It’s important to note that the camera itself will still work fine with a jammed port, but you’ll be limited to recording video to the GH4’s SD card at 8-bit 4:2:0. For just about everyone interested in a GH4 and its 10-bit video capabilities, that’s a non-starter. And at the very least, it’s just a major damn bummer.

I purchased my GH4 used, so it was long out of warranty. Because the cost of sending the camera to Panasonic for a replacement port would be north of $200 (or about half of what I paid), I decided to try “fixing” it after watching a video of this fellow who bent back a pin with a dental pick. What did I have to lose after all? The port was already useless. So I bought this inexpensive set of picks (….do people actually use these at home for self-dentistry?…) and gingerly got to work.

Five minutes later, I was able to pop the offending pin out of the way and plug in a cable. External monitor success! And cash saved!

Although everything works fine for the moment with my GH4, I suspect that constantly inserting and removing a cable will eventually cause another jam (probably right in the middle of a paid gig). If you know you are going to be using the port consistently, I’d pick up a LockPort. It’s pricey, but the port is not only protected, it’s converted to a more friendly and robust full HDMI. I had one for a BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, and it worked a treat.

If you had the same problem with your GH4 and were able to fix it in a different way, please do share!

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