Camera Repair - screen replacement

[robgraham]

This I'm afraid is a bit of self congratulations, but done with the aim of reassuring anyone thinking of doing the same that it is possible.

The LCD on my compact Panasonic got cracked somehow despite being in a case. So it was a case of replace or look at a self repair. Ebay was offering replacement screens at =A320 + p&p from HK which seemed reasonable, and another seller had a disc of the service manual, which I got first to see if it seemed reasonably straightforward.

The screen came in today having been ordered last weekend which was a good start, complete with a very small cross head screwdriver and a plastic tool that I never found a use for. There were no instructions with the screen.

The only complication was that it was just the basic screen and the service manual didn't assist in dismantling and reassembling the screen case. Another confusion was that the new screen had one ribbon lead but the screen assembly had two - the small one I discovered is for the screen backlight and goes into the screen case only.

Took 2 hours.

Tools - several pairs of specs to get close enough to see (basic reading glasses are great in that if you pile them on top of one another the power just goes up !), a jewellers eyepiece and a fine jewellers screwdriver for prying bits apart. And a bit of confidence in taking things apart and putting them back together - fortunately there weren't any pingfukits - and no bits left over either.

Rob

[Graham.]

The LCD on my compact Panasonic got cracked somehow despite being in a case. So it was a case of replace or look at a self repair. Ebay was offering replacement screens at £20 + p&p from HK which seemed reasonable, and another seller had a disc of the service manual, which I got first to see if it seemed reasonably straightforward.

The screen came in today having been ordered last weekend which was a good start, complete with a very small cross head screwdriver and a plastic tool that I never found a use for. There were no instructions with the screen.

The only complication was that it was just the basic screen and the service manual didn't assist in dismantling and reassembling the screen case. Another confusion was that the new screen had one ribbon lead but the screen assembly had two - the small one I discovered is for the screen backlight and goes into the screen case only.

Took 2 hours.

Tools - several pairs of specs to get close enough to see (basic reading glasses are great in that if you pile them on top of one another the power just goes up !), a jewellers eyepiece and a fine jewellers screwdriver for prying bits apart. And a bit of confidence in taking things apart and putting them back together - fortunately there weren't any pingfukits - and no bits left over either.

I find the multiple reading glasses trick is much better than a bench magnifier. SWMBO tells me it's not an attractive look though. It might help future Googlers if you mentiond the model number.

[Rob G]

Ahh, but it's only she who is looking at you, not yourself, so it''s fully allowed.

The camera is a Panasonic FX01. It wouldn't surprise me if the construction of all small cameras isn't much the same. The point of the posting was really to say that the Ebay route works for the component and the instructions, and that the task is quite straightforward DIY, even if a little daunting.

Rob