Warning Focus Lock from out of the box

R

razor_ncp

New member
I had done hours upon hours of research on here and looked at most footage shot from all of you and decided this was the camera for us. Ordered it through NewEgg and received it today. Charged the battery and plopped it in ready for some testing this weekend...

...but when the unit was turned on, there was the "Warning Focus Locked" on the viewfinder. Zoom in and out, and it would not focus, manually or auto. But there is some weird noises like gears trying to move inside the camera that are quite nerving. Funny thing is, when taking it out of the box, I didnt hear the clunk that everyone says is normal. Not a sound. This is a bad unit, isnt it?

Thanks
 
Well the camera is definately DOA from out of the box. New Egg said to contact Panasonic since its a spendy item, so I shot them an email via their support center form. I hope exchanging or a return doesnt take forever. I am so bummed out after reading about this camera for weeks on end, to have it crap out from out of the box. Things happen I guess. So what is the average turnaround from the Panasonic USA service center?
 
You should be able to RMA it directly to New egg. New Egg has a good polocy with this, and they should be able to exchange it for another one.
 
This is what they emailed me....

"Thank you for contacting Newegg.

We truly apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you. Due to the value of the merchandise, please visit Panasonics Website or call 800-211-7262 for a replacement directly. If you have experienced any difficulty with manufacturer, please come back to us with a reference number or a letter through which we can check the issue.

Thanks for your understanding"
 
razor_ncp said:
This is what they emailed me....

"Thank you for contacting Newegg.

We truly apologize for the inconveniences this may have caused you. Due to the value of the merchandise, please visit Panasonics Website or call 800-211-7262 for a replacement directly. If you have experienced any difficulty with manufacturer, please come back to us with a reference number or a letter through which we can check the issue.

Thanks for your understanding"
Click to expand...
Sorry but that's not right. If you received a defective product from them "out of the box" it is their responsibility to take care of it. I'd be on the phone and all over their ass.
 
Well I took your advice and wrote to NewEgg for a second time....

"Being that I wrote to you 5 hours after delivery of my purchase and informing you of the defective item that was not usable from opening the box, I wanted to write one more time before pressing Panasonic for action that may take weeks to resolve and lots of my money for shipping. It is stated that we have 30 days to exchange that item on the page I ordered it through if it is defective. Are you sure there is no other way to resolve this before writing to Panasonic? I hold NewEgg in high regards and hope that I wont have troubles in getting this resolved due to the fact it is a $3200 item that I needed before next weekend. Thank you again."

And their reply was....

"Thank you for contacting Newegg.

We humbly apologize for any confusion. It is true that we provide 30-day replacement for this product if manufacturer fails to serve our customers well. Still, we need our customers to contact manufacturer in the first place, and also obtain a reference number or a letter determining it is defective in case of unfavorable situation. Many manufacturers will also pay for the return shipping cost as well as pay for the shipping cost to send it back to you.

Thanks for your understanding."

So now I will send Panasonic the copy of the whole email which contains all the NewEgg info and reference numbers and hopefully get this resolved in a timely manner. I understand things go wrong with new merchandise once in awhile, and being that this is a large purchase, I hope things go smoothly. I will keep you posted. And this is a good warning for those who think about buying this camera from a place that says "returns allowed in 30 days". Not knocking NewEgg, but the responses back have not been what I expected.

Also, isnt there a Panasonic rep here who posts sometimes? I dont want to bother them with PM's here and will try the usual channels of action first, but perhaps she can give some insight on whether this is normal service from their dealers or not. A good thread to enlighten people in the same situation, unfortunately I was one of the few to have to test this process. Thanks all.
 
It seems like NewEgg should be taking a lot more initiative...

Also tell me if you get your rebate when using NewEgg.
 
NewEgg should handle this ASAP. I was a retailer for 10 years in another industry and if there was a problem with a product ,within 30 days, it came back to me I exchanged it and then I called to the company because I can get through to my rep quicker than a customer. That is bad customer service. If I paid with a credit card I would call the company and stop payment on it and tell them why. Wait a few day until NewEgg gets the notice and see how nice and quick they will replace the product. You as the consumer have all the rights in terms with a credit card. The CC company will credit you back and take the money right out of NewEggs account and they cant do anything about it. (The process is a little bit more than that but those are the basics.) I have had 6 of the dvx cameras and over all I am really pleased with the cameras and panasonic. I am now replacing with the hvx200.
Best of luck
 
Update on the NewEgg situation. NewEgg is taking the unit back and refunding my money. Technically it was their money since we have an account with them, so it all a wash, except for the cost to send it back. They offered to replace the unit, but I decided it was in in my best interest to buy from an "Authorized" Panasonic dealer to prevent this from happening again.

So, word of advice to anyone who is looking to purchase expensive equipment (which ever brand or make it may be), buy from an authorized place of business.I count myself lucky that it was a US unit and that NewEgg is taking it back, as they should. But it could have been much worse. I usually buy gear from B&H and my PC gear from NewEgg, and trying to save a couple hundred bucks almost cost me a lot of cash. So off I go in search of another DVX....
And a special thanks to Jan...she was great in helping me out.
 
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