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Panasonic S1R.2 build quality - you need to do BETTER!

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ikolbyi

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Dear Panasonic,

I have held/used/owned many cameras the past 40+ years and never have I had a camera suffer damage from a 2 foot drop like the S1R.2.

I was sitting in a chair just completing the firmware update from 1.0->1.1 (successfully) body only with no lens attached when it fell out of my hands and landed on my floor. No higher than 2 feet off the ground.

The battery ejected and I was unable to close the battery door. I noticed the plastic housing cracked and the battery well bowed inward.

I used needle-nose pliers to 'bend open' the battery well with my hand strength, and I will emphasize, it did NOT take much strength on my part to bend the battery well back into shape. I performed this action by inserted the needle-nose pliers into the battery well and opened the pliers putting outward force inside the batter well. I am now able to close the battery door.

The camera seems/appears to function normal, but the fact it could not survive a small drop for a premium camera, I now question its durability.



Plastic housing has crack in center. The scratches in metal right side of screw are my pliers bending the metal back into form.
Plastic housing has crack in center. The scratches in metal right side of screw are my pliers bending the metal back into form.



Battery doesn't appear to have bulge but the plastic housing has separated.
Battery doesn't appear to have bulge but the plastic housing has separated.
 
That's your fault being careless.

It's like dropping a baby from 2 feet and expecting it not to cry.

Don't blame Panasonic.
 
Thank you for the drop test report.

I suppose this is the result of impact on a hard tile floor.

What exactly is the material that allows for bending back in shape?

Is is a metal framework reinforcing the (cracked) plastic that was actually bent?
 
vetsmelter said:
Thank you for the drop test report.

I suppose this is the result of impact on a hard tile floor.

What exactly is the material that allows for bending back in shape?

Is is a metal framework reinforcing the (cracked) plastic that was actually bent?
Click to expand...
The plastic housing broke in the photo where the battery well made out of thin metal bowed when the camera landed on its corner.
 
Oiche said:
That's your fault being careless.

It's like dropping a baby from 2 feet and expecting it not to cry.

Don't blame Panasonic.
Click to expand...
I have had the following occur with other cameras:

OM-1 w/40-150mm lens fall 6 feet, no damage other than some scratches.

OM-5 w/12-45mm on tripod get knocked over on a desk tripod and then fall off onto the floor. No damage other than some metal bent on lens.

5Dm4 w/Sigma 120-300mm sports on a monopod get knock over and hit the ground hard, no damage.

GFX 100s with a pancake lens roll down the side of a mountain. Scuffed and scraped but that’s it.

The S1R.2 falls 2 feet in maximum height with no lens attached and the camera housing bends and breaks? Panasonic needs to use better materials.
 
ikolbyi said:
Oiche said:
That's your fault being careless.

It's like dropping a baby from 2 feet and expecting it not to cry.

Don't blame Panasonic.
Click to expand...
I have had the following occur with other cameras:

OM-1 w/40-150mm lens fall 6 feet, no damage other than some scratches.

OM-5 w/12-45mm on tripod get knocked over on a desk tripod and then fall off onto the floor. No damage other than some metal bent on lens.

5Dm4 w/Sigma 120-300mm sports on a monopod get knock over and hit the ground hard, no damage.

GFX 100s with a pancake lens roll down the side of a mountain. Scuffed and scraped but that’s it.

The S1R.2 falls 2 feet in maximum height with no lens attached and the camera housing bends and breaks? Panasonic needs to use better materials.
Click to expand...
You need to stop dropping cameras. 😉😆
 
Sorry your camera got damaged. But let me offer something positive about the result.

Some portion of the energy absorbed by the battery compartment was not transmitted to the shutter/IBIS mechanism and you say the camera still works fine. If the materials were more rigid, there is a chance the internals would have been damaged. Maybe.

Joe L
 
Oiche said:
ikolbyi said:
Oiche said:
That's your fault being careless.

It's like dropping a baby from 2 feet and expecting it not to cry.

Don't blame Panasonic.
Click to expand...
I have had the following occur with other cameras:

OM-1 w/40-150mm lens fall 6 feet, no damage other than some scratches.

OM-5 w/12-45mm on tripod get knocked over on a desk tripod and then fall off onto the floor. No damage other than some metal bent on lens.

5Dm4 w/Sigma 120-300mm sports on a monopod get knock over and hit the ground hard, no damage.

GFX 100s with a pancake lens roll down the side of a mountain. Scuffed and scraped but that’s it.

The S1R.2 falls 2 feet in maximum height with no lens attached and the camera housing bends and breaks? Panasonic needs to use better materials.
Click to expand...
You need to stop dropping cameras. 😉😆
Click to expand...
I am not a studio photographer, I photograph in the field.
sometimes, you can’t help the elements or the athletes.
 
Joe Lynch said:
Sorry your camera got damaged. But let me offer something positive about the result.

Some portion of the energy absorbed by the battery compartment was not transmitted to the shutter/IBIS mechanism and you say the camera still works fine. If the materials were more rigid, there is a chance the internals would have been damaged. Maybe.

Joe L
Click to expand...
At this time the camera is operating just fine based upon the test shots I have taken since the accidental drop.
I plan on being back outside this weekend and will confirm.

i just hope the cracked case didn’t compromise the weather sealing.
 
grasmuc said:
It’s pure luck or lack of on which particular corner the camera touches the floor to be more or less damaged. Does not make any sense to generalize the quality of a brand or a certain product from a single random incident.
Click to expand...
The only other camera failure I have had, was my OM-1 when the joystick broke. Was my thumb movement too aggressive?
it was repaired and never had a problem since.
 
Joe Lynch said:
Sorry your camera got damaged. But let me offer something positive about the result.

Some portion of the energy absorbed by the battery compartment was not transmitted to the shutter/IBIS mechanism and you say the camera still works fine. If the materials were more rigid, there is a chance the internals would have been damaged. Maybe.

Joe L
Click to expand...
A drop wouldn't damage the IBIS system.

Also, it would need massive G-force to damage the shutter.

Being mirrorless means these are probably more robust as the mirror mechanism in DSLRs was probably the weakest point.

The OP had bad luck dropping it in probably the weakest external area. He's probably right in saying they are not externally built to absorb the same abuse as an older Canon 1D DSLR or similar which was built for pro use and abuse.

I'm glad the OP's camera still works and perhaps he can get it repaired to original standard.

Obviously Lumix never built it for such abuse, should they have is a valid question.
 
Oiche said:
Joe Lynch said:
Sorry your camera got damaged. But let me offer something positive about the result.

Some portion of the energy absorbed by the battery compartment was not transmitted to the shutter/IBIS mechanism and you say the camera still works fine. If the materials were more rigid, there is a chance the internals would have been damaged. Maybe.

Joe L
Click to expand...
A drop wouldn't damage the IBIS system.

Also, it would need massive G-force to damage the shutter.

Being mirrorless means these are probably more robust as the mirror mechanism in DSLRs was probably the weakest point.

The OP had bad luck dropping it in probably the weakest external area. He's probably right in saying they are not externally built to absorb the same abuse as an older Canon 1D DSLR or similar which was built for pro use and abuse.

I'm glad the OP's camera still works and perhaps he can get it repaired to original standard.

Obviously Lumix never built it for such abuse, should they have is a valid question.
Click to expand...
The original S1R (which I had-sold to purchase the v2) was an indestructible tank. One of the best built camera bodies I owned/used.

the v2 version feels nice in the hands but is not built to the same standards as original v1. If this was S5-model line, I wouldn’t be complaining, because that is not the S1-flagship line. The S1 line is supposed to be able to take a beating in the field just like the original model was capable of.

the camera dropped onto a vinyl floor, not hard ceramic tile. But even if it fell on ice, 2 foot drop would still do that much damage?
Apparently I was unlucky and caught it on its weakest corner: where your pinky finger rests on the grip just above the battery door. I took some more test photos and operationally it works fine. I’m just ignoring the cracked case until it becomes an issue. Obviously this is not covered under warranty.
 
ikolbyi said:
Oiche said:
Joe Lynch said:
Sorry your camera got damaged. But let me offer something positive about the result.

Some portion of the energy absorbed by the battery compartment was not transmitted to the shutter/IBIS mechanism and you say the camera still works fine. If the materials were more rigid, there is a chance the internals would have been damaged. Maybe.

Joe L
Click to expand...
A drop wouldn't damage the IBIS system.

Also, it would need massive G-force to damage the shutter.

Being mirrorless means these are probably more robust as the mirror mechanism in DSLRs was probably the weakest point.

The OP had bad luck dropping it in probably the weakest external area. He's probably right in saying they are not externally built to absorb the same abuse as an older Canon 1D DSLR or similar which was built for pro use and abuse.

I'm glad the OP's camera still works and perhaps he can get it repaired to original standard.

Obviously Lumix never built it for such abuse, should they have is a valid question.
Click to expand...
The original S1R (which I had-sold to purchase the v2) was an indestructible tank. One of the best built camera bodies I owned/used.

the v2 version feels nice in the hands but is not built to the same standards as original v1. If this was S5-model line, I wouldn’t be complaining, because that is not the S1-flagship line. The S1 line is supposed to be able to take a beating in the field just like the original model was capable of.

the camera dropped onto a vinyl floor, not hard ceramic tile. But even if it fell on ice, 2 foot drop would still do that much damage?
Apparently I was unlucky and caught it on its weakest corner: where your pinky finger rests on the grip just above the battery door. I took some more test photos and operationally it works fine. I’m just ignoring the cracked case until it becomes an issue. Obviously this is not covered under warranty.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree with you, it is clear Lumix have not engineered an indestructible camera, I'd call it a prosumer camera which you got to look after just like a baby human.

My neighbour dropped his Canon R5ii and 24-70 f2.8 off the back of a motorbike at a bicycle race.... About 6k loss uninsured 😎
 
Now that I gather the camera in OP has dropped only on a vinyl type floor I agree the damage (deformation besides crack) is disappointing.

I don't like the fact that even the battery case itself did not escape unharmed.

For comparison, checking the battery compartment of the D700 Nikon I see the battery is surrounded by a round edged metal case and then around that there is even metal alloy in the surrounding camera body's grip.

This you can design only when size is not to be restricted (see also Panasonic S1R?)

When I look at the RX100 Sony I notice non function impeding case deformation that took place from just looking at it (ok maybe swinging against an object while carrying). The price of miniaturization is that one gets to be a babysitter of expensive gear. Especially if not insured and/or sponsored.

Not for everyone that has an active life style with the camera as companion.

Another possible design factor to blame the use of wireless antenna modules in the small form factor camera's of today that demand pass through of radio waves.

Making the antenna optional and external again would maybe allow for full metal alloy cast / rubber damped body's.
 
There does seem to be a degree of luck involved in surviving or not surviving impacts and other damage.

Many years ago I dropped my Nikon D100 DSLR. It fell less than 1 foot and landed on a soft camera bag. There should have been no damage whatsoever. However, the impact damaged the rear LCD panel somehow which displayed a pink image after the drop. The repair entailed replacement of the entire rear of the camera.

My (very solidly built) still under warranty Pentax K5 broke without any impact at all, just taking pictures, when the AF screw driver failed inexplicably.

My Kodak 14n failed even more inexplicably when in its box! Now it won't boot up properly.

I have a Yashica film SLR which has clearly been dropped at some point because the pentaprism housing is bashed in, yet it works fine.

What I'm saying is that you can't extrapolate from a sample of one. Maybe the S1Rii is weakly made; maybe you were just unlucky (or lucky depending on point of view) that the particular details of this drop found a specific weak point that is not representative of its overall build quality. A much more extensive damage dataset is needed to draw any general conclusions.
 
grasmuc said:
It’s pure luck or lack of on which particular corner the camera touches the floor to be more or less damaged. Does not make any sense to generalize the quality of a brand or a certain product from a single random incident.
Click to expand...
This. The whole thread is moronic. These are tools, but they are not meant to dropped. So many delicate, moving parts in there.
 
l92 said:
grasmuc said:
It’s pure luck or lack of on which particular corner the camera touches the floor to be more or less damaged. Does not make any sense to generalize the quality of a brand or a certain product from a single random incident.
Click to expand...
This. The whole thread is moronic. These are tools, but they are not meant to dropped. So many delicate, moving parts in there.
Click to expand...
A tool durability is based on the materials used.
an inexpensive wrench will break before an expensive wrench

a Black & Decker drill is not expected to outlast a Dewalt/Milwakee/Bosch on the job site.

a regular laptop is not expected to survive a fall verse a tough book (laptop designed for job site)

a plastic camera lens is not expected to be as durable as a metal housed lens

the S1 line (original) was built to be a tougher/more professional camera system. The S1v2 line apparently scaled back on that approach.
 
ikolbyi said:
l92 said:
grasmuc said:
It’s pure luck or lack of on which particular corner the camera touches the floor to be more or less damaged. Does not make any sense to generalize the quality of a brand or a certain product from a single random incident.
Click to expand...
This. The whole thread is moronic. These are tools, but they are not meant to dropped. So many delicate, moving parts in there.
Click to expand...
the S1 line (original) was built to be a tougher/more professional camera system. The S1v2 line apparently scaled back on that approach.
Click to expand...
They were bigger. Not tougher. The only real way to test this is to drop an original S1 at the same place, same angle etc. They were made from the same material. A combination of magnesium alloy and plastic (like basically every other camera in this pricerange). They were not titanium or some kind of magic stuff. They were bigger and heavier which gave people the feeling of toughness.
 
Last edited:
l92 said:
ikolbyi said:
l92 said:
grasmuc said:
It’s pure luck or lack of on which particular corner the camera touches the floor to be more or less damaged. Does not make any sense to generalize the quality of a brand or a certain product from a single random incident.
Click to expand...
This. The whole thread is moronic. These are tools, but they are not meant to dropped. So many delicate, moving parts in there.
Click to expand...
the S1 line (original) was built to be a tougher/more professional camera system. The S1v2 line apparently scaled back on that approach.
Click to expand...
They were bigger. Not tougher. The only real way to test this is to drop an original S1 at the same place, same angle etc. They were made from the same material. A combination of magnesium alloy and plastic (like basically every other camera in this pricerange). They were not titanium or some kind of magic stuff. They were bigger and heavier which gave people the feeling of toughness.
Click to expand...
I mentioned earlier a few examples of cameras that had ‘incidents’ from me all survived.

most notably the Fuji GFX 100s and that camera was not built for what happened to it. The OM-1 was a horrific situation and I fully expected the camera to have been destroyed. In both examples, the cameras fully survived with only scratches and they had lenses attached.

if this was an S5-line, I would not have posted this and would have quietly said to myself: sucks to be me.
 
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