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GH3 LCD hinge cover fix
  • Upss.. Drop.. Looks like nothing is broken yet... seems to be easy to broke if I try to push in and probably easy fix if know how. There is a piece of magnet which hold this piece but i don't want to force it to break this plastic cover. Any advices what to do or more important what not to do....? Except sending to panasonic of course. I fill like little boy with injured, dying pet :) I know its a punishment for selling Gh2.

    gh3 screen.jpg
    3008 x 2000 - 606K
  • 13 Replies sorted by
  • I just sold my GH3 and purchased another GH2 before I was punished or forever cursed myself. Sometimes when I took a shower the bathroom lights would flicker: this was the ghost of my old GH2.

    As for your GH3 - I do remember my GH3 having a bit of a vertical screen wiggle. It did not feel very sturdy at all. Just send it to Panasonic. Save yourself from more heartache. Ask them to fix the LCD hinge and remove the curse if possible.

  • Little update here. My GH3 is in Panasonic Service since 5 Feb (They are nice people). Waiting 5 weeks for a new hinge delivery from Panasonic to Panasonic Service. it is Incredibly fast as they still did not get it.

  • Mine is pretty wobbly after 1 month of usage. So no way to fix it?? as it seems that a screw is only loose, but now I need to know how to get there....I don't want to send it back and be without it for weeks and can't afford a spare!!!

  • I got mine back today :) 6 weeks. It is like click in. and little magnet in it. I cant tell you as I did not have to open mine:). I got EVF low light noise adjusted - yeay. But now Im getting red straps (for a half of secend) after snap stills and sometimes full red-white view... goodlack

  • @emonty you should ask @jonbeeotch, he opened his GH3 to fix it (see: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/5488/gh3-issues-topic/p5, 2 message above yours :)), and/or download the service manual (you can start here, you'll be one click away from it : http://connect.dpreview.com/forums/post/51097734)

  • Thxs Brotha!!

  • Hi, i have had a few people contact me because their LCD has become floppy, asking about opening up their GH3 to tighten the hinge screws. Im not a technician, just used to buying stuff on ebay and having to mess with it when it arrives... sometimes fixing issues, sometimes making things worse. so do what you want at your own risk! Thought i'd post what i wrote to @emonty, not sure how it all worked out for him?

    Hi Ed, did you download the service manual? if so... just start on page 44 (removal of the rear case unit), this is pretty straight forward, and also the biggest step. The only tricky part was the screw in the battery compartment, it was really tight for the entire removal, i was sure it was going to strip, but didn't. after you everything on page 44, the back slides straight back and off, BUT there are still electronic ribbons attaching it to the body, so separate slowly. you dont have to remove the ribbons to tighten the hinge. now go to page 49 (9.1.3.9. Removal of the MR1 SW FPC Unit and LCD Unit)... remove the 2 "s" screws for the hinge arm covers. with these removed, you can tighten the screws that attach the hinge, only the top one was loose on mine. i didn't use any "locktight" on the screw because i didnt have any... but i wish i did. its been 3 or so weeks and still feels tight. good luck! its pretty straight forward, just go slow, im just a normal person and managed. if you get stuck or worried, let me know. jon

    oh yeah, forgot to mention... when i had mine apart, i was surprised about the amount of dirt that had accumulated in the seam and around the weather sealing seal. i knew if i didnt clean it out before re-assembly, the camera wouldn't be weather sealed anymore. i just wiped with a moist q-tip watching to make sure no q-tip fibers were left behind.

    D1 and D2... its really not as complicated as it seems, just go slow!

    ed wrote: just nervous about it but the wobble makes me more nervous. Is there a screw underneath the plastic part, where the screen sits (on the left)? See picture:

    image

    Also: Is it needed to take the scroll wheel off and how is that done?

    image

    sorry for the questions and thank you for your help, I want to be prepared, go slow and not come to any surprise.

    back to me: No, there is no screw under the plastic part... i know in the service manual it kinda looks like there is one, but its actually referring to the screw on the left side of the camera, directly below the mic port.

    and no, you do not need to take the scroll wheel off.

    i think when you go for it... you will be surprised to see how simple it was.

    again, the only really scary part was removing the screw from the battery compartment.

    also, i put a strong magnet really close by because i was worried about dropping screws.

  • @jonbeeotch no guts yet, but I will do it soon and report back how it went, thank you again for your advise and instructions!!

  • I've finally found the time to do it, it was quite manageable as Jon advised, just needed to find a time that I wasn't tired.

    It seemed that it was the screw above the mic port need to be unscrewed rather than the one below the mic port. I could be wrong, but without unscrewing the one above I could not release the back panel.

    Another thing is, the shorter flex would probably detach by itself, and to put it back in, I had to release the locking tab before I can put the flex back in, as stated in the service manual.

    Thanks Jon for being the pioneer in this regard and sharing with us, it really helped!

    p.s. I purchased my GH3 from Wing Shing Photo in Hong Kong, and the sales person was kind enough to offer me a brand new replacement(1 month after purchase) once the issue I suggested is verified. But I live in a rather remote part of the world and figure even a brand new replacement would likely has the same issue, in the end I seek Jon's help and decided to fixing it myself and it turned out to be much simpler than I thought.

  • what imo every GH3 owner should do

    GH3 Tutorial saving your oled screen for three $

  • @symph I don't got it. what is he doing and why?

  • There is a little "bump" there that is probably the reason why hinges break.

  • thanks...I will chaco it out