Sending off My camera for Repair tomorrow.

mb72378 said:
Im sending off my HVX to get the focus housing cleaned out tomorrow. Im really nervous. THe people from panasonic told me to send the camera to K&M Electronics in Georgia because it was the closest to my home(NC). I am shipping it to them via UPS overnight airmail so hopefully I will have it back in about a week. Somehow some dirt or grit got inside the focus wheel so when you turn it, it grinds. Wish me luck everybody!!!!!!
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lucky you, 2 years back I had the same grinding sound with my DVX100....took it to the authorized repair center and THEY told me that the entire lens unit had to be replaced......grand total $1500....i really don't trust the repair centers some of them seem a bit shady even if they are "authorized" or not. only thing that saved me was my wicked insurance policy so i didn't have to pay a dime, only suffered a few heart attacks throughout the ordeal but it's better than paying myself.
 
I have used K&M several times to do repairs to my cams with great satisfaction. Fortunately I live only 20 miles away and can deliver it myself. I have met the guys in the shop several times and they seem to be very competent technicians. They also like to talk "shop" with thier customers.
 
sweet. i have an issue with my hvx's tape recorder, these guys are only about an hour away from me. i'm going to check them out. did they give a free estimate?
 
I didnt get a quote, simply because I was told before hand that my warranty covered the problem. I guess since I wasnt paying for it they didnt bother to tell me. Just tell them that you want them to call you once they find out the problem. Tell them not to put one hand on your camera to fix it until you have a quote.
 
I take it you have your camera back and everything is back to normal? Mine is still at Panasonic but I think it will only be there a day or two longer
 
I do have my camera back now. Everything seems to be in ship shape but I have only looked it over, I havent done any new projects yet. I will keep you all updated.
 
I just got a call from Panasonic today regarding my camera (in for dust as well). They are billing me $422 because dust inside the lens housing isn't a problem with the camera. They also told me that they have never seen an HVX200 with dust inside but the more I read about it, the more common it seems
 
what type of issues did you get as a result of the dust getting inside your camera that made you have to send it off to repair?

grinding noise, black screen, etc?
 
What is funny is that it wasnt causing any functional issues at all. When I turned the focus wheel, you could feel grinding. At first it wont cause any problems, but if you continue to use it it can possible grind into the plastic lens housing which will cost you thousands to replace. And if that gets damaged Im pretty sure you will start seeing functionality issues.
 
We see this problem a lot. If you send the camera in to us to have the job done, it generally takes about 4 hours of labor @ $85 per hour. We will also clean the rest of your camera, update firmware, clean your heads, etc... Usually takes less than a week to turn it around.

We have perfected this technique by replacing the grease with a more viscous grease to help the feel of the rings after the plastic has been scored by the sand/debris.

The Kata DVG-51 (as mentioned earlier) is a good way to avoid this issue. They fit a bit tighter than the other brands.


Best regards,

Andrew Hoffman
Vice President
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510 USA
800-359-1858 (US)
301-790-0103
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com

Please visit our new online store at ( http://www.spec-comm.com/store ). New products being added daily!
 
nightmares

nightmares

i keep having twisted dreams about the grinding coming back and the focus stuffing up!! haha

:undecided

Someone should record the noise and use it on a horror film, i know i'd be scared.

Good luck to all you having problems with your precious HVX's. Just doesnt seem fair to have things like this happen.

Gonna look into getting one of those KATA covers....
 
Im right there with you on that one. I love panasonic, and they make great items, but when you purchase a $5000 camera you would hope that it wouldnt be so wimpy. Its gonna get used so it kinda stinks that as new as mine was and as babied as it was, that a little bit of dirt would cause so much problem. At least they fixed it for free. Now my only worry is that it will happen again and be outside of my warranty time. Oh well, I guess its just like saying you wont get a car cause your scared of getting in an accident.
 
which is what my situation is, 6 months out of warranty and the tape deck screws up. i called the guys you sent your camera to and they said they never heard of anything like that before (plays a black screen in tape playback mode). i'll have to send it to them for them to look at.

now i'm worried.
 
Ive never heard of that happening. Then again a I use P2 cards so I dont run into and tape deck problems. Good luck with that. Make sure they explain to you ahead of time what they plan on doing to fix it so you arent surprised by a bill. Always ask for a quote.
 
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