Sony Service Experiences?

[fotografz]

Okay, Sony are aggressively moving toward a higher end user base … some of which rely on their cameras more than others.

I've been using Sony as my work horse system now for 6 years. Two A900s and now the A99 and A7R.

So far I've not needed any service, warranty or after warranty.

However, as Sony captures more and more users I wonder exactly how reliable their service is, who does it, and if they retain parts for older cameras such as the A900 and even APSc DSLR cameras prior to that ?

Any thoughts or experiences?

- Marc

 

[cgthanos]

I had accumulated a collection of dust and spots on my a7r sensor cover glass and decided to attempt a wet cleaning with sensor swabs. Apparently, as reported by Roger Cicala on another forum, the cover glass is extremely soft and despite my very careful attempt at dust-free cleaning, I ended up with light horizontal scratches. In addition, there were a few vertical scratches which occurred through some other mechanism as I only cleaned the sensor in the one direction. I went through the service order process online, shipped my body off to sony, and had it back within a week with a new spotless coverglass -- all for free (except outbound shipping). I even received an email from the technician with f/32 photos of the sensor before and after the work. I would give them top marks for service speed and quality of communication.

 

[tashley]

I second that. I was expecting a car smash but they were very quick, no quibbles and got it right first time. IMHO better than Nikon by a country mile.

 

[Deleted member 7792]

The first a7R that I bought developed a rear LCD separation/defect:

I followed the online instructions for Sony repair services, shipped my camera to Sony's repair facility in Laredo, TX as instructed, and had it back in the 7-10 day estimated repair interval with a new rear LCD (aka Display Module and Cover Block Assy). I was impressed, given my previous experiences with Leica and Nikon.

Joe

 

[Bill Caulfeild-Browne]

I've never had a problem with Sony cameras (a900, a77, now a99 and a7r) but I did with two lenses. The 300 f2.8 was very soft and they just simply gave me a new one which was fine. My 24-70 ZA developed an inability to focus at infinity. It was fixed and returned in a week and seems sharper now than when it was new! (And is sharper at 24 mm than my 24-70 FE OSS).

 

[philip_pj]

In five years with a700, a900, a77, a99, RX1 and a7r - nothing required from them. I did approach Sony Aust for a sensor clean and found them very bureaucratic but professional in their customer relations.

 

[Malina DZ]

I shoot with a100, a850 & TX10. Had a bunch of Sony P&S before getting a DSLR. P&S never had any issues with them. They died either because of a hard shock or submerging they were not rated for at all.
Build quality was one of the reasons for getting a Sony brand DSLR (a100) back in 2007. The camera still shoots, but sometimes in hot weather and intensive shooting (20 shots/min for an hour) camera halts with a stuck diaphragm and displays "error code = 0x5b". Removing the battery solves the issue, and camera can shoot again in a slower pace though. Fixing the diaphragm actuator would cost me at least $300 according to Sony service center in 2011. I could get a very good condition a100 at that time for this amount of $.
Recently I noticed that a100 at speeds higher than 1/3200 produces a heavy vignetting, 50% of the frame from the top, due to a failing shutter curtain, I guess. I'm sure Sony can still fix the camera, but I have no intension to pay for that, since my primary camera a850 shoots without letting me down.

Marc, if you know the camera part number that require repair/replacement, you can check its availability on ServicesPLUS website: https://www.servicesplus.sel.sony.com/sony-parts.aspx

I have no experience with latest Sony camera models, but feel somehow less secure in terms of durability with ones that rely more on electronics than mechanics in a high humidity 80F+ environment.

 

[pegelli]

I have a KM5D, A700, A850, NEX5 and NEX6 (+ a stable of lenses).

Only the A850 needed a repair once for a broken AF unit. Camera was sent to TechRepair (Authorized Sony Repair center) in Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands) and was repaired/cleaned without any problem. It only took a little long because of the delivery time of the parts. For the rest no complaints at all.

 

[Bill_Green]

This is good to hear. In the past you were better off buying a new camera.