camera off and the lens go down and try to extend. I held it with my arms not letting it to extend and it went back … and its working now.

Re: Lumix DMC — TZ8 «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)»

My LX100 displayed this «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)» message after I apparently powered the camera on and extended the lens while still stuffed inside its case.

I’m not sure if anything is damaged but I was able to get the camera to operate again. I repeatedly turned the camera off and back on, and each time the lens would extend another couple millimeters. Finally the lens extended fully and the error message went away.

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User5135257271 wrote:

My LX100 displayed this «SYSTEM ERROR (FOCUS)» message after I apparently powered the camera on and extended the lens while still stuffed inside its case.

I’m not sure if anything is damaged but I was able to get the camera to operate again. I repeatedly turned the camera off and back on, and each time the lens would extend another couple millimeters. Finally the lens extended fully and the error message went away.

Great!

It sounds pretty obvious that something was caught in the mechanical lens drive system, which move a tiny bit each time («another couple millimeters») and finally fell out.

I notice re-reading this thread that several people got it to work by coupling the camera to a computer — which may supply just a bit more power than the battery, and overcome such resistance.

BTW  The lens/sensor unit is quite easy to replace and obtainable fairly cheaply on eBay (probably used).

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