GH2 GH2 repair - camera sent back from repair with broken parts rattling inside

[tolawr]

New battery delivered, tested and the camera still powers off with slight jostling.

All GH2s rattle. And the battery pack is spring loaded. If you smack any GH2 the right way it will shutoff.

In response to Manicd, the sensitivity to impact is to the point that I cannot wear the camera around my neck without it turning off from slight bumps. This is well within the spectra reasonable use. And yes, I know about the rattling in the flash (as mentioned in previous posts) but having used the GH2 since its inception, I can tell you this is not the same sound as it changes location from left to right at the bottom of the unit depending on how it is tilted (again, described in detail earlier in the thread and in video).

PS: If you think it's a functioning unit, I'll sell it to you at the cost of repairs - $285.

I have this same problem in playback menu with my GH4. You can solve this tolawr?

As for the playback issue Aleodin, the Panasonic folks pretty much require it to be sent in for a firmware repair unless you can gimmick around playback mode via bluetooth (which I was not able to do).

 

[Manicd]

I just played around with my GH2. You're right. I smacked my camera body is all directions and it stayed powered on just fine.
As for the rattling, I found three sources of rattles. The first is the Flash bulb restraining bars. If you open the flash the tiny bars won't rattle as much. The second rattle is the EVF lens. You can silence that with your finger while shaking the camera to listen for the third rattle. It's somewhere near the sensor. I'm assuming the noise is related to the shutter. Obviously this doesn't help you because you still have that power issue. I would open a complaint with the BBB and ask for a refund. For $285 you could have just bought a good used body.

 

[tolawr]

I just played around with my GH2. You're right. I smacked my camera body is all directions and it stayed powered on just fine.
As for the rattling, I found three sources of rattles. The first is the Flash bulb restraining bars. If you open the flash the tiny bars won't rattle as much. The second rattle is the EVF lens. You can silence that with your finger while shaking the camera to listen for the third rattle. It's somewhere near the sensor. I'm assuming the noise is related to the shutter. Obviously this doesn't help you because you still have that power issue. I would open a complaint with the BBB and ask for a refund. For $285 you could have just bought a good used body.

Thanks for giving a look. The rattling is also likely connected to the original issue they "repaired" of a screw being knocked loose from the motherboard housing causing a short in the electrical system. The threads on the hole may have been stripped, etc. Honestly, it wouldn't bother me if the camera turned on without issue. To paraphrase the Big Lebowski - all the dude ever wanted was a working camera body. I've been following through with a claim via my bank which seems the most effective route but would have loved to nipped everything in the bud by just having a functional unit.

And yes, their $285 price point is absolutely nuts (which happened to be the "average cost of repairs" on a GH4 as well, curiously) and reeks of duplicitous pricing. This is particularly disappointing given how much I like Panasonic products and how the level of service has dropped since they were monitoring the boards here back in '08 (Pamela was their DVXUser rep, I think?). Thank you again for experimenting on your model.

 

[tolawr]

Concluded (finally) after sending in my camera late July and receiving it broken in August I was finally given a refund via a claim filed through my bank. My GH2 is still not working and I lost much more money through missed contracts than just the repair fees but gladly, my adventures with the Panasonic repair center are over and done with.

For anyone that plans on maintaining their camera for long periods with the possibility of needing repair in that time, I can only recommend on SquareTrade if you insist on a Panasonic purchase. In spite of their friendly and polite demeanor, Roger and Maria Alonzo (the two main representatives I dealt with) were completely incapable of doing their job in a timely or responsible manner and I don't see things changing out there in McAllen anytime soon.

 

[Bruce Foreman]

Concluded (finally) after sending in my camera late July and receiving it broken in August I was finally given a refund via a claim filed through my bank. My GH2 is still not working and I lost much more money through missed contracts than just the repair fees

If the camera is an earnings tool, you should never depend on having just ONE. A second camera with similar enough imaging characteristics should be handy enough to prevent "missed contracts". You should always have some backup capability.

 

[tolawr]

If the camera is an earnings tool, you should never depend on having just ONE. A second camera with similar enough imaging characteristics should be handy enough to prevent "missed contracts". You should always have some backup capability.

Unfortunately (as described earlier in the thread) my GH4 was also suffering from technical malfunctions due to a playback issue created by early firmware releases. This resulted in me sending out both cameras (GH2 in July, GH4 in Septemberish - the exact date escapes me) to have my GH4 returned, Panasonic's McAllen facility citing that the issue was caused by a drop/spill and was thus out of warranty - mind you they only SAID they returned it until I emailed them a week later it hadn't even been shipped or been scheduled to be shipped. It took an extra 3ish weeks not including shipping time to complete the repair through SquareTrade (who were ECELLENT and confirmed it was just a software issue) resulting in me having been without a still camera (GH2 or GH4) for about 5 weeks due to Panasonic's inability to do their jobs.

So in short, I did have two cameras as was mentioned in the very very start of the thread, I think, if you feel like reading so you have some context for your advice. The problem is they were both Panasonic and Panasonic's repair protocols are absolutely bonkers.