TZ1 - A tale of woe

[K1W1]

A friends problem. Not mine fortunately.

Take one two week old TZ1.
Drop it 1 metre onto grass whilst inside a padded camera bag.
Result - smashed LCD screen.
$400 camera - $250 repair bill, 6 week wait because no parts are available.

Questions.

1. Are TZ1 screens prone to this sort of thing?
2. Are there any hard screen protectors available?

[ssiu]

My credit card company gives automatic free insurance on retail purchases against loss/theft/accidental damage for 90 days. I'd think it is a fairly common feature? It would come in handy in situations like this ...

(One day I casually threw my belt pouch 2 feet down onto carpeted floor, forgetting that my TZ1 is inside. Fortunately it seems to have survived with no visible damage (cross my fingers ...))

[John_Reed]

A friends problem. Not mine fortunately.

Take one two week old TZ1.
Drop it 1 metre onto grass whilst inside a padded camera bag.
Result - smashed LCD screen.
$400 camera - $250 repair bill, 6 week wait because no parts are available.

Questions.

1. Are TZ1 screens prone to this sort of thing?
2. Are there any hard screen protectors available?
It's really hard to imagine that that's the whole story. Maybe the camera was dropped BEFORE on a harder surface, and your friend didn't look into the pouch until after the grass drop? Was there a hard rock on the grass? Was it thrown to the grass? I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I don't think TZ1s are any more or less vulnerable to screen damage than any other large-screen digital camera.

[louiskam]

For those who'd like to learn more about this, I find the topic at http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00ENhV&tag= pretty useful.

[K1W1]

Thanks to those who replied. I will pass on the comments.

In Australia the 90 day credit card protection does not apply and I don't think the camera was paid for with a card anyway.

The camera was only dropped once, perfectly innocently onto grass as described. There may or may not have been a rock or stone where it landed but it's unlikely as it was a grassed sports field. We are thinking bad luck rather than any other reason.

The third post was the most significant as the symptons were exactly the same (smudge on external LCD, internal crack). Whilst this obviously isn't an endemic problem with Panasonics it is perhaps something that people should be aware of.