HVX-200 Design Flaw

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

Obviously from what is said here, the tabs can break but so far I don’t know that there has been a statement from Panasonic that it will or won’t be covered under warranty. Has anyone taken their camera in and had that sort of verdict?

Thanks,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Mavrix]

Jan –

It’s definitely a problem. I had the standard battery on my HVX just from a flight from LAX to London to Nairobi in a Petrol Case very well packed and secured and the battery broke off the clips while in transit. It was very frustrating seeing as I began my trip to shoot African Wildlife with a broken camera and had to jerry-rig a two-sided velcro strap to hold the battery on.

In Bulgaria now shooting but will call Panasonic and my warranty company when I return and let people know the results.

Cheers,

Rob

[Häakon]

Jan,

My battery hinges busted too (I had no idea it was such a widespread problem), but I took it in for service and Panasonic repaired it under warranty. The receipt slip indicates that the warranty covers one such instance of this problem and future requests for service will come on my dime. So the good news is that they did fix it, the bad news is that if it ever happens again it will cost me – and seeing that they just replaced it with the same part, it’s certainly not unbelievable that it may happen again. Anyway, that’s the scoop.

[Petero99]

Hi H

[Jan Crittenden livingston]

Hi,

Go back to the website. Put in the HVX200 model number and it will tell you the service facility in LA. There are only two locations for service on this camera right now.

Call the LA service center, let them know you need to send it in.

Best,

Jan

Jan Crittenden Livingston
Product Manager, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, AG-DVX100
Panasonic Broadcast & TV Systems

[Robert Aldrich]

Jan,

May I suggest a simple temporary fix to save Panasonic thousands of dollars in repairs?

For a few dollars, (or for free) make available some rigid plastic strips, sticky on one side, to stick on the upper and lower edges of the battery tray, so that the battery doesn’t have any “play” up or down, (slight interference fit) even when the camera is bumped hard. They don’t even have to be any particular thickness, as they could be placed further in from the edge as the space decreases in size, the closer you get to the offending tabs. But further out and thicker would be best to give the best support. The weight of the battery is just too much for the little tabs, and this would take the weight off the tabs in all but the roughest handling.

And then recommend that the battery be removed in transit.

Meanwhile the next model can be re-designed to correct this flaw.

Robert Aldrich
Los Angeles

[Ed M koziarski]

Has anyone paid for repairs for the battery mount on the HVX200? We had several tabs break off from normal wear and tear during a three week rental for a feature shoot, no special stress on the camera. The rental house billed us $1,500 for repair and said this was the first time they had encountered this probelm. From some of the posts on this thread it seems like the repair should be covered under warranty if it’s the first such instance, and regardless it’s hard to swallow paying a third of the camera’s value for a few plastic tabs, particularly when the problem seems so common. Any suggestions on how to deal with this, or similar expereinces?

Thanks, Ed

[Robert Aldrich]

I suggest you ask to see the repair bill to them from Panasonic and then take it up with Panasonic if there really is one! Panny has been repairing them for others for free, so why should you have to pay?

[Petero99]

edmkoz,

I confirm that Panasonic is taking care of the tab breaking problem without charge. The rental company really needs to show you the receipt. It is a known problem and Panasonic is taking responsibility for it. Peter, San Diego