In Brazil, where the worst has happened...PLEASE HELP

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diogoueno

Member
My most terrible nightmares have come to reality earlier today!

After 6 months of planning, stress and hard work, I was finally here in Sao Paulo, Brazil to shoot my first feature documentary 3 weeks ago.

Three days later I was already on field shooting in a local school. My DVX100A had only 3h of test shootings (which I mistakenly did using a dubious quality tape - FUJI). I never knew the camera would be so sensitive to the point that 2 days later, or 15h of work with her (ok, I was in a relatively dusty environment, but, come on...a newborn baby is less fussy!), I would have problems...

First , it was that red x appearing in the upper left corner of the image, then, when on VCR mode, playing back a tape, only a blue screen appeared followed by horizontal lines filled with little cubes of the recorded images! How disgusted I am of this camera at this point!!!

Now, Im from Toronto, and came down to Brazil to spend 7 months of heavy heavy work with this I thought would be one of the most reliable pieces of equipment there is today! I have around 120 Panasonic Professional brand tapes desperately waiting to be used and something like this happen in the first few hours of work!

I´m stuck down here in Sao Paulo with what it seems to me a very unreliable repair centre (the only one authorized by Panasonic in the country), with only one technician that can´t really explain what happened. And it´s been 2 weeks now! The only thing he is 100% certain about is that he has to change the cylinder!! He can´t say why, he just knows it, apparently...

I'm on a very very tight budget, I shot only 14 hours out of the 150/200 hrs I was expecting, the vast majority of shooting is going to take place on a very tough environment, wich is the north part of Brazil (some very dusty, some very humid), plus the fact that the technician is sure that a good cleaning of the heads won't do, even with the camera with so little use!!!!


I was wondering, do you think should I call the project off and go back home?? Should I risk ship the camera off to some reliable repair centre in the US and wait here? (considering they're sure a good cleaning will help, of course).
Should I go ahead with this repair centre here in Sao Paulo, even if I don't trust the technician and think that he wants to make a profit on the situation?
(the guy just refuses to do a cleaning!)

If I change the cylinder head for a brand new one...will my DVX be good to go for the rest of the journey (or 150 to 200 hrs of the toughest work)?

Should I try and get a head cleaning tape and run to the RC to run a test to see if it miracously work?

PLEASE HELP!!! ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP...
 
I'd go ahead and run a head cleaning tape FOR SURE. Would have been the first thing that I did. Something even running a good clean tape through the camera is the way to go. I would definitely say to also stay away from any of the Fuji and Maxell tapes. I've never had any problems with panasonic tapes in my panasonic HVX or in my Canon cameras.. but I have with Maxell and Fuji.. and I've only ever bought them out of necessity.


I'd try that first... Then I'd see about possibly renting another camera and sending it back to the states. Sounds like you got a local trying to take advantage of you. In that environment as well... of cousre I'm partial... I'd say to see if y ou could rent an HVX as it's not nearly as prone to humidity and environmental stuff as a tape based camera. If you can't get that.. then rent anything else that will get you what you want.. and you could send your cam to the States in the meantime...

These kinds of situations will test your patience and faith.. but maybe something good could come from it. Maybe you could put up flyers and try and get some students to help you out.. or a local college or tech facility. Don't give up hope if you are down there already... Packing up and leaving will be frustrating and costly. Try to salvage it with a rental place.. another person down there... or possibly getting someone to ship you another camera to borrow... or atleast a head tape...


I've had stuff like this go down and looking at your options and remaining calm can really work out. ALSO... CONTENT is king so if you get another half-way decent cam... then it's better than packing it in completely and going back.

Peace bro and GOOD LUCK! Maybe there's an angel down there or on this forum who can help you out...
 
diogoueno said:
Should I try and get a head cleaning tape and run to the RC to run a test to see if it miracously work?

PLEASE HELP!!! ANY ADVICE WOULD HELP...
Click to expand...

DEFINITELY get a head cleaning tape and test that FIRST! If you have any reservations about the honesty of the repair guy, get a tape, run it for a few seconds and see what happens. It only costs $10 (US), so of course try that out.

I would also look to getting something to keep dust out of the camera - even a plastic bag if nothing else. If your budget allows, consider a Porta Brace or other weather jacket. However, if humidity is the main problem, I guess it's possible enclosing the camera could make it worse. Here are some products.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...739&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...051&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...119&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...228&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation
 
As Justyn said, definitely run the head cleaning tape first and see if that helps. I've shot in some dusty environments with my DVX and unless you have the camera covered with a Portabrace or other similar rain/dust jacket (even some plastic bags taped up around the camera's tape door could do in a pinch), dust will get into the tape compartment and cause, at the very least, some dropouts/glitches.

This happened to me on two shoots where I didn't have an appropriate camera cover or any plastic or adhesive tape to seal up the camera, but luckily it just caused some tape dropouts and nothing more serious. This isn't an issue confined to the DVX; video recording heads don't like dust (or gunk caused by mixing tape brands), so if you can, it's best to protect the camera from getting dust inside.

It's possible that your camera is suffering from some problem more serious than simple dust contamination, but in general, the DVX is a robust and capable field cameram so don't let this trying experience sour you on it. Best of luck on your shoot, and on getting your camera working again. Let us know how it goes.
 
Sounds like it would be stressful. I've had my DVX-100 for four years and 400 hours around the globe and it has been a trooper. I run into more humidty issues than dust (I also travel with a porta-brace rain cover). It does not make since to have to replace the cylinder. Try a good cleaning and keep on trucking. I do like Barry's idea about sealing the cassette door.
 
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How much is this guy charging to change the cylinder? If its around $100 I would go for it so you can salvage your shoot. If it still has problems after that then you will have to send it away, go back home or find a place to rent a new camera.

If you ever get worried about dust, dirt or sand getting in your DVX cover it with a towl when loading your tapes.
 
Horror scenario. But! I would definetly send it back to a qualified repair centre in the US. Good luck.
Adde.
 
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Wowzers!!! I would send it to the states and rent a new camera if you want to continue your shoot. There may be someone here on these forums who lives in Brazil and can help you out????
 
Before spending $1400 for a drum replacement (seems very high to me) I would certainly try to have it cleaned. If the actual cause of the problem was a tape which shed a lot of oxide, it shouldn't be a permanent damage, just something that is going to require a proper cleaning. The head gaps can't be worn down and that is the only thing that really requires a drum replacement. If the hours were higher (say 500 or more) then the replacement would be indicated as you would already be approaching end of life, but not on a new camera.

Sorry to learn of the problem and best of luck!
 
If you look at what this questionable depot wants to charge for repair, what it will cost to abandon the shoot, and the cost of a new camera, I'd get on the phone to B&H or whomever and get a brand new camera FedEx'd overnight while you send the current one to the US for cleaning at a reputable depot.

Of course, this would be after I tried a good headcleaning to see if that didn't solve the problem in a simple way first.
 
I´d PM taubkin from this board, he´s from SaoPaulo and has a DVX with an M2, maybe he can help out - if not with his camera, than maybe he knows a TRUSTWORTHY repairshop.
I lived and worked in SP and would be very cautious whom to trust...
Good luck, pal...
 
If you are in Sao Paulo there are a couple of things you could do. FIrst call one of the local TV stations . TV Globo and several of the others as well as both Government Educational Networks are full of awesome techs and major league camera people. There is a huge film/high def commercial biz in oth SP and Rio relax don't panic and check it out someone will turn you on to a good technician. They are very Pro Canadian and most speak english so start off with callling someone in the newsroom or rental house. I know they will help I have been in a similar situation in Brasil .
There is also a CEFET in SaoPaulo (a technical college)I have sent and email to a friend and will post the name as soon as I get it. They train techs for all of these TV Networks. TV Globo is the largest independent television network in the world. So there are thousands of good tech in Brasil. Just stay away from the consumer service bureau. You r head is clogged or something like that and it probably can be cleaned by a pro and if not they can tell you who you can rent a descent camera from while your is being repaired. And I know for a fact the if one of the network tech can make a few reals on the side they will go for it. Times are hard in Brasil.
Spent 5 years working all over that country.And I love it! The people are awesome!
Tchau
 
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Yup, head clog. Definatly.
A cleaning tape should most likly be able to sort it. Do this first, possibly a few passes if need be.

The 'technician' sounds like either an idiot or a conman. Of course trying to clean the heads before replacing them is a logical step for anyone! Not to mention $1400 for a drum replacement is insane. The whole drum job with parts should be well under $500, even out there.

- Mikko
 
I got your PM, and answered it. You should be able to get your heads cleaned at "Gendai". TV Techs could help you out, but you better have some contacs, and most of them doesn't work with small DV cameras. I think Globo is exclusively DigiBETA. MTV Brazil is a better shot, since they shoot tons of DV stuff, and is based in São Paulo as well. I have some friends there, so it might be easier to help you out. In any case, any repairs should not be done here - Theese cameras and parts are much more expensive here than in the us, because of the exchange rates and import taxes, legal imports cost a lot (ridiculous taxes, really, basically to import a camera you have to pay for 2). Besides, we only got a strong technical support from Sony here, panasonic is rather small, since sony has most TVs.

There are tons of good engeneers and techs here, but maybe most of them are only sony certified. It doesn't mean they can't take care of a DVX... But man, run a cleaning tape, don't trust the tech! If you have a hard time finding a cleaning tape, I got one... ;) Just PM me your email.

Cheers, and good luck!
 
thanks

thanks

It's wonderful to wake up in the morning, have the i. explorer open on this forum and see how many of u out there took your precious time to show sympathy, encouragement words and inspiring advices...

Some of you even offered to get out of your way on your busy lives to get to me, for help...a stranger.

That is really inspiring...

Thank you very much!

I'll be at the Repair Centre tomorrow morning with a cleaning tape, and a miracle will happen...

keep u updated
 
Sorry for the wait!

Sorry for the wait!

Yes, I had to do the drum replacement...spent a fortune...then it happened again back here in toronto when i was capturing the footage.
Had to buy a cheap JVC camera to capture the rest...Im currently editing the film.

Thank u all for the support
 
Jtaubkin is right. That's why I prefer sony over panasonic here in brazil.

I'm from the north of brazil. If you need any help, just keep in touch.
 
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