On Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 4:47:28 PM UTC+8, David wrote:
On Sat, 25 Apr 2015 20:42:00 -0700, jakki.preston wrote:

On Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 5:38:26 AM UTC+13, David.WE.Roberts
wrote:
I've got a Panasonic HDC-SD60 video camera and have somehow managed to
scratch the protective clear lens cover which sits behind the
protective shutter and in front of the lens.

Initial investigations via Panasonic have failed to locate a spare
part.

There is a nominated repair service but they want you to send the
camera to them for 'thorough investigation' before they will give you a
price.

I am struggling with the temptation to undo loads of little screws and
take it apart, but if powered up the lens cover is accessible from the
front as the protective shutter folds back.

As a quick question, does anyone know of a 'scratch filler' for glass
or plastic which might reduce the effect of the scratch?

The scratch is not easily visible on video unless there is sunlight
coming towards the lens.

However it is a bit limiting having to always shoot with the light
behind you :-(

Cheers

Dave

I have the same issue with my one - I am starting to wonder if grit gets
caught under the lens cover and thats what scratches it - and also right
in the middle of the lens. I never had any luck getting it repair either
so have to buy a new camera. FYI tried the black pen and it just left me
with black marks - now worse than the scratches and unuseable

Thanks - still waiting to try the super glue trick.

Professional repair seems costly compared to a newer higher specification
camera.

However I don't need a video camera enough to buy another one at the
moment.

Haven't looked on eBay for a used one, though.

Cheers

Dave R

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box

I have the same camera with the same problem. It seems a grain of sand was caught in the mechanical shutter which closes over the front of the lens area when the camera is powered down. Each time it opened or closed it scratched the clear outer element. The clear cover is curved and its high point is very closer to the "protective" shutter. No a good design!
I tried a fine tipped black marker for white boards (so I could wipe it off again). The black line was clearly visible in images when in wide angle. The black line and the flaring from the original scratch become far less noticable as the camera is zoomed from wide-angle to normal and telephoto.