Lens is backwards, please help!

[teknoge3k]

First of all, I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong place. I am new to these forums obviously.
I am trying to fix my friends camera. It's a Pentax Optio E10. She dropped it by accident, and now it's backwards. When the lens is suppose to be open, it's closed. When it's suppose to be closed, it's open. It also doesn't close all of the way. Is there any way to fix this? She's really depressed she broke her camera and I'm trying to do anything that I can to help her fix it. Thank you so much for any help you can give!

[jnanpentaxfan]

There's not much you can do to repair this camera. It would probably cost more to repair than to buy a better camera. For instance, I picked 4 or 5 E40's for about $60 each at a Wolf store closing. She would be better off just replacing the camera.

[teknoge3k]

Well, that stinks. I might just give her an old one of mine. Thank you for your help!

[jnanpentaxfan]

Originally Posted by teknoge3k

Well, that stinks. I might just give her an old one of mine. Thank you for your help!

That's probably a better option than trying to get it repaired.

[teknoge3k]

Just an update:

Now that I have the camera in hand I can be more specific. When you turn the camera on, the lens tries to move in. When you turn it off, it tries to go out. Zoom doesn't work either. I am still going with your original response as it's pretty much recyclable, but if this makes any difference and there's a fix please let me know. Thanks again!

[jnanpentaxfan]

Originally Posted by teknoge3k

Just an update:

Now that I have the camera in hand I can be more specific. When you turn the camera on, the lens tries to move in. When you turn it off, it tries to go out. Zoom doesn't work either. I am still going with your original response as it's pretty much recyclable, but if this makes any difference and there's a fix please let me know. Thanks again!

I'm pretty sure that the threads are probably damaged and I would think it would cost a minimum of $50 to get it repaired. There is a brand new E40 on ebay for $65, plus there are other choices from this same seller. This is the Camera Clearance Center, which is the Wolf camera clearance store in Fort Worth. I bought several cameras and lenses from them and know them from picking up merchandise. They seem to be good folks. Here is the link for the E40:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-Optio-E40...ht_1449wt_1165