HPX170 Lens Wobble Improved

ARG! I just got word that a client will NOT use me to shoot his project because he fears the HPX will provide frame instability when rack focusing so they're going to use another dude who has a 200a. wtf man......... I sold my A1 so that I can grab more gigs and now this!?

Has ANYONE heard from Jan?
 
reem12 said:
how could panasonic have aken this long to supposedly fix all the concerns of the hvx200 only to introduce a whole batch of other issues and charge the consumer shipping on top of that to fix their problem.

bad bad buisness and imo, the little guys are still being slighted by the big corporations. Was contemplating the hpx but after this thread pany will no longer receive my money.

Sd chipset, now this. I love pannys look but, at this point it is no longer worth it for me and for individuals who will eventualy seek to sale their hpxs, the buyer will never be able to get out of their mind if the cam being sold to them will exibit these issues, and will cause resale alue on these cams to drop considerably.
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Reem - there are no 'HVX200 concerns' that needed fixing that I know of.
And honestly, the rest of your post reads like standard trolling.

Let's keep this on topic and not spin off into hyperbolic statements that can't be backed up.
You're welcome to your opinion - but much of what you've posted is conjecture intended only to spread fear and doubt.

Let's stay grounded and on topic, please.
Thanks.
 
editorforhire said:
Call me kooky, but when you are talking about a $5,000 camera that is basically a pro-sumer device, I think you can expect a certain level of flimsiness. You are getting a lot for the money. Afterall, the HPX2000 is $25,000, minus lens. The HPX3000 is $48,000 minus lens. The HPX170 will produce nice pictures, but ruggedness? I'm not counting on it. I know $5,000 is still a chunk of change, but honestly, don't expect the same build quality as the broadcast models. You just gotta be more careful handling the HPX170. It's a similar situation between, say, a Nikon D40 and it's pro cousin, the D3. They are both digital cameras from the same manufacturer. THe D40 is not expected to be as durable as the D3 and the 5x price difference reflects that build quality put into the D3.
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I see the point your trying to make here and although it's true, it's not completely true. You basically saying that the HPX2000 is worth $25,000 because of it's ruggedness, not because if it's chipset, features, image quality and everything else..... The question is, if you can only do tripod shots and never do any panning and handheld shots on a $5,000 camera, then how much is this camera worth to you? Call me kooky but if the DVX didn't have this problem then wouldn't you expect the same from the 170?
 
Angelcyk said:
I see the point your trying to make here and although it's true, it's not completely true. You basically saying that the HPX2000 is worth $25,000 because of it's ruggedness, not because if it's chipset, features, image quality and everything else..... The question is, if you can only do tripod shots and never do any panning and handheld shots on a $5,000 camera, then how much is this camera worth to you? Call me kooky but if the DVX didn't have this problem then wouldn't you expect the same from the 170?
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I think Edit for Hire was saying that along with the $25,000 price tag you get a rugged camera.

Where the $5,000 price tag mainly gets you a camera with a decent image.
 
Bassman2003 said:
I think Edit for Hire was saying that along with the $25,000 price tag you get a rugged camera.

Where the $5,000 price tag mainly gets you a camera with a decent image.
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True that......

But I think everyone on this forum is comparing the 170 to the DVX rather than the HPX2000.
 
My apologies luis if I sounded like i'm trying to spread fear, just a little frustrated because i thought i would be able to ease into the hvx upgrade with no problems now this thread coes along.

I'll keep it on track though.
 
reem12 said:
My apologies luis if I sounded like i'm trying to spread fear, just a little frustrated because i thought i would be able to ease into the hvx upgrade with no problems now this thread coes along.

I'll keep it on track though.
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There is no problem or issue with the HPX170 if you do what Kholi did, order it from Spec Comm and have them do the fix before they ship.

D
 
Bassman2003 said:
I think Edit for Hire was saying that along with the $25,000 price tag you get a rugged camera.

Where the $5,000 price tag mainly gets you a camera with a decent image.
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Yes. The point I am making is that these small cameras are delicate compared to the larger, 2/3" versions. I've seen many small, prosumer cameras fall apart. Their parts are not made as well as the big broadcast cameras. My Canon XL-1 lasted 2 years before things got loose. On the other hand, my Sony DSR-500ws, which gets more use, is still fine after 7 years. I am not accosting the image quality of these small HD cameras. I find the image amazing. However, don't be surprised when things bend, snap off, loosen up or distort when hanging heavy accessories on them.
 
editorforhire said:
Yes. The point I am making is that these small cameras are delicate compared to the larger, 2/3" versions. I've seen many small, prosumer cameras fall apart. Their parts are not made as well as the big broadcast cameras. My Canon XL-1 lasted 2 years before things got loose. On the other hand, my Sony DSR-500ws, which gets more use, is still fine after 7 years. I am not accosting the image quality of these small HD cameras. I find the image amazing. However, don't be surprised when things bend, snap off, loosen up or distort when hanging heavy accessories on them.
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You can't really make comparisons with the big broadcast cameras to the 170 or even other companies 1/3'' chip cameras. Forget about Canon and Sony, was there a lens wobble on the DVX? I could understand your point if there was, but if there's not, then why expect to have the wobble on the latest version?

Regardless of how you and I view this, it looks as though Panasonic will make this right.
 
DC said:
:huh:

You're going to return your $5200, 1st Gen/1st Batch HPX170 camera because of a minimal one-way shipping charge not being covered by Panasonic? :huh: Wouldn't you have to pay to ship it back to your dealer anyway? Seems like a bit of an overreaction.

Guys, this is an awesome camera with a small problem that can and will be fixed by the manufacturer very soon, not to mention that Spec-Comm is offering a fix right now. It's not like the shock mount flaw is such an intregral part of the design that it can only be "fixed" by introducing a completely new camera model.

Yeah, it sucks that many of you are having this problem but you gotta play the hand that was dealt to you when you entered the game. Like anything in this unpredictable world: poop happens - it smells. But, IMHO, at least this particular "poop" will be cleaned up in a relatively fast and fair manner.
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Yes I will return my camera if they do not make me whole. I do not personally think any charge is minimal when you think of this problem. All extra charges should be covered by panasonic. Any reaction other than this would be an underreaction in my mind.

This is an issue that is no fault of my own. This is not something that crept up after many hours of usage. This is a camera that , out-of-the-box, is broken and cannot be used to make any pro material for my clients. It is not the product I paid for.

Just today I showed the issue to another camera op here in Atlanta and he said it was unusable and I should return it instantly.

At this time I am only waiting to here back from my sales rep regarding what his rep says pany is going to do to "make this right."

If it involves me paying for shipping. Then it goes to my dealer, who said he would cover return shipping in the event pany does not.

As I said in the earlier post, I do love pany and Jan and Barry. This forum has been a great place for me to get massive info. I have bought and sold items here.

Right now I am a justifiably unhappy client that needs to get the product he bought.
 
atlfilmguy said:
This is an issue that is no fault of my own. This is not something that crept up after many hours of usage. This is a camera that , out-of-the-box, is broken and cannot be used to make any pro material for my clients. It is not the product I paid for.
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Yes, and this is a "feature" that you were not made aware of prior to your purchase. It's interesting to note that none of the retailers list the "shock mount lens design" as a selling point on their websites for their camera... It's been around for six years now apparently... Had you known this, would this have encouraged or dissuaded you from buying the camera? hmmm....

I spoke to my credit card today and asked them about the whole idea of returning an electronic product that had a defect such as this, to a company that will not take a return on it, and they said that we be more than happy to freeze the charge and force the merchant to return the item for full credit. You have 90 days from the date of purchase to do this.

I have my camera in its box basically. For several pretty substantial reasons, I just don't have any confidence in the product. I had two cross-rentals scheduled with the camera but they both cancelled on me since they are now aware of the lens problem.

I'm going to give Panasonic until Monday to make some sort of response to the problem with the camera - that I am comfortable with - and then I will decide what route to take.

$5200 is a lot of money folks for a camera that you can't manually focus without confidence of producing a stable image.
 
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This is just my confidence in Panasonic speaking;...... I believe they will do the right thing and pay for shipping both ways, at least reimburse for the cost. It's already bad enough not to have the camera you paid for in your hands will it's getting repaired.
 
Gary Senda said:
This issue was reported 2 weeks ago and still silence from Panasonic !!!

Gary
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Panasonic has a solid base of loyal customers and they always had a reputation of being lloyal back. I don't think Panasonic will turn their shoulders just because a lens wobble.
 
atlfilmguy said:
Yes I will return my camera if they do not make me whole. I do not personally think any charge is minimal when you think of this problem. All extra charges should be covered by panasonic. Any reaction other than this would be an underreaction in my mind . . .
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You're certainly entitled to your opinion.

My personal take . . . this is a 1st Gen/1st Batch camera and I'm not shocked there's a problem, nor am I allowing myself to be crippled by it. So, I'll continue to use my HPX170 and find workarounds if the wobble becomes a problem. And I'll wait patiently for Panasonic to announce their carefully calculated course of action.

I recommend that anyone who wants this camera and needs it now, have no fear and ust order from Spec-Comm. Or, if you can, just wait until Panasonic remedies future shipments.
 
Gary Senda said:
Yes, because there are time limits for asking to be refunded. Gary
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That seems to be the game that is being played but this is all going to bite Panasonic & the dealers in the rear end in the long run.

This seems like the sort of thing lawsuits are born out of. I don't know about you but ever day I can't shoot with this camera, I am losing money.
 
Gary Senda said:
This issue was reported 2 weeks ago and still silence from Panasonic !!!

Gary
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Not true at all.
We have absolutely heard from Panasonic and they have acknowledged that there is an issue with the lens shock mount system on certain cameras. At the moment Jan is collecting serial numbers in an attempt to discover just how many cameras are affected, and if there is any reason to believe it is a specific batch of cameras that have the issue (or if its completely random).

We have also been told that there will be a fix, and it will be covered under the camera's warranty.

At the moment it looks as if customers will be responsible for shipping the camera to an authorized repair facility, and Panasonic will cover the cost of return shipping (by the same method in which they receive the camera).

So sure - we do not yet know exactly when the cameras can be sent in for a fix yet.
But to say that all we've received is 'silence from Panasonic' is absolutely and completely untrue.

You may not have liked what you heard so far - but you can't say they are not listening and responding.
 
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