Thanks for your reply,it seems from other comments I've read that it is a common problem with this model camera.I tried emailing Pentax customer care and presumably they don't care since they never replied.However,on the bright side, I found a similar forum to this one and a member there said he had the same problem and tried everything with no effect but then he dropped his camera and it worked ok again.I figured I had nothing to lose and with it switched off I tapped it gently against the wall and lo and behold I switched it on and it worked fine!Obviously I guess this approach couldn't be recommended and who knows,the results may only be temporary but it worked for me and if the only alternative is throwing it away...well it's up to you!

Cheers
John.

Hi,
I'm having problems getting my Optio 30 to focus.I've done everything I can find in the manual but still all my pictures are coming out blurred.It worked fine until recently and the problem seemed to appear after I changed the batteries although I can't imagine that that would have anything to do with it.When I hold the shutter button half down the little box which appears round the object to be photographed flashes red when according to the manual I think it should be green.I even reset all the defaults but that made no difference either.Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks
John.