This a dupe of a post on GH2 rumor thread but I'm interested if readers here know if Panasonic has really fixed warranty service.
If they don’t announce a “GH2” at the February photo show I’m going to order a GH1 with a three year warranty provided by someone beside Panasonic. I bought a DMC-ZS3 last spring and it developed a firmware problem with the display after about a month. In June of 2009 the warranty service from Panasonic was the worst I have ever encountered. It took them 20 to 50 minutes to answer the phone and after nearly a half dozen calls I found how to send the camera back for repair. The display screen became cracked in their shop and they wanted $200 to supply another camera because of my “abuse”. In September the situation improved (they started answering the phone and sent me a voucher for another camera) however all through that experience I thought what a bummer this was for my $350 camera but how I would have felt with the exact same service for a $1500 Lumix GH1. Panasonic warranty service on Lumix products may have improved but I’ll protect my investment.
If they don’t announce a “GH2” at the February photo show I’m going to order a GH1 with a three year warranty provided by someone beside Panasonic. I bought a DMC-ZS3 last spring and it developed a firmware problem with the display after about a month. In June of 2009 the warranty service from Panasonic was the worst I have ever encountered. It took them 20 to 50 minutes to answer the phone and after nearly a half dozen calls I found how to send the camera back for repair. The display screen became cracked in their shop and they wanted $200 to supply another camera because of my “abuse”. In September the situation improved (they started answering the phone and sent me a voucher for another camera) however all through that experience I thought what a bummer this was for my $350 camera but how I would have felt with the exact same service for a $1500 Lumix GH1. Panasonic warranty service on Lumix products may have improved but I’ll protect my investment.