BULLSH*T ALERT: Help Panasonic. I have a bit of dust on my ND. That'll be $4500?!?!

Paul F said:
From what i've read, the losses are mainly due to competition from Korean monitor and television makers, the drop in the value of the yen, recovery from the recession, loss of domestic sales due to the Japan earthquake. Sony had similar losses for similar reasons.
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That's my understanding, too.
 
Sorry I never followed up. I sent the unit in to Panasonic and coincidentally, the same guy who had handled the first 2 attempts took this one as well. HE was Panasonic's Service Manager.

I must've made enough noise with this issue and about the first failed attempts because the Service Manager (message me for his name) literally said, send in the unit and I'll fix it free of charge; just please, don't make any more noise. He waived the $1,500 refurb sensor swap fee!

I sent it in ASAP, they changed out the sensor/ND wheel, and everything seems to be ship shape.

Now, I wish I could say that things had happened differently and that it'll be easier for anyone else with this issue, but I don't think that'll be the case.

The squeaky wheel got the grease...this time.

I don't think they'll make a habit of swapping out sensors for ND dusts/stains much longer so I'd strike while the iron's hot.

Hope this thread helps.

LL
 
That's a great outcome Logan- a difficult battle that should not have needed to be fought, but I'm very pleased for you, and it surely establishes the protocol for any other users that get this problem.
Cheers!
Rod
 
Thats a great outcome and you know its good to see Panasonic respond (ok it took a while), but it help build confidence when buying future products.
 
Hey any one who has had similar issues, we recently picked up an af100 second hand and had the same problem, dust on the ND1 filter. After reading the forums I was not feeling good about getting it sorted. Long story short took it to Ray Pernell and he pulled it apart, including the "imaging block" and got to the filter wheels and removed the offending speck and sorted it all out for us. Camera is now back and in excellent condition.

According to Ray its actually a very quick job to do. Now it cost very little. He asked that we not say the price I guess because your issue might not be as easy, I don't know. But if any one needs his details its..

Insight Technical Support
33 Whiting St
Artarmon NSW 2064
Australia
(02) 9436 4555
Mobile Services 0418 468 394

So if you have this issue, its an easy fix, like less than an hour. Also its apparently not an uncommon issue and its actually some form of mold, not dust, and something to do with where they are made.
 
Man, Panasonic US has lost their sh*t then. Change out the m4/3 block?!? Cray cray.

BTW that is an even more baffling bit of info EndCredits. Who do we believe?
 
Logan LeBlanc said:
Man, Panasonic US has lost their sh*t then. Change out the m4/3 block?!? Cray cray.

BTW that is an even more baffling bit of info EndCredits. Who do we believe?
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Well bassed on our results and that Ray is one of those been-in-the-industry-for-years-pulled-every-camera-and-tape-deck-ever-imagined-apart-kind-of-guys id say its just panasonic didn't have a procedure set up for it and so it was in the to hard basket. Rays comment was that you really need a clean room, that's the only thing stopping any one from doing it.

For what it worth, our "dust speck" was in exactly the same spot as the OP as well. (actually same as the op from this thread http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?314815-Spots-on-Footage-Help )
 
Hi,

I have a similar issue with my AF101. I've being using it for a couple of years now, mainly to cover events, so quite clean environments. Few weeks ago, I noticed one speck in the sensor and a couple more in 2 of the ND filters.

After contacting Panasonic Support Europe they suggest 2 possible solutions: to change the camera unit in UK (2150€ + lobour cost, and time needed to be determined depending on stock) or to send it to Japan to be cleaned (500€ and 3 weeks time, meaning that I'll have to rent one in order to work during that period).

Has anyone in Europe gone through the same problem? Does anyone know an guy like Ray Pernell (from Insight Technical Support) in Spain or even in Europe?

Thanks in advance
 
charlierubi said:
After contacting Panasonic Support Europe they suggest 2 possible solutions: to change the camera unit in UK (2150€ + lobour cost, and time needed to be determined depending on stock) or to send it to Japan to be cleaned (500€ and 3 weeks time, meaning that I'll have to rent one in order to work during that period).
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It seems buying a replacement camera might be your best option. They are going for <$1000/£1000 on eBay now. Given that AF101 hire in the UK is around £250 to £300 a week (£750 to £900 for three weeks), and I guess it's similar in Spain, you could buy a second hand replacement AND get the original cleaned in Japan for less than they're quoting you to get the repair done. Then you have one to sell :-)
 
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