The lcd and viewfinder on my panasonic pv-gs31 is black as if I have the cap still on. Someone before told suggested giving it a light tap which seemed to work for awhile. I just video taped kids on Friday and was fine, now I can't see anything again. Playback is fine, its just in record mode. Would be nice to at least be able to see through the view finder. Need to know if this is expensive to fix. Really don't want to fork over for a new one!

This is usually caused by a defective CCD image sensor and can be repaired fairly inexpensively. However, it's not a user serviceable problem and will need to be repaired qualified service technician.

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