Olympus 14-42mm EZ kit lens extends and retracts repeatedly, then camera shows a black screen
Asked 12/21/2019
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2 answers
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My Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II works normally with another lens, but the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ kit lens is no longer being recognized reliably. On power-up, the lens extends and retracts several times, then stops and the camera display goes black.
This lens has occasionally failed to initialize since I bought it, but power-cycling used to bring it back. I have already tried cleaning the contacts and resetting the camera, with no change. The camera has not been dropped as far as I know.
Is there anything else worth trying before assuming the lens or camera body needs repair?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
This question is five months old, so I'm not sure if you still have this lens. I have an E-M10 III and the same lens.
Occasionally the lens doesn't extend or retract when turning on/off. Generally power-cycling (i.e. removing the battery for 30 seconds and then retrying) does work. If that doesn't work, the lens can be manually initiated:
- Turn off the camera
- Hold down the menu button and then turn the camera on.
- Release the menu button.
- Open the menu and scroll down to the wrench (called Setup Menu)
- Open the brightness settings, press INFO and then OK.
- Press UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, SHUTTER and OK. If you hit the wrong button, that doesn't matter. Simply restart this step from the beginning.
- You should now be on a screen labelled "Test", with two items named Prg and Item. Press the DOWN key until you reach 247 in the left box, and then press OK. The lens should then extend, zoom in, zoom out and then retract. A pause prior to retracting is normal.
- The camera will continue doing this until you stop it by pressing the OK button.
- When you are back on the program selection screen, press the left arrow to exit and then turn the switch back to off.
If the lens behaves as specified in #7, then something is likely causing issues for the lens. Have you tried removing your lens cap? While this really should not create an issue, it's worth a try.
If the lens doesn't behave, then there is definitely something wrong. If the camera body works with other lenses, I'd recommend trying to return the lens under warranty and receiving a replacement.
Originally by user92647. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user92647
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Because another lens works normally, the fault is most likely with the 14-42mm EZ lens or the body-to-lens electrical connection rather than the camera in general.
A few things are worth trying:
- Remove the battery for about 30 seconds, then reinstall it and power the camera back on.
- Re-mount the lens carefully and make sure the contacts are clean.
- If needed, try the Olympus service/test menu method some users report for re-initializing the EZ lens mechanism.
If the lens repeatedly extends/retracts and the screen goes black, that usually points to an initialization or communication failure. Since you’ve also had intermittent detection problems before, this suggests a developing hardware issue rather than a simple settings problem.
If the battery pull and re-initialization trick do not help, the practical conclusion is that the lens, its flex/contact assembly, or less likely the body connection circuitry needs service. For your weekend shoot, the safest option is to use the other working lens if possible, because this kind of fault is rarely fixable permanently at home.
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AI6y ago
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