LANC nightmare

Sam Renkin · July 15th, 2010, 10:55 AM

Well, this is just my luck.

I was running around a health care facility in St. Paul Minnesota recently, on my first shoot with my new Z5. I shoot using a Varizoom VZ-Rock mounted on the pan bar of my Bogen 503HDV/351MVB sticks. Near the end of the day, we set up a location and went to plug in the LANC mini plug into the Z5 and it just fell back out of the jack. Put it in again, fell out. Took a closer look and discovered the tip was missing. I just figured it got whacked by the tripod during a move. Finished the shoot, sent the VZ-Rock back to Varizoom for warranty repair, no problem.

I got the LANC controller back in the mail yesterday. Of course, I went to go plug it into the camera and the plug won't go all the way into the socket ... turns out the tip is still inside the camera! I spent about 2 hours trying to remove it using a variety of small tubes, even a drop of superglue on a Q-tip stick. No luck.

Is it possible that the retainer clip inside the camera jack was tight enough to pull off the tip of the plug?

I called Sony Warranty Repair for info, their only suggestion was to box and ship the camera to Teaneck, NJ for evaluation. Before I go that route, do any of you have suggestions or experience for an easier/quicker solution?

Chris Hurd · July 15th, 2010, 11:40 AM

Sam, considering how tiny that piece is, how deep it's in there
and how delicate a camcorder is, in all honesty I think the Sony
service center is really your best and safest bet. Might as well
get a clean & check while it's there.

Lou Bruno · July 15th, 2010, 05:41 PM

Super Glue in the LANC port?

Sam Renkin · July 15th, 2010, 08:34 PM

Yes, a tiny dot on the end of a toothpick, ballpoint pen ink tube or some such utensil because the bare end of the mini plug tip points back toward the opening of the jack. No worries - I didn't use enough to come off in the jack, nor was it enough to retrieve the broken part.

Giroud Francois · July 15th, 2010, 09:47 PM

had this problem once. There is no way to get back from the way it was inserted because the missing tube is supposed to push the contacts.
I solved that by dismantling the device and pushing the tip from the rear, but i was lucky that the socket was not totally closed. and it was a 3.5mm plug (headphone) not a 2.5 Lanc

July 15th, 2010, 10:55 AM	#1
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	LANC nightmare - suggestions? Well, this is just my luck. I was running around a health care facility in St. Paul Minnesota recently, on my first shoot with my new Z5. I shoot using a Varizoom VZ-Rock mounted on the pan bar of my Bogen 503HDV/351MVB sticks. Near the end of the day, we set up a location and went to plug in the LANC mini plug into the Z5 and it just fell back out of the jack. Put it in again, fell out. Took a closer look and discovered the tip was missing. I just figured it got whacked by the tripod during a move. Finished the shoot, sent the VZ-Rock back to Varizoom for warranty repair, no problem. I got the LANC controller back in the mail yesterday. Of course, I went to go plug it into the camera and the plug won't go all the way into the socket ... turns out the tip is still inside the camera! I spent about 2 hours trying to remove it using a variety of small tubes, even a drop of superglue on a Q-tip stick. No luck. Is it possible that the retainer clip inside the camera jack was tight enough to pull off the tip of the plug? I called Sony Warranty Repair for info, their only suggestion was to box and ship the camera to Teaneck, NJ for evaluation. Before I go that route, do any of you have suggestions or experience for an easier/quicker solution?

July 15th, 2010, 11:40 AM	#2
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Sam, considering how tiny that piece is, how deep it's in there and how delicate a camcorder is, in all honesty I think the Sony service center is really your best and safest bet. Might as well get a clean & check while it's there. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

July 15th, 2010, 05:41 PM	#3
Lou Bruno Go Cycle Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Huntington, NY Posts: 815	Super Glue in the LANC port? __________________ Lou Bruno

July 15th, 2010, 08:34 PM	#4
Sam Renkin Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 211	Yes, a tiny dot on the end of a toothpick, ballpoint pen ink tube or some such utensil because the bare end of the mini plug tip points back toward the opening of the jack. No worries - I didn't use enough to come off in the jack, nor was it enough to retrieve the broken part.

July 15th, 2010, 09:47 PM	#5
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	had this problem once. There is no way to get back from the way it was inserted because the missing tube is supposed to push the contacts. I solved that by dismantling the device and pushing the tip from the rear, but i was lucky that the socket was not totally closed. and it was a 3.5mm plug (headphone) not a 2.5 Lanc