Riding the rails/Panasonic Service?

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xianchi

Active member
Beware of the bottom of your camera, especially with rails!!! I thought Panny's service was supposed to be prompt....I don't know if I am ranting aor asking a question but...

Let's start from the beginning...

I had a shoot that required my taking to the train to the location. On the way I had to check my camera, which made me nervous but I thought it would be OK.

Well, I pulled the camera out, set it down and notice the rails were pointing up. Not to mention touching the end of the lens. Me? I'm freaking out. At least briefly.

I took the rails off and could see what happened. The under carriage of the camera is made out of some sort plastic material. My bag was either thrown or smashed which put pressure on the tips of the rails and caused the body to snap! Youch!

Anyway, this was yesterday. I immediately start digging around on Panasonics site for HPX500 service info. Finally I find an online form, find my serial number, fill it out and it says someone will contact you within one business day. Well that was over 24 hours ago and still no response. When it was getting close to the 24 mark I called what I believe to be my closest service center which is in L.A. No answer, but I left a voicemail with a description of the damage and my number.

Still no call back. It's only been 4-5 hours.

I have a shoot next week. A week from today. So, tick tick tick tock

Anyone got a line on how to get my cam to and from Panasonic by next Wednesday??

Thanks for listening!!
 
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I've sent my HPX500 in for service at the LA facility as well - and had the exact same "no immediate call back" issue while trying to get the camera in for repair, I think in the end I filled out the forms on PASS and sent it in if I remember right, shipped the camera down and it came back quick. You might be able to get a loaner from your camera dealer if they're cool.
If you can't find one and need an HPX right away, there are a couple in Seattle, PM me and I'll hook you up with some phone numbers.
 
Thanks Guy!

Still haven't heard anything but it's somewhat comforting to hear you had a similar experience.

I thought it would be ok because everyone here seems to report very quick service.

I'll try and take some pics so you can see what happened.
 
Update:

I called the L.A. service center again and this time I actually got to speak with someone who just told me to ship it detailing the problem.

If only that was on the website I could have sent it in 2 days ago. I expected them to want the cam info before it was sent...

I'll post a pic of the damage later today.
 
Ouch! I think you're looking at a repair bill that is going to be a couple thousand dollars not covered by warranty. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. You can claim insurance if you have it or, if all is functioning fine, live with it. :crybaby: I would have hand carried it on the train out of the bag if I had to. I never let those gorillas handle my cameras. Tough pill to swallow, this should be a lesson for us all.
Time for an HPX3000!
 
hahah oh!

Luckily my insurance will cover it, that is after I pay my $500 deductible, of course.

The camera is functioning fine I just can't mount it to a tripod or anything like that.

Still no response from the online service form.

I guess now I can muck around with my MII

What do you have on your shoulder these days?
 
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xianchi said:
I guess now I can muck around with my MII

What do you have on your shoulder these days?
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Glad to hear that the insurance will cover it. That's what its for.

This season, I'm sportin' a 5D2 and a Sony Z7U. Soon to be a Panasonic HPX170 as soon as we get the approval to become an Authorized Panasonic Dealer - yeah boy!
 
wow! This is crazy... I still haven't heard from Panasonic. Not from the online form I filled out last week and nothing form the service center that received the camera 24 hours ago. No call, no email, no fax, no PASS update.

I guess I have to cancel my shoot!
 
xianchi said:
wow! This is crazy... I still haven't heard from Panasonic. Not from the online form I filled out last week and nothing form the service center that received the camera 24 hours ago. No call, no email, no fax, no PASS update.

I guess I have to cancel my shoot!
Click to expand...

C'mon man, stop being so dramatic. Stuff happens. If it was me, I would do my shoot if the camera works fine and worry about it after.
 
The camera worked fine, without a tripod. If I was doing some handheld shooting it would have been ok, I could of sent the camera in after, but alas, my shoot isn't a hand held gig so I needed to send it in.

Dramatic? Really? I didn't mean to be.

Everything I had read about Panny's service before was, "I sent in Tuesday and today is thursday and my camera is back." This is day 6 of trying to get Panny's Service to contact me. I am only updating about my ordeal so that others will be aware and plan accordingly.

No drama required.
 
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@Kit - But he can't do the job RIGHT because of the experience he is having. He is simply talking about what he is going through which is apparently different from what he has been reading on these forums.
 
And the drama continues....

I finally talked to somebody at the Service Center, they didn't call me I called them, 6th time is the charm I guess. They said it will take 3-5 days just to get the estimate.

Maybe they are are swamped or something or the people reporting very quick turnarounds are on the other coast.

Should you need to service your camera on the West Coast, don't bother with the online form and when you call, don't bother leaving a message keep calling til you talk to someone.
 
Things are looking up! A guy from shipping and receiving returned my call from this morning and said that the cam was being processed and I should hear from them tomorrow!

Fingers crossed!
 
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