Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camera

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Brad Hurley

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Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camera

PostWed Jan 17, 2018 8:30 pm

I bought a Pocket Cinema Camera last week and a Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO Standard zoom lens (12-35 mm), which is a widely recommended MFT lens for this camera. The very first time I powered on the camera, the iris adjustment and autofocus didn't work, nor could I focus the lens manually. I turned the camera off and reattached the lens, and everything worked after that, so I assumed the lens hadn't been seated properly. Today, however, I'm having the same problem. No matter how many times I remove and reattach the lens, turning it until it clicks into place, the camera and lens aren't talking to each other: neither the iris or focus (autofocus or manual) works at all.

I'm going to take it back to the store tomorrow night to have them test a few different lenses to see if the problem is the camera or the lens, but I'm curious to see if anyone else has experienced a similar problem. I am being very sure to tighten the lens all the way until I hear it click into place, so it's definitely connected.
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Denny Smith

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Re: Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camer

PostSat Jan 20, 2018 7:35 am

The main cause with this issue, is the len release button not coming all the way back up, preventing the lens from getting power/focus and iris control kinkmto Camera. Try pushing down the release button and see if it returns all the way back up, slight tug up on it to see if that makes the lens work.

Also check the lens and camera contacts for wear.
Cheers
Denny Smith
SHA Productions
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Brad Hurley

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Re: Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camer

PostSun Jan 21, 2018 11:33 am

Denny Smith wrote:The main cause with this issue, is the len release button not coming all the way back up, preventing the lens from getting power/focus and iris control kinkmto Camera.


Thanks! I did check that when I first encountered this problem but it wasn't the cause; in fact it was a defective camera. Both the camera and lens were brand new, so no corrosion or other issues. I took the camera back to the store where I bought it, and they tried four different lenses on it, all of which had the same problem (and all four lenses worked fine on other cameras). They've sent it back to Blackmagic for repair or (more likely) replacement.
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Denny Smith

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Re: Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camer

PostMon Jan 22, 2018 7:39 pm

Good, glad you got it sorted. Taking the camera back was the right choice. The dealer should have just given you another camera, since you had just purchased it, and the camera was determined to be defective.
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Denny Smith
SHA Productions
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Brad Hurley

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Re: Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camer

PostTue Jan 23, 2018 2:47 pm

Denny Smith wrote: The dealer should have just given you another camera, since you had just purchased it, and the camera was determined to be defective.


That would have been nice, but they're out of stock and backordered indefinitely. I guess there's still a lot of demand for the pocket cinema camera! Mine was the last one they had in stock, and they said it could be a couple of months before they get more. So sending it back to Blackmagic is probably the fastest way for me to get a replacement; they estimated 3 weeks or so.
Resolve 18 Studio, Mac Pro 3.0 GHz 8-core, 32 gigs RAM, dual AMD D700 GPU.
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Denny Smith

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Re: Intermittent connection problems with lens, pocket camer

PostTue Jan 23, 2018 6:56 pm

Yep, sound like it is. When I sent my VA in, I got it back in about 10 days, including shipping both directions. So this should be quicker. Good luck.
Cheers
Denny Smith
SHA Productions

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