Zoom lever extremely tight - Minolta Activa Standard Binocular

Does it say anything about the lever under zoom levers in your owner's manual?

Turn the zoom lever toward the single-tree symbol and hold it until it zooms all the way. Release the lever then turn it toward the single-tree symbol again to engage the digital zoom.

Full details are in the "Zooming in More Closely on Subjects (Digital Zoom)" section beginning on page 60 of the manual.

From the manual:

Optical zoom TELE : Push the Zoom W/T lever to the right to
enlarge the subject.
Digital zoom TELE : Push the Zoom W/T lever to the right again
in optical 4x zoom mode to enable digital
zoom (software tele). Release the Zoom
W/T lever to stop digital zoom (tele). When
the 5X digital zoom reaches its maximum
magnifi cation, it will not enlarge the image
further, even if you push the Zoom W/T
lever.

Make shure the forks of the adjustment bar are all the way in the operating lever.

If the zoom lever is not working then I would recommend buying a new pair without a zooming mechanism. Zoom binoculars are more trouble than they are worth. Sorry!

you may have lost the spring that pulls the transmission drive belt down or have the cable adjuster too tight.word of caution here, the cable goes thru the engagement lever and if you overtighten it the lever will crack or break. if it does the complete transmission will have to be replaced.seems they dont make the lever avalible seperate.

Hi, the only reason the zoom lever sticks is dirt. Either dust or some sort of liquid may have spilled on the camera. If you wipe it off, it does not help as the liquid gets into the zoom lever mechanism.It will have to strippd and cleaned.

A fat rubber band tight enough to stop the barrel movement, but not so tight it restricts manual zooming is the best, extremely effective, low-tech fix for this problem - I have done it for years

Solution: Procedure for setting Digital Zoom PowerShot A520

Digital Zoom When the LCD monitor is on, images can be zoomed with the combined optical and digital zoom functions as follows (figures are approximate): 5.7 times, 7.1 times, 8.9 times, 11 times, and 14 times 1. Press the <DISP.> button to turn the LCD monitor on.
2. Turn the shooting mode dial to any Shooting mode except for or .
3. In the [ (Rec.)] menu, select (Digital Zoom).
4. Select [On] using the or button and press the <MENU> button.
5. Press the zoom lever toward and hold it.

• The lens will zoom to the maximum optical telephoto setting and stop. Release the lever and press it toward again to further zoom the image digitally.
• Press the lever toward to zoom back out.

6. Shoot the image.

• Shooting procedures are the same as for the mode.

• The digital zoom cannot be used when the LCD monitor is off.

• images become coarser the more they are digitally zoomed.
• Since camera shake may become a factor when using the digital zoom, the use of a tripod is recommended.
• Digital Zoom is disabled when the [Postcard Print Mode] is selected as a image quality setting.

IF this fails, your camera is in need of service.

If you can get to the ribbon cable that the zoom lever is attached to, you can use a multimeter or a continuity tester to see if the lever is actually shorting any traces on the ribbon. the zoom lever acts upon a motor that rotates the iner lens barrel, possible the motor lead is open or the switch under the lever is dirty/faulty.