GH3 Dead Camera and slow repairs

Elvis Deane

Elvis Deane

Active member
I'm in the middle of shooting my first feature on the GH3 and last night I got to set, hit the power switch, and nothing happened. Swapped batteries, still dead. Tried the DC coupler and still no power. I have a little paper in my GH3 box that says there's 48 hour priority in-shop repair service, but on the phone I was told 1-2 weeks for repairs.

I've been working the camera pretty heavy this month, shooting 3-5 days a week since September 1, but I'm amazed that this would happen. I worked my GH1 and GH2 just as hard, and they're still running fine. I had to switch over to the GH2 to shoot last night's scene, and with two weeks left in production, I don't have much of a choice but to shoot the rest on it. Who knew a hacked camera would be more reliable than a newer model that's had much less shooting time and wear and tear?
 
The unfortunate fact is that this can happen with anything. That's why I always make myself afford two cameras. Fortunately for you, you were smart enough to hang onto your GH2 and are able to finish with it.

Good luck to you.
 
Elvis, I see you are in Toronto. I live in Guelph and just had my GH3 in for warranty repair. My rear screen went dead suddenly (backlight was on but just 2 horizontal white lines as video signal).

Anyway, I took my camera right to Nortown Photo in Burlington. They are the official repair center for the G series cameras (I called Panasonic Canada first). I dropped it off last Monday and just got notified it's repaired and on its way back. They replaced the entire OLED screen. Basically one week turnaround and that was just because they had to order parts.

Excellent service and great to deal with.

http://nortownphoto.com
 
seadragon, that's good to hear. I was told on the phone by Panasonic to go to Mississauaga for repairs. After 90 minutes on transit to get there, I was told that they don't repair G series cameras there, and to take it to Burlington. A frustrating day all around.
 
Elvis Deane said:
seadragon, that's good to hear. I was told on the phone by Panasonic to go to Mississauaga for repairs. After 90 minutes on transit to get there, I was told that they don't repair G series cameras there, and to take it to Burlington. A frustrating day all around.
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I'm sorry to hear they led you astray. I would be extremely frustrated too. Actually, when I initially called Panasonic Canada, I was all prepared to drop it by their offices on Ambler Drive in Mississauga. Then at the last minute, the person on the phone said "oh wait, the service center for G series is in Burlington" and then proceeded to give me Nortown Photo's address. So, I might have had the same problem being sent to the wrong place.

But, Nortown Photo was great. I walked in and was able to show the technician (Tony) the camera in person. He was the one that repaired the camera. It was nice to be able to see him in person instead of just sending the camera off "somewhere" to get fixed. Plus, they have an online repair status that allows you to see what's going on with the repair. All in all, a great experience and exactly what I had hoped for.

Good luck with your camera and I hope you get it fixed up quickly.
 
That's great to hear about seeing the technician. When I needed repairs to my HVX200 5 or 6 years ago, that's the way things were done on Ambler.
 
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