Did a wedding today, camera worked fine for the entire ceremony. Packed the camera in its nice padded case and loaded it in the back of my Jeep, just like always. When I arrived at the reception, I got a blue screen when powering it on and the display kept prompting me to turn on the ND2 filter (indoors). The only way I could get an image on the screen or viewfinder was to crank up the gain to +15 dB, then I got a yellow-tinted image. Thank God I brought my little Panny 3-chip or I would have been up you-know-what creek w/o a paddle. I'll have to use it the entire day tomorrow.

Anyhow, I know about the recall on these cameras as seen here:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10018/prodNotice.shtml

I'm praying this is covered. Anyone have to do this? How long might it take? Can I take it to a local authorized dealer or will I have to send it to Sony?

don't suppose you tried a reset all to factory settings?

leslie

(can't remember how you do it on a 150, but's it's been posted here quite often...)

Sony is a very standup company when it comes to warranty issues. Plus, what you describe does seem very much in line with the recall notice.

Your experience is an object lesson in always having a backup for everything on a money job.

Did a wedding today, camera worked fine for the entire ceremony. Packed the camera in its nice padded case and loaded it in the back of my Jeep, just like always. When I arrived at the reception, I got a blue screen when powering it on and the display kept prompting me to turn on the ND2 filter (indoors). The only way I could get an image on the screen or viewfinder was to crank up the gain to +15 dB, then I got a yellow-tinted image. Thank God I brought my little Panny 3-chip or I would have been up you-know-what creek w/o a paddle. I'll have to use it the entire day tomorrow.

Anyhow, I know about the recall on these cameras as seen here:

http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/markets/10018/prodNotice.shtml

I'm praying this is covered. Anyone have to do this? How long might it take? Can I take it to a local authorized dealer or will I have to send it to Sony?

I've heard about this "recall" before. I wonder if Sony will do preemptive repair. ALL my cameras are Sony and within the affected dates.

I've heard about this "recall" before. I wonder if Sony will do preemptive repair. ALL my cameras are Sony and within the affected dates.
Sony says they will only repair cameras that have broken down - they will not do a preemptive repair. It's not really a recall, it's a settlement of a class-action lawsuit. From a page on Sony's support site:

IMPORTANT NOTE: To be eligible for this no-charge service, your product must be experiencing the distorted or blank image problem on the LCD screen as described above. Sony will not provide this no-charge repair for product that is not exhibiting this issue or that has failed due to the abuse, misuse, or neglect of the product after its original purchase at retail.

I'm calling them first thing Monday morning, and I'll definitely tell y'all about it. I'm booked every week for the rest of the month, so I guess I'll be borrowing one of the company's VX1000s for a while.

I have a female colleague who has a VX2000, and I called her this afternoon (I had a few hours downtime between the ceremony & reception) to tell her what happened and to warn her to start bringing a backup (and pray that if it breaks down, it's by Oct. '07!). Unfortunately, her only other cam is a crappy old Samsung, but if the choice is to shoot with that or miss the whole thing, I think I know what I'd do. Fortunately, that Panasonic 3-chip is a very good cam - it gives images that, while not exactly rivalling those of the big Sony, are quite acceptable. It's a perfect backup/secondary cam, and $600 well spent.

Link to the proposed lawsuit settlement:

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_ViewStatic-Start?page=%2fstatic/legalNotice/legalNotice#list

Link to a troubleshooting page that contains the above disclaimer:

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/news-item.pl?template=EN&news_id=118

They told me my serial number does not qualify for the free repair. Buy gun, shoot self in head...

John, I noticed in the Wedding / Event Techniques forum you mentioned that it's "$575 down the drain." Is that the Sony flat rate for fixing your 150?

I recently had a problem with my VX2100, and the Sony flat rate was either exactly $575 or close to it. Anyway, based on a couple of strong recommendations from this forum, I sent the camera to Armatos rather than Sony. (The camera is out of warranty & I had never done business with Armatos before.) They fixed it for $195 with a 2-week turnaround between the day I shipped it until it was returned.

John, I noticed in the Wedding / Event Techniques forum you mentioned that it's "$575 down the drain." Is that the Sony flat rate for fixing your 150?

I recently had a problem with my VX2100, and the Sony flat rate was either exactly $575 or close to it. Anyway, based on a couple of strong recommendations from this forum, I sent the camera to Armatos rather than Sony. (The camera is out of warranty & I had never done business with Armatos before.) They fixed it for $195 with a 2-week turnaround between the day I shipped it until it was returned.
Dude, you rock! Unfortunately, since it's now 5:15 EST, I just missed being able to call them, but they'll be hearing from me in the morning. What did you have done to yours? It looks like I need a new CCD chip, and I'm going to have those flexible circuits fixed (a display problem it's had since I got it) and a good cleaning of the tape path.


Yes, Sony's flat rate for the 150 is $575. Pretty damn high, if you ask me...

John, my fix didn't require any parts -- only a realignment of the tape path and a check of all the innards 'cuz it fell. I guess just as a matter of routine, they threw in a cleaning & lube. Came back in perfect working order.

Before sending it in, I had no idea what it would cost. But, I figured it had to be lower than the Sony flat rate -- and it was by almost $400.

Here's hoping you're as lucky with your camera.

UPDATE: I sent it to Armato's per Tom's recommendation. It arrived on Monday, and just now, only 3 days later, they called to inform me it was done. They replaced the CCD & flexible circuits and gave it a cleaning. Total bill? Would you believe $295 (+ return shipping, $43 in my case)? That's just over half Sony's flat rate. Un-frickin'-believable. They've got a customer for life here.

Could someone post Armato's web page or phone number for future reference?

http://www.armatosvideo.com/

They're EXCELLENT. I live only a few minutes away and they've saved my rear several times.

If you buy your camera from them they'll give you a FREE loaner when it's in for repair.
http://www.armatosvideo.com/deusshow.asp?catID=1998&ID=4307

Having been in their stor a few times, it's a real mom & pop place. So down home friendly too!

Here's picture of the store.
http://www.armatosvideo.com/deusshow.asp?catID=1998

Had them overnight me the camera so I could use it this weekend - I used a loaner VX1000 last week and, even though it was the same cam I used to use before I got mine, I hated it. I forgot just how badly that thing ate batteries, and the image is rather grainy compared to the 150.

I don't think they actually had to replace anything - the work order states that they fixed several bad solder joints in the CCD's and the side screen, and cleaned/lubed/adjusted as needed, so it should function very well now. I seem to recall reading somewhere (might have been here) about bad solder joints in these cameras. I've powered it on and everything seems fine, but I'm going to do a little shooting at my nightclub tonight to give it a real test. Of course, the true test comes tomorrow - I'm confident, but that little Panasonic will be right there in my duffle bag.

I dropped my VX2100 about 2 weeks ago. Saw my life pass before my eyes. Armato's is asking $640 to fix it. Apparently the whole lens mechanism needs to be replaced. THAT BITES!!! but, what do you do? I dropped it. Live and learn.
Bill

When my VX fell, what I saw was a bunch of hundred dollar bills with wings flying away.

My VX had a relatively soft landing. It was tripod mounted, outside, unattended, when this lone wind gust came out of nowhere & had just enough oomph to tip the whole outfit over. Fortunately, it fell on grass rather than a hard surface, but that was enough to throw the tape alignment off a hair.

Bill, in your case, the Sony flat rate would probably have been the lower charge. However, I think the Armatos techs will give your camera more personal attention than it would get at a service center.

I know this thread's a bit old, but I wasn't sure where else to put this; I just want to add my name to the list of incredibly satisfied Armato's customers.

My VX2000 had been in a state of disrepair for some months, and when I got a little money together I decided to pay attention to the various things I'd heard on this board (Mike Rehmus and Craig Seeman, I'm looking at you). Got an estimate within a week, it went back to Sony (it was a state of serious "disrepair"), returned shortly thereafter. I got it home to find the zoom ring still non functional. A quick call to Cookie--she apologized for the oversight, though it wasn't their fault--and I brought the camera back in a couple days later. It got repaired, and I picked it up today.

Dealing with Cookie and Bob in the repair department was an absolute pleasure, the store has a very friendly feel (and smell, too), and is run by my kind of people. I can't recommend them enough as far as repair is concerned, and only wish they were a sponsor here so I could say more.

Oh, and if you want a sandwich or drink from the two delis across the street (in adjacent storefronts), go to the one with the blue awning; inside scoop is they've been around longer.

I know that exact feeling as you watched your camera hit the deck.I was recently filming outdoors and watched helplessly as a strong wind gust came up and toppled my tripod over.The dollar signs flashed before my eyes as the lense of my JVC speared into the ground.

It always pays to anchor your tripod with something like the camera bag. Just hang it around the legs or some tripods have a hook under the center column just for this type of arrangement.

About every other wedding, someone who's had a few too many manages to stumble into my tripod. That's when I appreciate the heavy Bogens. Had I been using the carbon fiber tripod, everything would have been history.

Well, looks like my saga is finally over. Got the camera back (AGAIN!) today. Seems they missed a loose connector on that blue CCD when they worked on it before. I got a sincere apology from Cookie; they replaced the connector for free and ate the return shipping cost. I'm still a little ticked that I had to pay a second time to ship it back there, but they did make it right. I still would do business with them and recommend them to others.

Thank God it's back - I have two shoots this weekend and two more next weekend, and I've grown to HATE that VX1000.

My PD150 fell thru my rucksack and onto concrete. It didn't even scratch, it just needed a quick reset and it was all back and running. I was petrified at the time, I certainly couldn't afford a full service. Tough things them 150s!

What kind of price should I be paying for a PD150 these days? I have found £1150ovno. Which comes with all standard extras plus the Canon WA lens.

any help
thanks