Hi,
I am about to purchase an EX3 and I hired a unit to try. I used it for 3 days without issue, however when I went to open the card slot door on the last day it appeared to have broken off at the hinge. At no time did we force it, open it in an improper way, or otherwise handle it carelessly. Looking at where it broke, it appears that the area where the door hinge has parted is very, very, small in fact the 3 areas which has fractured are about 2mm square each. This appears very fragile.
If anyone has had this problem, how much did it cost to fix?

regards
Ian

I have had an EX3 now for a year. And I have shot and traveled quite a bit with it.

I have found 2 weak spots.

1. The 1/4" mounting screw is a joke, get a VF gadgets (EX3 Heavy Duty Base Plate System | VFGadgets.com (http://www.vfgadgets.com/grip-camera/ex3-heavy-duty-base-plate-system)) or DM plate (DM-Accessories - EX3-PLATE Reinforcement Plate for EX3 Camcorders (http://shop.dm-accessories.com/products/ex3-plate)). In my opinion this is a must.

2. The Mike mount, mine has broken twice, it is of plastic and quite fragile, get a metal replacement hotshoe from DM (DM-Accessories - EX-FLAT - Shoe Mounts for Sony EX1 & EX3 Camcorders (http://shop.dm-accessories.com/products/ex1-flat))

I have not had a problem with the card -door, and I dont recall seeing a lot of posts about it.

Maybe the rental had a traumatic event in its history. I can see that if door is bumped when left open it may be damaged.

All and all the cam seems very rugged. I have shot in snow, rain, heat and dust.

I love that I have never had a moisture problem, like back in the days of tape, when shooting in 100/100 relative humidity /temp, or coming indoors after a cold outdoor shoot (lens will still steam up, but not transport). That always was huge problem in the Betacam days.