How to fix your Panasonic TZ3 camera
My Panasonic TZ3 camera recently malfunctioned. When I turned the camera on, the lens extended and retracted three times, then LCD showed only the message "Please Turn Camera Off Then On Again". The instruction booklet said this indicated a problem with lens extension. I tried turning the camera on and off at least thirty times over two weeks, and each time the lens, lcd, and controls seemed to work fine -- except that the camera wanted to be turned off and on again. Playback mode worked perfectly. It was frustrating to believe that the camera was fine and the error was wrong.
Eventually I wondered if there was some sort of "reset the lens sensor, everything is okay" function. In under a minute, I found it, or something close enough for my needs. I held down the shutter release, then turned the power on. The mode selector was in the "manual" position, though I have no idea whether this was important. After extending the lens, the camera focused as if it were taking a regular photo. When I released the shutter button, the lens remained extended, and the camera appears to be working fine. Note that pressing and holding the shutter release after turning the power on did not help -- I only succeeded once I held it down before powering on.
"Fix" is probably not the right word, for two reasons: I don't know how exactly I fixed anything, and I don't really know what was wrong in the first place. With luck, I'll never need to answer those questions.
posted by Paul Komarek at
16:55
5 Comments:
Thank you! I had the same problem and was sure I'd have to junk the camera or pay hundreds to get it fixed. But I tried your fix and it worked!
I'm really glad that worked for you!
I've had to repeat it a few times, but I'm still using the camera and taking good photos.
I have a Panasonic TZ5 with the same problem... "Please turn camera off and then turn on again". Holding the button down on powerup didn't work, but of all things, I read of people banging it a couple times against the table (lightly) while it's doing its focus hunt and lo-and-behold, it actually did fix the problem! It hunted unnsuccessfully for focus a little longer, but stayed on. I just had to cycle the power another time, snap some pics and play with the zoom a little and it finally re-caibrated itself.
Panasonic TZ series.
CHECK FOR THE UPDATE FIRMWARE AT Panasonic.
"Please turn camera off and then turn on again" is a plague. Panasonic says it is non repairable. If all else fails, formatting either internal or extended memory chip will fix the problem momentarily if nothing else will. Formatting the chip on pc in ntfs first and then reformatting chip in the camera might give you more time. Problem appears to be when shutting camera down it places some code in memory and then does not restart properly. Do not beleive it is the focusing but is another problem.
Panasonic should replace the camera wether it is in or out of warrantee.
I have a lumix fx 55. Your post made me understand that something is wrong when the lens is streching out, it may be a sand. So when switching the camera to on, i shook it, and i have fixed it.
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