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The Firewire connection on my Panasonic DV camcorder stopped working the other day.

Hadn’t used it for ages and I wanted to transfer some NZ filming to the Mac.

Nothing. Camera not found.

A couple of weeks outside warranty. Sod’s Law.

The Firewire cable’s OK, the Powerbook’s OK. Definitely the camera.

Took it in to MediaMarkt (where I bought it for €629 2 years and a couple of weeks ago), paid €35 to have it sent into Panasonic with a recommendation (from the service techie) that it be fixed for free.

Got a letter today with a repair estimate of

The camera now costs around €450 and they’re charging more than 130% of the new price to do ….what?

The hieroglyphics on the estimate mean bugger all to me, so the MediaMarkt chappie is going to have a whisper in Panasonic’s shell-like.

More will follow.

Believe me