PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) at DVinfo.net

Billy Horton · April 4th, 2016, 11:36 AM

One of my biggest fears, and I'm sure it's the same for other videographers, is that the camera will fail in the middle of a shoot. This happened to me the other night. Luckily it was a 2-camera shoot so I had another and I sent my helper back to the office to retrieve a third one.

I don't know what happened. It had been recording for about 5 minutes and I was changing the frequency on my wireless mike when it happened so I don't know if it gave a warning or not but when I looked up at it, it was dead. Blank, nothing, nada nothing in the viewfinder or any other lights. It had been running off AC so I put a battery in but still nothing.

So I was wondering if anyone knew of a fuse or something that could be replaced. I've looked on the internet but have not been able to find anything.

Luckily I had just purchased the X160 so I can still do the 2-camera shoots that I have lined up if I have to send this one off for repairs.

Andrew Smith · April 4th, 2016, 08:35 PM

Did you notice any of the 'magic smoke' coming out of the camera? :-)

Well, this will have to be a good one. According to the service guys it's had pretty much nil issues so far. Most interested to find out what went wrong with the camera.

Andrew

Billy Horton · April 5th, 2016, 10:52 AM

No magic smoke. Just my luck that I'll set some kind of precedent.

Glen Vandermolen · April 5th, 2016, 10:54 PM

When I had a JVC HM200, the camera went totally dead one night. It was on, then poof! No power.
It was a fried main circuit board. I'm not saying that's your camera's issue, but mine had the same symptoms.
Luckily it was under warranty and was fixed for free.

Leslie Wand · April 6th, 2016, 03:07 AM

were you running off the supplied ac adapter?

i had a problem many years ago with a sony ac adapter that didn't handle a mains surge very well and fried the power board in the camera.

Billy Horton · May 9th, 2016, 11:16 AM

Yeah, using the PS that came with the camera. I make sure that each camera I use is powered by the one that it came with.

Sony has had my camera now for 3 weeks and I have not heard anything from them at all.

Billy Horton · May 23rd, 2016, 10:18 AM

As an update, Sony repair says the M.C.B. RE-320 (COMPL-NC) and the M.C.B. RE-321 (COMPL-NC) boards were bad and had to be replaced. $1600 bill to fix.

Brent Kaplan · May 23rd, 2016, 03:31 PM

I just had a odd issue with my pmw-300, using a battery camera was on and battery died. I put a new battery on and camera went on i saw a image in viewfinder for a second and then it went blue. menu partially worked, i could play back clips from the sxs card just fine. But i cant record or even get into full menu. Camera was dropped at Sony on Friday late .

Brent Kaplan · May 24th, 2016, 07:37 PM

well I just got my estimate to repair my pmw-300 it needs a new Board a dcp-64 that and labor is 2745.00

its absurd, not happy

Steve Siegel · June 11th, 2016, 03:32 PM

Not surprised you are having problems. This camera has been around since 2011, and is showing its age. Come on Sony, let's have a 2016 version of the 300.

Andy Wilkinson · June 11th, 2016, 04:06 PM

"This camera has been around since 2011"

Not true. The PMW-300 was announced in June 2013 and I bought it as soon as it was available in the UK which was at the start of 2014...

http://www.shootingimage.co.uk/MoreI...ny/PMW300.html

Andrew Smith · June 12th, 2016, 12:49 AM

I got mine in 2014 and it's been 99.9% wonderful.

Andrew

Dan Gunn · June 13th, 2016, 07:14 AM

After the second time I toasted a camera, I started asking questions. Now I try to always run on batteries but some times it is not practical so I carry a UPS and plug my AC adapter into that.
Lots of hotels, churches, etc. have electrical problems, especially in downtown Atlanta hotels. I even fried a laptop due to a surge!

No more problems.....yet.

Jim Nogueira · June 24th, 2016, 08:20 PM

Yeah, it's a always a good idea to at least have a good quality surge protector to plug your camera into when battery power is not an option. I use only Sony batteries on my 300 also. The cost is higher, but for peace of mind it's worth it.

I actually took a chance and bought my 300 used on ebay. It had been used on a reality TV program, so I was pretty nervous about how it would hold up. One year and over 500 hours later, it hasn't missed a beat. I love the camera, and often get remarks from people that "it's nice to see a REAL camera", or "that looks like a SERIOUS camera". It's not 4K like my other cameras, but it is by far the best camera that I have owned.

Jim Nogueira · March 2nd, 2017, 02:13 PM

I have run into a power problem with my 300. I cannot get a battery to connect. I can only use the power supply to power the camera. I am not sure exactly where the problem lies, if it's the battery release button not engaging/disengaging problem or something else. The pins that align with the holes in the battery appear to be straight and not bent. Has anyone else experienced this?

April 4th, 2016, 11:36 AM	#1
Billy Horton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 14	PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) One of my biggest fears, and I'm sure it's the same for other videographers, is that the camera will fail in the middle of a shoot. This happened to me the other night. Luckily it was a 2-camera shoot so I had another and I sent my helper back to the office to retrieve a third one. I don't know what happened. It had been recording for about 5 minutes and I was changing the frequency on my wireless mike when it happened so I don't know if it gave a warning or not but when I looked up at it, it was dead. Blank, nothing, nada nothing in the viewfinder or any other lights. It had been running off AC so I put a battery in but still nothing. So I was wondering if anyone knew of a fuse or something that could be replaced. I've looked on the internet but have not been able to find anything. Luckily I had just purchased the X160 so I can still do the 2-camera shoots that I have lined up if I have to send this one off for repairs.

April 4th, 2016, 08:35 PM	#2
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,016	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) Did you notice any of the 'magic smoke' coming out of the camera? :-) Well, this will have to be a good one. According to the service guys it's had pretty much nil issues so far. Most interested to find out what went wrong with the camera. Andrew

April 5th, 2016, 10:52 AM	#3
Billy Horton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 14	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) No magic smoke. Just my luck that I'll set some kind of precedent.

April 5th, 2016, 10:54 PM	#4
Glen Vandermolen Space Hipster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,596	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) When I had a JVC HM200, the camera went totally dead one night. It was on, then poof! No power. It was a fried main circuit board. I'm not saying that's your camera's issue, but mine had the same symptoms. Luckily it was under warranty and was fixed for free.

April 6th, 2016, 03:07 AM	#5
Leslie Wand Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: upper hunter, australia Posts: 1,410	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) were you running off the supplied ac adapter? i had a problem many years ago with a sony ac adapter that didn't handle a mains surge very well and fried the power board in the camera. __________________ www.lesliewand.com.au

May 9th, 2016, 11:16 AM	#6
Billy Horton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 14	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) Yeah, using the PS that came with the camera. I make sure that each camera I use is powered by the one that it came with. Sony has had my camera now for 3 weeks and I have not heard anything from them at all.

May 23rd, 2016, 10:18 AM	#7
Billy Horton New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hattiesburg, MS Posts: 14	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) As an update, Sony repair says the M.C.B. RE-320 (COMPL-NC) and the M.C.B. RE-321 (COMPL-NC) boards were bad and had to be replaced. $1600 bill to fix.

May 23rd, 2016, 03:31 PM	#8
Brent Kaplan Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 166	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) I just had a odd issue with my pmw-300, using a battery camera was on and battery died. I put a new battery on and camera went on i saw a image in viewfinder for a second and then it went blue. menu partially worked, i could play back clips from the sxs card just fine. But i cant record or even get into full menu. Camera was dropped at Sony on Friday late .

May 24th, 2016, 07:37 PM	#9
Brent Kaplan Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Los Angeles,CA Posts: 166	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) well I just got my estimate to repair my pmw-300 it needs a new Board a dcp-64 that and labor is 2745.00 its absurd, not happy

June 11th, 2016, 03:32 PM	#10
Steve Siegel Major Player Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Posts: 839	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) Not surprised you are having problems. This camera has been around since 2011, and is showing its age. Come on Sony, let's have a 2016 version of the 300.

June 11th, 2016, 04:06 PM	#11
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) "This camera has been around since 2011" Not true. The PMW-300 was announced in June 2013 and I bought it as soon as it was available in the UK which was at the start of 2014... http://www.shootingimage.co.uk/MoreI...ny/PMW300.html __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

June 12th, 2016, 12:49 AM	#12
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,016	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) I got mine in 2014 and it's been 99.9% wonderful. Andrew

June 13th, 2016, 07:14 AM	#13
Dan Gunn Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 272	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) After the second time I toasted a camera, I started asking questions. Now I try to always run on batteries but some times it is not practical so I carry a UPS and plug my AC adapter into that. Lots of hotels, churches, etc. have electrical problems, especially in downtown Atlanta hotels. I even fried a laptop due to a surge! No more problems.....yet.

June 24th, 2016, 08:20 PM	#14
Jim Nogueira Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Milford, MA Posts: 487	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) Yeah, it's a always a good idea to at least have a good quality surge protector to plug your camera into when battery power is not an option. I use only Sony batteries on my 300 also. The cost is higher, but for peace of mind it's worth it. I actually took a chance and bought my 300 used on ebay. It had been used on a reality TV program, so I was pretty nervous about how it would hold up. One year and over 500 hours later, it hasn't missed a beat. I love the camera, and often get remarks from people that "it's nice to see a REAL camera", or "that looks like a SERIOUS camera". It's not 4K like my other cameras, but it is by far the best camera that I have owned.

March 2nd, 2017, 02:13 PM	#15
Jim Nogueira Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Milford, MA Posts: 487	Re: PMW-300K1: It finally happened (problem) I have run into a power problem with my 300. I cannot get a battery to connect. I can only use the power supply to power the camera. I am not sure exactly where the problem lies, if it's the battery release button not engaging/disengaging problem or something else. The pins that align with the holes in the battery appear to be straight and not bent. Has anyone else experienced this?