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Help! My GH3 won't turn on anymore...
  • StabStab

    Hi guys,

    My GH3 won't turn on anymore. I have 3 batteries and I've used all of them. When I press the on/off switch nothing happens. No light comes on, just 'dead'. I've also tried removing the lens and SD card but makes no difference.

    I bought i a little over 2 years ago so I guess waranty is out of the question.

    Any thoughts, solutions that I could try myself? And an important bonus question: Could this have been caused by inserting a cheaper off-brand (OTB) battery? This never happened before and it seems to have happened after I first inserted a replacement battery. It has the same 'name' (DMW-BLF19E) as the original batteries but uses 7.4v instead of 7.2v and 11.84Wh instead of 14Wh...

    Could that have fried the insides of the camera? Otherwise it would have just happened out of nowhere...

    Thanks!

  • 11 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Any thoughts, solutions that I could try myself?

    Go to service center.

  • StabStab

    I already sent it in for repair today. Luckily the shop where I bought it will put the charges under an extended warranty.

    So the only question that remains is, could the OTB battery have caused this to happen? Obviously I'm not going to use that anymore when the camera is repaired but I'm just curious...

  • peternappeternap

    I guess it depends on the battery but I use Wasabi batteries in all my cameras including my GH3 and have never had any problems.

  • fahrenheitfahrenheit

    "could the OTB battery have caused this to happen?"

    Perhaps, although it happened to me with the OEM battery. Similar situation to you: it just didn't power on one day. Main PCB had fried.

  • vlad_ruvlad_ru

    Hello! I have the similar issue on my brand new GH4, it worked only for one day! I used the original battery, switched it on and it turned off after 3 seconds. Then it never powers on again... It doesn't have warranty, because I bought it in US and I am from Russia. Any advices?

  • AKEDAKED

    If you bought it new and officially, the Panasonic warranty should work worldwide. But I am sure Vitaliy knows more about Panasonic warranties in Russia.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    If you bought it new and officially, the Panasonic warranty should work worldwide

    It is not usually true. Panasonic does not have worldwide warranty.

  • vlad_ruvlad_ru

    It seems it has EU warranty if bought in one of EU countries. But mine is from Ebay US store, so it's like gray market I believe. Can't find the same issue anywhere on the internet. This is what I never expected to happen! My GH3 is in excellent shape after 2 years. This one is definitely defective one.

    Looks like I need to change main PCB as well, but can't find this replacement part anywhere. (This is the last option). I'd better changed it myself, because I don't know any trusted panasonic camera service.

    Definitely my worst New Year!

  • bjadamsbjadams

    The same happened to me with the GH5. It's 3 months old and I have a 5year warranty. It was working fine then switched it off. When i switched it on again, it's dead. no power led. i guess it could just be a bad unit. Or maybe condensation caused by high humidity fried the board? i don't believe in this 3rd party battery myth. been using 3rd party batteries in all kind of devices for 10+ years!

  • Nikk87Nikk87

    Hey, bjadams I have the same issue with my GH5. Bough it brand new on ebay 3 months ago. I knew it was import model but decided to save that $300 so now 3 months later it doesn't turn on. Tried everything except taking it apart - don't konw what the issue is. Did you have yours fixed?

  • bjadamsbjadams

    Basically I sent it back to the supplier and they could do nothing. They sent it to Panasonic who replaced the board. All was free since it was under warranty. They never told me what was the exact problem. Years ago I had got a new Canon on ebay that dies after 1 year. Seller vanished so I had to suck it up. That's why i only buy from reputable shops that cater for pros these days when it comes to equipment that costs thousands.

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