i found this elsewhere on this site. http://www.pechorin.com/m/2005/05/27/Re_Error_code_E6100_on_my_Sony_DSCp31-240177.html i was having the same problem so i googled and got this brilliant solution! i tried it and sure enough it really worked. here's the gist. turn the camera off. hopefully the lens will retract. in my case, i had to open the case to get it to retract. when you turn it back on, hold it back with a finger or tabletop. don't hold it completely in, just enough so it doesnt fully extend. it'll retract and try to extend again. on the second try, let it go. and that's it. it should be fine after that. it takes a gentle hand to get it right. see the videos on that site for a better idea. from what i've gathered, it's a sensor that controls auto-focus that's exceeded its value and doing this just resets the silly thing. PS- in the future, please try searching for the answer before asking a similar question