AC160 ac160 "stain" on footage - dust inside the lens?

krick

krick

Well-known member
Hi There,

Just got a AC160 and I am experiencing a "stain" problem on the footage.
I cleaned the lens and it's as clean as it can get. Stain is there on each ND settings, at same position even if pan... The stain does go away when i zoom in. So I believe that it has something to do with the lens or one of the elements, not the sensor.

Any ideas, suggestions... Did anybody experirnce that?



Screen Shot 2012-07-12 at 10.03.50 AM.jpgstain AM.jpgScreen Shot 2012-07-12 at 9.45.23 AM.jpg
 
Here is a video clip where you can see it clearly:

[video]http://cpilard.com/00005.mov[/video]
 
This looks like you have a dust particle on the lens, inside or out. If you have cleaned the lens with solution and a lens cleaning rag and it still appears, then it is on the inside and needs to go in for repair. This spots typically do not show up until there is a lot of light coming back into the camera like shooting outdoors. I am guessing you do not see this indoors.
 
it depends, on a bright wall, it does show up. and in other situations it just blend in the image.

Is it something covered by the warranty?
 
Akornylak said:
That is sensor dust. Ill give you a call!
Click to expand...
It is not sensor dust -- that looks more like a bad pixel.
It is something on the lens. (mold or dirt/dust)
Good question if that is covered by warranty.

I have the same thing with a sony digital still camera. Luckily that camera is probably around 8 years old and is only used for fun shots.
 
What happens when you *carefully* blow compressed air across the lens? Either it's on the surface or inside the lens. If it's inside- definitely needs a dealer to open up and clean it. Happens....

-Noah
 
It's not on the lens, Lens is totally clean and could not get cleaner.
I don't think it's on the sensor because when i zoom in, the stain moves and goes out of the frame ( so it's part of the mechanical movement)
I don't think it's mold ( phew...), if you look at the 2 pics below, I think you can see the little spec/dust inside the lens... I think that's the reason:

dust.jpgdust2.jpg
 
It's mold. Been there done that in my long video experience. The reason it disappears is because you are changing the focal length. The lens has to be taken apart and cleaned. My bets you are going from air conditioning indoors to humidity outdoors and back. Summer only? Just check your prior weather condition shots in a colder environment and see if it is present.


krick said:
It's not on the lens, Lens is totally clean and could not get cleaner.
I don't think it's on the sensor because when i zoom in, the stain moves and goes out of the frame ( so it's part of the mechanical movement)
I don't think it's mold ( phew...), if you look at the 2 pics below, I think you can see the little spec/dust inside the lens... I think that's the reason:

View attachment 56541View attachment 56542
Click to expand...
 
Yep- most definitely something you go to your dealer to repair. Not only will you very likely break the lens (or at least throw it out of collimation) if you try to open it yourself, you'll likely introduce more dust just by opening it in the first place. Not to mention you will void your warranty. This is one of those things the warranty does cover so no reason not to have it looked at.

-Noah
 
Thanks for the feedback guys!

I don't think it's mold. The picture of the lens i posted is pretty bad and out of focus, but when you look at it with a flash light, it looks like dust or a little spec in there.
I called panasonic and they are supposed to get back to me and if it works they'll send a box to ship the camera to their facility.

Anyone have any experience with pana's warranty services? How long do you think they keep the camera?
 
I don't think it's mold either - based on age- but mold will grow in lens so that is why I put it in my list of possibilities.
 
Thanks ELN614, I appreciate your input.

Does anybody knows a place where I could get this fixed in San Francisco if the warranty doesn't cover? What kind of cost are we looking at?

Thanks everybody for the feedback, it really helps
 
my 2 cents -- send it to Panny. taking apart a camera's lens system would best be handled by the manufacturer. (my uneducated response)

And I am too of the theory that this should be covered under warranty.
 
I believe there's a listing in the back of your manual on how to locate a service center. Odds are shipping it down to one in L.A. may be faster than trying to locate a service center in SF.

-Noah
 
krick said:
Thanks ELN614, I appreciate your input.

Does anybody knows a place where I could get this fixed in San Francisco if the warranty doesn't cover? What kind of cost are we looking at?

Thanks everybody for the feedback, it really helps
Click to expand...


Looks like a manufacturing defect to me. It appears that a drop of lubricant got on the lens during the manufacturing process and caused this smudge.

Does not look at all like dust to me. No way.
 
I am trusting that you called the Panasonic Service Center in LA. Best place to send it.
Should be covered by warranty especially if new.

Best,

Jan
 
Jan,

They are working on the camera as we talk. nice support, they called this morning to follow up with me...

EDIT:

Alright so the camera came back from the pana service center of LA. Very good experience, they changed the lens under warranty. I shipped the camera, got a phone call the day it arrived to find out what exatcly the problem was, I sent them the footage and screengrabs. The camera was repaired the same day and shipped back with a tracking # the following day.

So here is what to do if that happens to you:

- go to this page and complete the form http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support/Contact-Us.4
- call the number that the website will be providing
- explain the problem on the phone, give your info (name, phone, camera model, email address...) and you will receive a AR # via email (the next morning)
- Ship the camera to the address provided on the email with the AR# ( shipping at your expense)
- I may have been lucky but my camera was repaired very quickly, the same day it arrived I believe.
- panasonic confirmed that the camera has been fix via a nice descriptive email.
- Pana ship back the camera via UPS ground at their expense.

Et voilà!

very please with the process. The whole process took about 8 days total.

Cedric
 
Last edited:
From panasonic engineer same day of the repair, Thursday:

Hi Cedric,

Thanks for the screen caps & clip, exactly what I needed & greatly expedites the troubleshooting & repair process. As the problem appears to be internal to the lens I've authorized and successfully completed a new lens replacement followed by a Factory Studio Alignment. When you get your camera back it will have a new lens on it, fully custom calibrated -...

To expedite your unit's return home I'll go ahead and close the paperwork tonight and release it for ship-out Friday via UPS GROUND gratis courtesy of Panasonic. If you want to change Final Destination or Shipping Method or to get a Tracking Number...


Happy Shooting!
T




Great support and everything under warranty, Thanks !
 
so you don't know what exactly it was... other than internal lens. would of been nice to know exactly what caused that.
 
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