HVX Battery Mount Issue

Has anyone sent theirs in to be repaired yet? I was wondering what the turn around time was? I'd hate to be without my baby for to long. :)
 
Jared or someone has a picture here that shows the placement.
I just went out and bought the general purpose adhesive velcro that are in 7/8" X 7/8" squares. They have a paper backing that you peel off and stick one above and the other below where your battery sits on the HVX.
Make sure you use the loop side and not the hook side to stick.

Works like a charm. :)
 
Thankfully I haven't run into this problem yet, but after reading this and other threads, an idea came to mind. I'm thinking about lightly modifying the bottom tabs on all of my batteries by shaving a small amount of material from the outside of the tab. It shouldn't effect the fit to the camera, but in the event the battery takes a shock, the battery tab should break before the camera tab. It seems like dealing with replacing a battery would be a lot easier than repairing the camera.

This does seem like a correctable weakness in the design of the camera, lets hope Panasonic addresses it soon.

Thanks for the info on this,

-filmstox
 
Please do not modify you camera or your battery. Use it and if it happens then get it fixed. It isn't a huge deal and it is covered under warranty.

Best,

Jan
 
Green Hornet said:
Just wondering if the hard side of the velcro would be better than the fuzzy side? Aren't we trying to eliminate stress/movement? Kind of like the concept of putting in ceramic tiles...no movement prevents cracking..

I used the "hook" side of the velcro, partly because I have so much left over after doing a project that required the "loop" side.

The "hook" side works well, too. And, yes, it has less play than the "loop" side but enough to let the battery get in and out properly.
 
Thanks Jan,

This idea arose from pondering what might work for those people that have already used up the "we'll repair it once under warranty" policy mentioned elsewhere in this thread. I would certainly agree that this is a fairly extreme solution that should be done only as a last resort. I whole heartedly support your previous recommendation that never storing the camera with the battery attached is the best way to prevent this type of damage.

Thanks as always for being a part of this community, your involvement was a major influence in my purchasing decision.

-filmstox
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Please do not modify you camera or your battery. Use it and if it happens then get it fixed. It isn't a huge deal and it is covered under warranty.

Best,

Jan


Do they plan on making that part stronger?

Carbon fiber anyone hahahah

Mine are not broken yet, but when it does break, I'd hope they have a stronger part instead of just a replacing it with the same part.

The velcro seems like it may prevent the problem during "normal" use.
 
And if it happens a second time or after the warrenty?
Is it not easier to just modify the mounting plate which is part of the HVX with a higher grade polymer so that future buyers of the HVX will not have that issue ?

Jan_Crittenden said:
Please do not modify you camera or your battery. Use it and if it happens then get it fixed. It isn't a huge deal and it is covered under warranty.

Best,

Jan
 
Cees Mutsaers said:
And if it happens a second time or after the warrenty?
Is it not easier to just modify the mounting plate which is part of the HVX with a higher grade polymer so that future buyers of the HVX will not have that issue ?


The part has been changed so it probably won't happen again.

Best,

jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
The part has been changed so it probably won't happen again.

Best,

jan

Here's my question. This is only covered over the warranty period, but this appears to be a known defect.

What does Panasonic intend to do if the part breaks after the warranty period during normal use?
 
Can you indicate from which serial number or manufacturing date it has been changed or in other words how can I see that I buy a unit were the part has been changed?

Jan_Crittenden said:
The part has been changed so it probably won't happen again.

Best,

jan
 
The Verdict

The Verdict

So per Jan's email, I called Panasonic locally here in LA. I spoke to a guy named Jim who was very helpful. -- I dropped-off the camera and two days later got it back with the back piece replaced.

I asked Jim about the piece -- seeing if it was different in any way as it looks identical - he said that it was made stronger and somewhat reinforced.

Bottom-line is Panasonic took care of it and I was pleased with their courtesy and quick turn-around.

Rob
 
What about the European market? How can we identify when buying the HVX , AS FROM NOW, whether the HVX is fixed or not ?????? Why can't they just release the serial numbers (or at least the beginning of it) where they implemented the fix. I do not want to buy an old version, find out that it breaks in the first week even when treated with the most care and have to send it back to let it repair:furious3:


mavrix said:
So per Jan's email, I called Panasonic locally here in LA. I spoke to a guy named Jim who was very helpful. -- I dropped-off the camera and two days later got it back with the back piece replaced.

I asked Jim about the piece -- seeing if it was different in any way as it looks identical - he said that it was made stronger and somewhat reinforced.

Bottom-line is Panasonic took care of it and I was pleased with their courtesy and quick turn-around.

Rob
 
mavrix said:
So per Jan's email, I called Panasonic locally here in LA. I spoke to a guy named Jim who was very helpful. -- I dropped-off the camera and two days later got it back with the back piece replaced.

I asked Jim about the piece -- seeing if it was different in any way as it looks identical - he said that it was made stronger and somewhat reinforced.

Bottom-line is Panasonic took care of it and I was pleased with their courtesy and quick turn-around.

Rob

Mavrix,

You are lucky, I was told that Panasonic Canada feels that this defect is not something covered under warranty. So I contacted them and I was told that they will get back to me on the issue on Tuesday. I hope it's covered because if it is not it is going to be a major F*%#ing drag
 
Cees Mutsaers said:
What about the European market? How can we identify when buying the HVX , AS FROM NOW, whether the HVX is fixed or not ?????? Why can't they just release the serial numbers (or at least the beginning of it) where they implemented the fix. I do not want to buy an old version, find out that it breaks in the first week even when treated with the most care and have to send it back to let it repair:furious3:

If it has been fixed, it is fixed on all versions. Frankly I have 15 of them in my pool of cameras and not a single one has broken. I think that it is not something that will break but rather under certain conditions it might. Not to worry, if it does it is a warrenty repair. Don't know the exact serial number, so just know that if you have the problem it will be taken care of.

Best,

Jan
 
I dropped my HVX off on monday to the Panasonic Service center in LA.. Picked it up today with the replaced battery mount... When I spoke to the guy at the desk, he said that they had not recieved any new or modified or updated battery mount, its just a brand new replacement of what came on the camera? Any comments on this? I can't tell if it has been updated or modified in any way to be stronger, but at least it works... My replacement does not have those "tabs" that the pictures posted by Kreitz have.... I really wish the part was updated with the newest strongest piece rather than a replacement of an old inferior part....
 
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Check the pictures on page 9... To me, there appear to be 2 new tabs located on the back of the camera on the top part of the battery area.. This looks like an updated part, which I did not recieve (just picked up my camera from Panny), and would like to know the story with this.... If there is a new part, I'm not sure why it was't installed on my camera..
 
My other question still stands.

If this is a known defect, is Panasonic willing to honor a repair past the one year period.
 
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