panasonic camcorder prob - no picture coming through lens

I have a pv-dv52d that I bought used on ebay. It was in fine working condition when I bought it. I've been using it for a while and, all of a sudden, the other day, the screen and viewfinder when black when I was in the middle of shooting something. I've contacted a verified panasonic repair service and they want a flat fee of $261.50 to repair it. That's more than I paid for the unit, so that seems kind of ridiculous. I've had a hard time finding help for this on the internet. Does no one know how to repair these? Can anyone give me an idea what might be wrong or what might need replacing? Thanks.