through a glass darkly

If, when you switch your camera on you’re greeted by a black screen, it usually means one of two things; the lens cap is still in place, or the lens is not talking to the camera.

Lens cap off? tick.

Lens sulking? tick.

There’s a second clue as to the lens having a huff; I’ve set the camera to Aperture priority and the screen is showing a big MF (for manual focus) indicating it has no idea what the lens is on about.

The lens is a pancake zoom that usually sits on Kelly’s Olympus OM10.  But it's stopped working since she came back from a recent beach holiday in Thailand.  Hmm..…  Sand, spray and pancake zooms sounds like a recipe for trouble.

When the lens zooms in and out it creates a pressure difference inside the lens barrel.  This enables it suck dirt (or sand) into the lens - and sometimes into the camera itself.  It’s a particular problem with cheaper zoom lens and compact cameras because they don’t tend to have elaborate seals (rubber gaskets, not sea-going mammals) inside, unlike more expensive lenses.

If you follow madwill you’ll see that he had dust on the sensor of his compact camera.  Given that the lens on his camera is fixed then the lens barrel is the most likely way the dust got  in.  He used a novel method to dislodge it.

I stick Kelly’s lens on my Olympus camera and sure enough, black screen.  I put one of my lenses on Kelly’s camera - no problemo.  This confirms it’s the lens and not the camera.

I give the contacts on the lens a thorough clean, try again but nothing.  Dead as a dead thing that has long since departed.

It will probably cost more to repair than it’s worth - especially as I find a new, unused one (came as part of a kit and is unwanted) on eBay for a very good price.  Sorted.  I suggest to Kelly that if she wants to play in the sand with a camera she gets a weatherproof compact.