Changed discs in one of our 350s last week and the loader assembly decided it didn't want to accept the disc. Rather than force the disc in upon feeling resistance, I sent it to Sony to have a look. They say it is not covered under warranty and it will cost 3600 bucks to fix. Camera is 14 months old with medium usage. Am I just unlucky or has anyone else run into this issue?

Not this problem, but I have run into exorbitant charges for repair from Sony service. One of our cameras (f350) was sent back to replace the flip out LCD, they charged us 4 hours labor for the R&R. One of my fellow techs decided to try the R&R himself and was able to replace it in 15 minutes (4 screws, if I remember correctly). Needless to say, we will be doing this repair in house from now on.

Ouch! That hurts.

Can't you fall back on the 24 months of Silver Support. Did they say why it isn't covered by warranty, and what the cause of the problem was? How can someone screw up the disc loader of the camera?

Ouch! That hurts.

Can't you fall back on the 24 months of Silver Support. Did they say why it isn't covered by warranty, and what the cause of the problem was? How can someone screw up the disc loader of the camera?

My thoughts exactly. I'm awaiting a response- should be interesting.

I don´t think they have Silver Support in USA.

I think it is only for Europe

Found out that Silver Support is not the same as warranty. And yes, you could be right about not having that kind of support in the USA.

Still, the website of B&H says 2 years warranty.

Very curious what Sony is going to with this case.

Warranty is 2 years parts and labor on the PDW-F series cameras.

I don't see how they would not cover it after 14 months of usage unless there is visible signs of abuse.

Dan could you send me a PM with more details?

-gb-

I'm astounded by the cost of that repair. It's only normally stuff like CCD blocks that costs that much. That must be for an entire laser/drive mechanism and I'm surprised that a loading fault requires the whole lot to be replaced. There is more to this than meets the eye, what have they said is wrong?

I'm astounded by the cost of that repair. It's only normally stuff like CCD blocks that costs that much. That must be for an entire laser/drive mechanism and I'm surprised that a loading fault requires the whole lot to be replaced. There is more to this than meets the eye, what have they said is wrong?

This happened by unloading a disc and then re-loading another. Upon doing so, I felt resistance and couldn't get the disc far enough down into the elevator mechanism for it to take. Knowing that you never force the situation at that point, I stopped and read up on the situation online and in the manual only to find the already known "manual eject" procedure which did not work. I then sent it back to Sony and now I am facing a 3600 dollar repair. What did I do wrong?

Pro-Products is mistaken. As Greg mentioned earlier in the thread, these cameras have a 2-year warranty coverage for parts and labor (i am traveling now but i will try to dig the XDCAM HD warranty coverage in my files). This repair should be free of charge inlcuding shipping the camera back to you. Did you ever register the camera with Sony? Also, in the future, while the camera is still under warranty, it is better to sent it back straight to Sony for repairs.

Thierry

Yes, this seems a little odd. As stated by Greg there is a two year warranty on that camera. If they are trying to claim there is only a one year then either they are stupid or they think you are...

If Professional Products (I know nothing about companies on the East Coast) is an Sony Authorized Repair location then they should be honoring the warranty. If not then send the camera directly to Sony.

Here is the link to Sony's warranty policies, clearly, it is two years for XDCAM HD.

http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/services/files/servicesprograms/ProductWarranty.pdf

Thierry

The very fact that the dealer calls it an XDV camera is a worry. As everyone has stated F series has a 2 year warranty.

You should find out how many loading cycles the camera has gone through, I'm sure we would all like to know. I just don't believe the entire mechanism would need replacing unless there was extraordinary wear or it had been forced.

Mine is well into the thousands and has been used in all kinds of dusty, humid and wet environments without any issues (touch wood).

Thanks for your help everyone. The battle with Pro Products has officially begun. I will post the results.

Thanks for your help everyone. The battle with Pro Products has officially begun. I will post the results.

Dan, you DO NOT need to deal with those people. Get the camera back from them if they have it and deal directly with Sony's repair facility in Teaneck, NJ. I will get you the name of the person who handled my camera repair.

Also, it's not a good policy to post entire email exchanges as you did. Because it can pose a liability issue for the site, I have removed it from public view. That's why I requested a PM from you with more details.

Our primary goal here is to get your camera taken care of properly and, under warranty as it should be.

-gb-

I just don't believe the entire mechanism would need replacing unless there was extraordinary wear or it had been forced..

You are right, it's not believable. Sony doesn't think so either, that's why it's still under warranty from the manufacturer. It's likely a part that worked its way loose and has caused the loader mechanism to jam.

-gb-

Also, it's not a good policy to post entire email exchanges as you did. Because it can pose a liability issue for the site, I have removed it from public view. That's why I requested a PM from you with more details.Just a quick note here -- as Greg points out, please do NOT post the contents of private emails to this site. We remove them as a matter of policy. The sender of the email, not the recipient, holds the copyright to it and there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Thanks for understanding,

Dan, you DO NOT need to deal with those people. Get the camera back from them if they have it and deal directly with Sony's repair facility in Teaneck, NJ.Didn't want this to get lost in the thread -- what Greg suggests is what exactly needs to happen. First get your camera back from the dealer, and then send it directly to Sony factory service in New Jersey.

Sorry about the cut and paste. Won't happen again. Also, the camera WAS sent to Sony in NJ and they are the ones who quoted the repair cost (according to Pro Products). Obviously there is more to the story than meets the eye. To be continued...

I've tried using the Sony guys in NJ for repairs. It was a disaster and very stressful. They overcharged me to say the least, but with many phone calls I got the price reduced. I asked for the cam to have it's backfocus checked and it actually came back worse!

I find the guys at Armatos the best for repairs for Sony cams. The turn around time, the price, and most of all the quality of the work is above excellence. Plus, they are good fair people. I love them. They are in NY.

Sorry about the cut and paste. Won't happen again. Also, the camera WAS sent to Sony in NJ and they are the ones who quoted the repair cost (according to Pro Products). Obviously there is more to the story than meets the eye. To be continued...

Just spoke with Sony person while here at HQ. He says it should be a warranty issue... no question about it. He is aware that some of the cameras have experienced loader issues.

I hope you didn't pay for a repair.

-gb-

Just spoke with Sony person while here at HQ. He says it should be a warranty issue... no question about it. He is aware that some of the cameras have experienced loader issues.

I hope you didn't pay for a repair.

-gb-

Thanks for following up Greg. The happy ending to this long drawn out saga is that we did not pay for the repair and it was covered by the warranty. That's the happy ending...

The disturbing aspect of this story remains... why did my "vendor" insist that it was not covered and that Sony XDCam HD cams had a 1 year warranty rather than 2 years? It took this forum to save me 3600 bucks! Scary- but I hope this helps future XDCam users in even the slightest of ways...

Thank you to all who chimed in and... I hope this thread encourages that positive/proactive behavior even more in the future.