i dropped my camera one day and it started to say lens error and shut off, what do i have to do?

i dropped it and then when i turned it on it says retry power on, then when i turn the power back on its says lens error. do i need to take it in or is there something i can do to fix it at home?

Does the lens move at all, or make any sound, when you turn it on? Probably what happened is that the lens mechanism got bent or moved out of place, they are pretty delicate. I'm assuming you're not covered by a warranty since you dropped it, and getting it fixed may not be worth the price of the camera, although you can sure take it in for an estimate. If the lens is trying to move and just not able to, you might try gently tugging on it as you turn the camera on and trying to "set it" back into place.

I owned a Casio camera for 4 months. It suddenly diplayed "Lens Error". I sent it to Casio repair confident they would cover it under warranty. I received a call saying the technician had "discovered" a crack in the front of the camera so the warranty was voided. No way to dispute it. Repair would be $100 so not worth it. Camera had not been dropped and there was no crack on the front when I mailed it in. I believe Casio does this routinely in order to not cover any warranty repairs. I would never buy another Casio product under any circumstances as I do not believe they stand behind any of their products. No lens should be this "fragile" and susceptible to fraud by Casio repair services.