Camera Bag broke my GH2?

sonowake

I have a little interesting story and wondering if you've ever experienced it or heard anything like it. So after shooting a wedding video (non professional) for a friend with my hacked GH2 i decided to treat myself to a more discreet camera bag for doing street photography, i ended up buying a Golla Focus medium camera bag from amazon. I bought it because it's small quite fashionable, and a friend had recommended it, but the thing that interested me was the fact in addition to a velcro strap to secure the the front flap, it had magnets to keep it shut but allow fast access. So i get my new case, put my camera in and go out for a shoot around edinburgh during the fringe. I pull it out of the bag and hit the power switch, camera doesn't boot up, press the shutter a few times and it jumps to life for 1 second flashes off. I strap the camera around my shoulder with my strap and try it again about 30 mins later, works fine, end of shoot put it back into the bag, get home take it out attach the camera to my computer, doesn't boot again. next day i try the camera and it's working again fine, going to see my new born niece, pack the camera in the bag, go and when i come to take it out, camera doesn't work again, frustrated i sling the camera over my shoulder and an hour later it works, i'm suspecting the case at this point. So i keep it slinged around me and everything is good for a few days, out of the case. Now i thought i'd give it one more chance, put it in the case, go out to the fringe again with camera and lenses, pull it out camera doesn't work, leave it out, camera still doesn't work. Now my camera only works in about 5 second chunks. I've tried different official batteries, 3rd party ones, with/without/different memory cards, changed lenses. Nothing. I've had the camera for a year with the Hack with nothing wrong, the moment i got this camera bag it's all stopped working.

I suspect the magnets but i don't know.

goanna

@sonowake

Looks like you've done some good testing. If you've reverted to factory defaults and it still doesn't work, read the warranty info re date and exposure to magnets and then off to Panasonic Service Centre with your print-out of your post above and copy of Golla receipt and warranty.

Thanks for the bag warning. I won't buy one until you give it the all clear.

kazuo

@sonowake

Hi, I have suffered a similar fate having hacked my camera. What happened to me sounds very similar to your incident: i had finished shooting for the day, left my cam on the rack, when it was time for me to turn the set on again, the green light wouldn't come on. I have actually been talking to guys on another thread on this site: there are several opinions as to the crash. Most people disregard the hack as the culprit. They vouch that they have been hacking the camera, but they have never managed to hack it to death. Well, I am persuaded to believe in this, but then again, there are always 2 sides to a story. Incidentally, my camera is also more than a year old. Warranty recently expired end of July. And I have been hacking it, trying out different settings, for almost a year!

Strange coincidences here. Is there a correlation between age of camera and hacking activity?

The other possibility could be 3rd party batteries. Were you using any? I used a combo of original and made in China bats, and i think there is a strong chance that the 3rd party products could have killed my camera.

I think despite its petite make up, the GH2 is quite a hardy camera, and will not break down so easily under external pressures, such as when you put it in a confined space like a smaller bag. Definitely not the magnet

RRRR

sounds like moisture / connection corrosion due to moisture to me.

peternap

Sorry about the camera @sonowake. My guess would be that there's a magnetic sensor somewhere that's gotten confused and gone back to mamma. I'll stick with my old fashioned zippered cases now.

bechou

I think it's more a magnetic conflict too...

sonowake

@Kazou I thought that initially and tried other batteries, i do and did use 3rd party batteries until i bought a 2nd 1st party battery about 3 months ago and haven't used the 3rd party ones since.

I've hacked my camera with the 100Mbps Flow Motion patch, and it's only about the 3 or 4 patch change i've done and it's not even the most stressful patch.

sonowake

I know what the reaction looks like, the power dropping out suddenly like that would indicate (to my limited understanding of electronics) that it's mostly likely a short somewhere, my thoughts would be that the magnets might've shifted a wire or component, by a small about, but in such a compact body a small amount could cause things to have contact.

stoney

Get another bag...

sonowake

@stonebat i did, damage seems permanent :(

stoney

R.I.P. :(

kazuo

I sent my dead GH2 to Panasonic for a quote, the repair costs came back at $300. Apparently the circuit board has fried, and the technician also proposed changing some other parts due to wear and tear.

My camera just turned one in July, so am wondering how in the world a used but not abused set could break down so quickly. Will pick up another GH2, used and more than a year old, as a buffer. Will not look at GH3, cos I reckon it will not be a major rethink of GH2. Will finally sell one GH2 when I gear towards BMC

sonowake

UPDATE: so i sent my camera to the shop and got it fixed for £90 (approx USD$150) what had happened was a screw inside had come out and fallen into the power board and caused a short.

So it's a toss up, the technician that fixed it told me that it could just be movement and transport that loosened and released the screw. It could be the magnet that pulled it out, or a factor of the 2 things. but either way I have my GH2 back, and it had nothing to do with the hack.

goanna

Good news and thanks for the info on what can happen inside a GH2.

John_Farragut

Reminds me of the lugs on the GH1 that can go loose after a while. With the inside bolt shorting the board.

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