Lens making grinding noise?

[GreenMint]

Hi all, just looking for a bit of help on this, we bought a Sony A200 DSLR about 2 years ago, its been a great camera and my girlfriend uses it daily for work, she was using it today and suddenly thr lens started grinding, I've tried it since she bought it back and it will occasioanlly lick in to focus and take a picture but other times you can just hear the insides of the lens spinning & grinding.

I'm assuming the lens is pretty much kaput, also as its the standard Sony one that came with the A200 a replacement shouldn't be too expensive I'm hoping? Maybe I'll treat myself to the macro lens I wanted, too!

The lens hasn't been bumped around, nor the camera dropped or mistreated, I guess these things just "happen"?

 

[King4aDay]

My Sigma 150 macro just developed the same thing after 4 years of flawless service, focus mechanism sounds horribly grindy and often doesn't engage at all. Very annoying, as I was planning on selling it soon! Can't decide whether to pack it off to Sigma and get a repair quote, or just write it off.

 

[AHarvey]

wear and tear, things get worn and break, or slip as its all on gears and sliders etc.

Some people will suggest looking at it yourself, a local camera shop or even return to manufacturer.

If its just a kit lens, might be worth dropping it, claiming insurance and looking at buying something a little better