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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 Digital Camera Questions & Answers
After assembly camera lcd displey is still off
Perhaps in disassembly pressure on the LCD cracked the crystal display with will cause a rich black screen. If the camera has both internal and LCD displays, perhaps the switch is set to the eyepiece? My lumix will shut off the LCD and turn on the eyepiece to save battery. Check wires to that switch.
Black Screen
I hope you know you can set the monitor at 7 different brightness levels. This is in the manual on page 24. Page 25 tells you how you can select the auto adjustment so you don't need to switch when changing from bright to dark environments.
When you say you don't know or can't see where you focus, the camera can auto focus in the centre of the screen, (even when you can't see it), only the subject in the middle of the screen must have some contrasting spaces.
But your camera has lots of possibilities to work with complete or partial manual focus. If you don't trust yourself, put the camera in automatic and only use the settings you are familiar with, so you know where the camera is doing its job and where you have to help.
Success
Black Screen on Panasonic DMC-LX3
The symptoms which you describe are very strongly suggestive of a failed CCD imager. Either the one you have is faulty or the ribbon cable which supplies power to the CCD has failed in some way. The CCD is not involved in producing the on screen icons and their continued presence plus the ability to view pre-fault images confirm that the LCD screen and associated electronics are unaffected.
Sorry, but there is absolutely nothing you can do to try and fix this: I'm assuming that you've tried a camera reset and already learned that it will not solve this particular problem.
As the camera shouldn't be much over a year old I suggest that you contact the seller. The Sale of Goods Act basically says that goods must be "fit for purpose" and of "satisfactory quality". In practice they'll probably tell you to contact Panasonic: even if the camera is out of warranty they usually are very supportive if the defect is due to an original manufacturing fault. If you're in the UK then the Sale of Goods Act was amended recently to the effect that a seller is liable for up to six years after the date of sale for faulty products. There is now an automatic assumption that faults were present at the time of sale (even if it takes time for them to appear) unless the seller can prove that the fault is due to misuse. If you're in the UK then you can search for more details of these rights for yourself, but it's important to note that it's the seller, not the manufacturer, who is ultimately responsible under the terms of the Act.
If you're outside the UK then some of the principles of the UK Sale of Goods Act may well be covered by your own local laws. In the UK "satisfactory quality" depends upon the product: you wouldn't expect a cheap disposable razor to last six years, nor would you expect an expensive pair of trainers to last that long simply because of the way that they're used. The former would be expected to last up to around one month and the latter up to around a year (more if rarely worn, much less if actively used for sports). But an expensive camera from a prestigious brand in non-professional use would certainly be expected to last at least three years by many people, and some may well reasonably expect it to last a full six years. You'd also expect a cared-for pocketable camera to survive being knocked from a chair or table to the floor at least once in it's expected lifespan but not necessarily to survive a fall from six feet onto concrete.
Whatever you do, do not attempt to open the camera and fix this yourself if you hope to get a free repair: there is quite literally nothing inside which you can fix without specialist tools and knowledge and all bets are off if the seller/manufacturer sees evidence of a non-authorised repair attempt.
Sorry there's no quick fix but I hope that you've found my answer to be useful and I ask only that you return the favour by rating my answer.
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