Disappointed in how long my Pannys are lasting

[Andreas Winkler]

Just for your all information, I got my GS400 back after 2 weeks repair. A little longer than expected, but the DV connector works fine again! ;)

[Dave Largent]

Yes, I remember Alex K. Does he still post here?

Anyways, I would say I have not at all gotten
my money's worth out of these cams. I would
say each of the four cams has between
15 to 25 hours on it and only one out
of four cams is still useful for shooting.

[Frank Granovski]

Michael, did you by chance get one of the consumer 3CCD Pannys? I'm wondering if any of them are as good or better than the DV53 in low light.

The answer is yes and no. the older EZ1 was very good in lower light. It had 3, 1/3" CCDs, though, and a low CCD pixel count. Since that model Pana 3-chip cams have become sharper, cheaper and needed higher light requirements. Alex K. hasn't been here for quite some time.

Anyways, I would say I have not at all gotten my money's worth out of these cams.

Don't buy cheap, lower-end cams, whether they're Panas, Sonys or whatever. There's a reason why they're inexpensive. Buying a cheap cam is like buying a cheap VCR.

[Bruce Simpson]

Buying a cheap cam is like buying a cheap VCR.

Oh that it were!

In 1999 I bought a top-line Sony VCR, and a *very* budget NEC VCR. in 2000 I bought another top-line Sony VCR.

The 2000 model Sony died after 15 months (warranty was 12) and the 1999 Sony died after three years.

The ultra-budget NEC VCR is still going strong.

I bought the Sony VCRs because I had a great run out of the top-line unit I bought in 1991 -- it lasted 12 years and gave a far superior picture quality.

The guy in the Sony service center told me that "they don't make them like they used to" and that new models are all about bullet-points on brochures rather than actual picture and audio quality or longevity.

*THAT'S* why I bought an MX500 rather than a Sony and it's a decision I've yet to regret.

[Dave Largent]

Hey, I just thought about something. Regarding
my two Pannys that stopped playing, and
are sometimes pulling tapes out when
they are ejected, is it possible that this
could be due to problems with the batteries?
What symptoms might onw see when a
battery starts to fail. How long do camcorder
batteries usually last?
These are the original small batteries
that came with the camera a year
ago.

[Tom Hardwick]

I doubt very much that it's a battery fault. They should last 6 or 7 years without too much trouble, but they only have so many charge / discharge cycles built into them, then they fail.

The camera will sence the cut-off voltage point and shut down, leaving enough juice to eject the tape. Unless of course the shut-down is caused by battery failure rather than discharge.

tom.

[Dave Largent]

I've run one cam on A/C and it worked properly.
We'll see how it goes with cam 2 on A/C.

Regarding my third one that developed a
large white spot (?hot pixel), Pan said
there is a flat rate of $150 to fix these
cams. If I send in the one with the bad
pixel, what does anyone suppose Panasonic
will do with it? Will they fix it
for the flat rate? Do they actually
have repair technicians replace the
CCD?

[Dave Largent]

Well, I went to see if fresh batteries might
help anything and have found that
one of the two cameras that was eating
tapes has now also developed a bad pixel,
too. A big white one near the center of
the frame. So that makes 2 of the 4
cams getting bad pixels in a year's time.

Last year I bought a Sony 1CCD off
ebay and within hours of using it
it also developed a bad pixel.

It's one of those things you think always
happens to the other guy. Three cams
with bad pixels in one year!

[Frank Granovski]

Hmmm. That is unlucky. I've been shooting a lot lately with my very very old JVC DVL9500s, and some with my fabulous Pana MX300---lots of Yashica Electro pics as well. I don't know..., they just keep on ticking and ticking and ticking. The only trouble I have is that every night I've got to charge up all these batteries.

If you've had 3 bad Pana's, you should contact Pana and b_tch and scream and write letters....

[Tommy Haupfear]

Interesting read on dead/stuck pixels.

Click here

[Leigh Wanstead]

I disagee the issue related to Panasonic consumer camera.

I bought a gs400 camera last year and I accidentally droped the camera on the ground. The drop height was around one meter. Surprisingly that my gs400 survived that and no harm was done. I think that I was very lucky. I heard that someone dropped sony hc1000e IIRC, and damaged the touch screen. I did not put my gs400 heavy use, till today it seems works fine without the famous tape noise problem.

By the way, does anyone know if I damage the camera by accidentally drop it, will it be covered by contents insurance?

Regards
Leigh

[Dave Largent]

Well, you know, my pixels are white, rather than
black, so (from what I know) these are called
"hot pixels" -- if they were "dead" they'd be
black, I gather. At any rate, I bought these
cams a year ago, and 2 out of 4 have developed
these pixels in the center of the recorded image,
which, for me, renders the cams useless
for any furthur use. (Like I said, these spots
are recorded to tape.)
I actually do like the Panny cams -- nice low light -- and
what other 1CCD cams are around with 1/4" CCDs.
I just wish Panny would agree to fix even one ...
They say they have a $150 flat fee to fix
cams but would they replace the CCD if one
(large) pixel goes bad?
Like I've said, I bought 4 of the DV53 cams because
I was impressed, and I would hope Panny
would atleast want to help me out in some
way on this.

[Dave Largent]

I'm going to try to fix the bad pixels myself. I
have read on a website that rumor has it, if you put
a cam in a plastic bag and then put it in the
refrigerator overnite, that this could fix bad
pixels.
Anyone else tried this?
I guess you don't have to freeze them
but you have to get them below 40 degrees
for 24 hours.
A long shot but ...

[Leigh Wanstead]

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Largent : I'm going to try to fix the bad pixels myself. I
have read on a website that rumor has it, if you put
a cam in a plastic bag and then put it in the
refrigerator overnite, that this could fix bad
pixels.
Anyone else tried this?
I guess you don't have to freeze them
but you have to get them below 40 degrees
for 24 hours.
A long shot but ... -->>>

Tell me the result

It sounds so fun 8 )

Regards
Leigh

[Dave Largent]

Well, I took both cams out of the refrigerator,
and the result is ... NO CHANGE. It didn't
help at all.