Grit/Sand

D

DanHD

Well-known member
Hey guys.


My 170 is only one month young, and after a shoot up in the mountains, my focus ring seems to have some grit or dirt inside it.

I really tried to keep the camera protected, dusting it off whenever I could.

But this is a real bummer.

There is a grinding/scraping sensation when I'm spinning the focus ring, and even a scraping sound as well

What should I do? Send my camera in?
 
unfortunately, the seal around the lens is pretty bad, and there are gaps where dust can easily get in. It may be covered under the warranty.

in the future, by a rain cover, that should solve the dust problem.
 
the focus ring of my hvx200 is like that too...

i went to san pedro de atacama - chile....at the desert....about 3 months ago.

but i think is inly the focus ring....nothing inside the lenses...

is there a way taht can i clean it myself??

'cause here in Brazil is pretty bad to have a repair on cameras...

i did have a sony VX2100 , and i had the mic broken , and they ask me for 10 days just to say me what they should do and how much it was...and more 20 days to get it rapaired...

30 days...for a VX2100....imagine the hvx200....
 
Debris inside the focus ring (and possibly the lens element) will cost you around $600-$900 to repair, and likely more with shipping and insurance.

Check your warranty with an authorized Panasonic Service Center. Also, if the debris hasn't gotten into the lens element, Specialized Communications (www.spec-comm.com) has developed a unique method for repairing this closer to the $600 price.
 
This is not covered under warranty, it is user neglect.

I did a shoot last year and got caught under the prop wash of a helicopter 50' over my head in a very dusty, dirty place. The sand/grit got into the focus ring, zoom mechanism and in my Sachtler tripod head. It cost $800.00 to disassemble the HVX200, clean and reassemble and calibrate everything. The Vitec group charged $200.00 to disassemble and clean the Sachtler.

I had the guy at The Video Clinic in Santa Monica do it, he was very good and his turnaround was two days. I highly recommend him. Or I would have Spec Comm do it, I bought my 170 from them and I am very impressed with their service.
 
I had the same thing happen with my HVX200 and it WAS covered under my 1 year warranty/ Refer to this thread:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=148198

and you can read my post about my experience. Shipped it off, and had it back fixed within 4 days. Cost me $120 for overnight Insured Air Mail. That was it. Everything else was covered. Just go online to the Panasonic website and look for a Authorized Retailer and call them to see what the deal is. Good luck mate, it seems like a lot of people have this issue.
 
mb72378 said:
I had the same thing happen with my HVX200 and it WAS covered under my 1 year warranty/ Refer to this thread:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=148198

and you can read my post about my experience. Shipped it off, and had it back fixed within 4 days. Cost me $120 for overnight Insured Air Mail. That was it. Everything else was covered. Just go online to the Panasonic website and look for a Authorized Retailer and call them to see what the deal is. Good luck mate, it seems like a lot of people have this issue.
Click to expand...

Really? Would love to know which repair depot will do this because I have never heard of user neglect being covered under warranty. Were there any other extenuating circumstances because under almost all warranties, they would have turned you down. You got really lucky with that one.

Thanks for the heads-up.

EDIT - read your thread above, amazing! Wish that I would have known about that before I shelled out the bucks to have mine fixed, although mine was much more a mess than JUST sand/grit in the mechanism. The entire camera was coated as I was caught in a helicopter prop wash so the dust and grit got in everywhere.

That is almost unheard of, Panasonic must consider the fact that the mechanism is open a design/defect. I worked in electronics for most of the 80s and this is almost unheard of. I learn something new every day. Thanks!

Dan
 
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The grit in mine was not considered "user neglect". Mine had a faulty Lens housing which allowed grit to get inside the focus ring. According to the company that fixed mine they told me that they see a lot of these types of repairs. When this happened to my camera, i had had it for 3 weeks and hadnt been outside with it so it was not cause by any fault of my own.

Also, I dont think they should be able to claim "user neglect" because the cams are made to be used. They are supposed to be able to be used in normal outisde environments. If a $5000 camera messes up from being in a little wind then the manufacturer should stand by the product. You think paying $5000 you would be getting something solid enough to hold up in normal shooting environments. And with me Panasonic did so good for them.

What I did was loked up my zip code on the Panasonic website and found an authorized repair shop nearest me. I think it was in Georgia somewhere. I went to UPS and shipped it Insured via Air mail and it was fixed and returned for free (minus the shipping charges to them) they even paid return shiping.

Now Puredrifting, I can probably see why they wouldnt do your for free since it sounds like a little more than "a little grit" :) . I wsa told that quite a few HVX's were shipped with faulty lens housings that allow grit to get into it. They replaced the whole thing and relubricated it for me. Someone you might want to ask is Speccom. They offer to replace lens housing and clean it under your 1 year warranty. Not sure if the smae goes for the 170 but they would be a great place to ask.
 
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