Well...that was fun, not....I upgraded the firmware today, almost. All went well until the last part when the camera suddenly went black and shut down. Yes I had a fully charged battery. Anyway, camera's bricked. Glad I always buy the additional warranty but I'll have to make do with the AC160, Gh3, and gh2s for a couple of weeks.

@peternap ("Well...that was fun, not....I upgraded the firmware today, almost. All went well until the last part when the camera suddenly went black and shut down. Yes I had a fully charged battery. Anyway, camera's bricked. ")

Actually, do not give up. This seemed to have happened to me. The update stopped midway and my camera was off and would not turn on. It seemed dead. What actually was the case was it was still in upgrade mode. Try running the updater program again and then plugging the camera back into the computer by usb. That is what I did and it re-started the update, finished and now I have a fully-functional essentially new camera with better AF and a higher bitrate 4K. Btw, the reason for the shutdown is a usb disconnect, so make sure your cable is well connected. Keep trying until it complete (replug).

@DrDave

It's a Sony (c)

@markr041 Thanks Mark, but I've tried it a couple dozen times now. I disconnected the battery overnight and retried, verified the USB port good, offered sacrifices and danced forbidden dances....The things just dead.

I've read about this happening and it seems to happen a lot with Sonys.....but after flashing dozens of cameras, never lost one. Back to repair on Monday. Thankfully I have backup cameras but I really like this Sony. Kind of ticks me off too,

Sorry to here that @peternap, though if youre shooting with an AC160, GH3, and some GH2s, it would seem logical that you would shoot some 4k on a GH4 :) Really a bunmer that the Sony went down, though really believe if you use a GH4 you wont miss the Sony as much.

@peternap I agree the panny customer service is bad, and the Sony ax100 is a great cam, but the fact the firmware upgrade bricked your cam, that's harsh.

I agree that I would think twice about buying another Panasonic cam.

Note that you also need U3 cards, as AX100 do not check card speed and just reject all your old cards (for 100Mbit).

@DrDave

Well, only for new 100Mbit mode.

@DrDave I've been using an sdxc card also with great results Dave, but I have a new U3 to put in it when it gets back. I have to admit that as annoying as this is, Sony customer support has been top notch so far. I'm not going to have to go through my supplemental warranty.

@DrDave Just an update on the AX100. I didn't think it possible to find worse repair service than Panasonic, but after sending the camera to Sony's repair people, Precision Camera Repair, I have. First they lost it, never answered the phone or responded to emails, then after calling Sony and using enough profanity they understood I was unhappy, they contacted Precision who just happened to find the camera that day. Then after requiring a CC Payment of $500.00+ dollars for the warranty repair, had to order parts. After a month I started calling, no answer, never ending hold times with no answer and one hang up, I had had enough yesterday while talking to B&H about another camera. The AX100 subject came up and I went over it all with the rep, who contacted the head of customer service who contacted the Sony Rep who contacted Precision......and wonder of wonders, my parts just arrived today and they'll contact me within 48 hours.

Now I wish I'd bought the GH4. At least you don't have to wait to get screwed by them.

After a month I started calling, no answer, never ending hold times with no answer and one hang up,

I think it is good idea to call consumer oriented organizations as well as some government guys if it is so slow.

Also, remember to make and send good long email and fax to Sony branch in your country.

Btw, degradation of service is common for all brands and caused by "effective management" :-)

NIkon pro services PR for Canada:

The Canadian market is ever evolving and Nikon Canada continues to adapt in order to maintain our leadership position. In response to market changes, we will soon move to a centralized model for servicing our customers’ warranty and repair needs.

The key element of this change is the closure of our service depots in Richmond, British Columbia, and Montréal, Québec. Going forward, all customer service will be centralized out of our Head Office in Mississauga, Ontario.

http://akihabaranews.com/2015/01/21/article-en/review-sony-ax100-4k-handycam-video-gallery-1128000737

Hopefully this is the last update. Apparently they lied to Sony about having the parts. Sony is who told B&H they were in. On Tuesday I'd had enough and found a human at precision and blasted them. I was preparing a complaint to the better business Bureau and the state attorney general. Again a miricle occurred and the parts just came in. Today their website shows its shipped although the tracking hasn't shown up yet. No mention of what they hit my card for yet. When I get that amount the second warranty says they'll pay it.

I'm skeptical but maybe without a fight. So 3 months and between 400.00 and 500.00 to upgrade the firmware. I don't care what Sony develops in the future....I ain't buying one.