We have 10 of these cameras and every one of them had the same shut down problem. Inside is a small microswitch that fails. I replaced the switch on everyone of them, and the switch failed again. So I got serious and took out the switch and replaced it with a hardwire. Now one must remove the battery to turn it on and off, which probably is not the solution for most people, but at least it records when the button it pressed!

Hi Bud, Wayne here from North Carolina. I had the same identical problem. It started of course right when the warranty ran out last December. I was shooting a wedding around Xmas and I was in the pause mode. I'm glad I had a second cameraman. I just pressed the record button and all of a sudden it shut down. I had to switch the power lever off then back on. Once I started recording it seemed okay. But whenever I would either pause or record it would shut down. I located a local camera repair store and they attempted to fix it. I paid $895.00 which was labor and parts and of course when they had it, it never shut down on them. It has to be powered up and warm up for about 20minutes. I picked up the camera about 3 months later hoping it was fixed, but on the first shoot on Memorial Day and after about 30 minutes it shut down. I sent it back and and finally the same problem happened to them but they said it was hopeless. I got it back last weekend and started messing with it a little and man it just went haywire!!! It would shut off then on then off then on all by itself. Then what was strange the vcr / camera light on the grip would flash red then green then red then green fluxuating from camera view to vcr view. Tomorrow I am going to an authorized Panasonic Dealer in Greensboro NC and they are going to try and fix it. I'll keep you posted. I really love this camera because I did some comparisons with the Canon GL1, GL2 and XL1s and when you go to manual mode and set up just right there is little difference between the quality of the video. I like the dvc15 for it's lightweight, especially the audio setup it's great. And the run and gun on the top handle. Great for action shots. I shot a lot of video and did a documentary short with it. I am currently looking for another camera of this caliber. I have noticed that when a manufacture comes up with a great idea then they monkey it up with the upgraded version. Like for instance the AG-DVC7. What were they thinking. That was a step backwards. Then came the DVC80 the little brother to the DVX100/100a. Well, I would love to get my hands on one of those but there are none available anywhere I look. Sorry to vent so long, but this is frustrating. And I have several shoots coming up and I'm tired of borrowing cameras. I have an excellent Sony Digital 8 and with the proper lighting inside is works pretty good and outside it's just fantastic in light. If you have found a fix for this by all means please contact me. Well, wish me luck and good luck to you also and chat at ya later. Thanks for listening Wayne P.

clean contact and flet cables,