I'm sorry to hear about your problems. I hope Chris would bring this to the attention of B and H if they care about their reputation.

- Manny

Hi Dave.

Sony is paying overnight shipping. They gave me the FedEx number.

This is the form:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/Professiona...peedrepair.pdf


If the URL is split when I post, just combine it. If you really have trouble, I can email you the PDF. I would recommend calling them, though, to get the FedEx number and to get a reference number.

I got mine at B&H. Don't know if you saw my post. They were a bit disingenuous when I asked them about it the other day, but I really can't complain about B&H. My only problem is that I live ten minutes from them. They're expensive neighbors.

Please let me know how it goes when you call Sony.

Take care.

The form is the standard Sony repair form and in no way is specific to this problem with 2100/170 cameras.

Call Sony, don't depend on rumors and word-of-mouth. Get your own information first-hand.

No one ever claimed this was a problem-specific form.

It's simply the one the woman told me to use when I described my problem to her.

By all means, each individual should call Sony.

Just an update. Sony told me it passed QC and was going to be shipped back either today or tomorrow. I'll post my impressions of the fix when I get it back.

@ dave : look at http://www.global-dvc.org/

If my unit does not inhibit the audio problem, do I still need to send the unit for repair? Will an upgrade improve the signal to noise ration on the unit? Will an upgrade prevent future problems of having the audio problem?

Thanks...

- Manny

Just got the camera back. Actually, an hour ago, but I had to let it come up to room temperature. Really well packed. The slip said "fixed low-level audio hum," which was what I'd put in my return form, as well as cleaning and adjusting, which I guess they do automatically.

It's perfect. The hum is gone and, perhaps this is wishful thinking on my part, but the hiss at full volume seems notably lower, as well.

Anyway, I wanted to report back. Turnaround time was 8 days from door to door.

Sony PD-170 and B&H
 

Just bought Sony PD 170 (NTSC) at B&H in person at store in NYC. I was very well treated.

I told sales person about the audio problems I've heard about the PD 170 and said I'd actually like to try the camera first.

They said if I do buy the camera I can try it out in the store. When I told them that some have posted "good" serial numbers, they took the time to get the serial number from the box. Didn't recognize the serial number becaue apparently the various web sites have only posted PAL numbers. Serial number is S0111104384.

The manager I spoke to was Zishe. I told him I had upcoming shoots and didn't have the time to send a defective camera back to Sony for modification. Zishe said they would allow me to exchange it on the spot if there's an audio problem.

I bought camera and went back to the manager's area. They took the camera out of the box and got headphones for me. Hooked everything up and open/closed/jiggled LCD. Not only did I not have any audio problems, I noticed the better signal to noise ratio compared to the PD-150 I had been using.

Very glad to hear it. Thanks for posting, Paul and Craig.

Well Craig, B&H has always been very good. Although NY being NY, I hope your extra "consultation" with them did not prompt them to take out a later unit.

I say that because I should be getting a 170 here real soon, sure hope I don't have to hassle with send ing back to Sony.

Well, mine is back to Sony with "the problem".
Sony tried to get *me* to pay for shipping to boot!

PD-170 and Sony
 

Dave,

Given the current thread, I suspect you bought yours before the "recall."

Before I went to B&H I called Sony. No apparent prevarication or denial on their part. They said that the bad units should all have been taken off the shelves (recalled) and that only newer units should be stocked (by B&H). They said I certainly should have the right to check the unit before leaving the store if they had the older units in their stock.

If Sony issues a "recall" to the retailers, one would hope the retailers would comply if they got replacement stock ASAP. I suspect this happened very late January which may have been after you made your purchase.

BTW B&H gave me 7 days after the sale to return the unit to them (rather than to Sony).

FYI: B&H Still Selling the Defective PD170s as of 2/5/04
 

I ordered a PD170 on February 5, 2004.

About three or four days prior to my order, I called B&H to make sure that the audio issue with the PD170 was indeed fixed. I was assured from the sales guy that the older units were recalled, and they had new units from Sony without with the pull-out LCD viewfinder "buzz."

Wrong!

I got my PD170 today, and the first thing I tried when I took it out of the box was to check the audio with the pull-out viewfinder. It had the buzz. Needless to say, it will be going back for a refund. They wanted to know if I would like to exchange it for another, but I'm not going to risk it because I can't be assured that I won't get another defective PD170.

Right now I have a VX2100, and I wanted the PD170 for the built-in XLRs and the DVCAM recording. I even ordered a case lot of 10 DVCAM tapes. All of this is a bust!

So I am left with debating whether to send the tapes back too, along with a Porta Brace case, and getting the DVX100A, or keeping the VX2100 and adding the beachbox to it. Something I really didn't want to do. I'm not sold completely on the DVX100 (even the A revision). I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I'm sick of the whole mess, quite honestly!

I believe that one vendor was mentioned earlier or in another thread who assured that they had the post problem models.

What do you do with your cameras, specifically the 2100?