Camera question.. please help?

ok i just went on a cruise like 2 weeks ago to the virgin islands and my camera just died so we had to buy a new one.. we bought this new camera in St. Thomas and now today i turned it on and the lens wont go back in.. it says lens error i tried cleaning the lens with a q-tip so wat do i do now? so if u no what to do can you please tell me.. and i need to no before at least next mon. b.c i leave for another cruise to the virgin islands again.. and i would like to have my camera work so i can take some pictures .... so please tell me!!!! thankz!!:).. the camera is a Pentax optio E40.. the green light turns on and then it makes some kind of a scretchin noise

What's happened is that the gears that move the lens in and out are damaged in some way. This is a warranty repair if the camera hasn't been dropped or abused.

If you need the camera right away, you may have to buy a new one.

You might consider the Nikon L14, which is under $100. For about $20 more, the Nikon L15 has image stabilization for sharper images.

Cleaning the lens won't fix the gear problem. I wouldn't worry about using a Q-tip, as long as it was a clean one. Q-tips are used to clean all sorts of optical devices, from microscopes to lenses and they use a non-scratching cotton fiber. The only disadvantage is that a Q-tip can shed fibers; not a big deal for a lens where they can be seen and removed (but a big deal for SLR sensors).

Quick, call the Pentax help line.

In the future do NOT clean lenses with a q-tip .. you risk scratching the lens coating.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/cleaning...

Enjoy the fine flying fish meals while on St. Thomas and if in the BVI, Pussers has a great hamburger.