Camera was dropped and since then screen and viewfinder have just shown black. Previous photos still display though

The Display button toggles the information shown on the LCD (or turns it off entirely). Make sure you haven't inadvertently pressed it and turned off the display. It works as follows:

Press once for Normal view in LCD viewfinder
Press twice to turn on Rule of Thirds grid lines
Press three times to turn off LCD display
Press and hold 1 sec. to decrease/increase LCD brightness

Does your camera also have an optical viewfinder? If so, chances are that you accidentally pressed the button that turns the screen off to save battery power. You would then use the optical viewfinder in its place. For your model camera, read the user manual to find out where this button is. On Canon cameras, it's usually a little button labeled DISP or DISPLAY. Just press it oonce to turn the screen back on again.
But if the above doesn't help, have you tried downloading photos taken when the screen is black? Are these photos also black? If so, chances are in this case that you are experiencing a stuck shutter. This is also very easy to remedy (see this).

A stuck shutter is another common failure mode for digital cameras, particularly for the SD1000. The symptoms of a stuck or "sticky" shutter are very similar to CCD image sensor failure. The camera may take black pictures (for shutter stuck closed), or the pictures may be very bright and overexposed, sometimes with lines, especially when taken outdoors (for shutter stuck open). To confirm a stuck shutter, put the camera in any mode other than "Auto", and turn the flash OFF (you don't want to blind yourself for the next step). Next look down the lens and take a picture. You should see a tiny flicker in the center of the lens as the shutter opens and closes. If no movement is seen, then you likely have a stuck shutter. If so, please see this link for further info and a simple fix that may help.


By the way, my wife's SD1000 also has this problem every once in a while. I easily fix it by using the following steps from the link: powering on the camera, opening and closing the battery door, and flicking the end of the lens barrel with my fingertip (or you can tap it with a pencil as discussed in the link).

Think that you might have accidentally pressed the DISP or DISPLAY button on the back of your camera. This manually turns the LCD display on and off to save batteries. You would then use the optical viewfinder in its place. To turn the screen back on, just press the DISP button one more time.

Press DISP. button, and repeat untill the display shows up

Not that it helps at all, but I have the same problem with my sony DSC 80 but its because I dropped it in a river. It works just fine, other than the fact that it takes black pictures now.

I thought so. Do you have a DV tape cleaner?

SPIN THE LITTE WHEEL JUST TO THE LEFT OF THE VIEWFINDER, THAT IS THE VIEWFINDER FOCUS!

There is no sensible fix - new camera time.

I assume you mean the viewfinder screen. This has become inoperative because very likely it has been given a knock, and [at the very least] a connector has come adrift. But it could be worse. It will be a repair shop job I fear But do get on to Panasonic Technical Support just in case I have misdiagnosed.