PRECISION CAMERA Sony Repair

[k-hawinkler]

WOW! WHAT A FANTASTIC SERVICE AND TURN AROUND BY PRECISION CAMERA!

Last week, Thursday, May 19, 2016 I apparently fried the electronics of my A7r2 by hooking up an external power source that was recommended on the web for cameras, iPhones, iPads, etc.
I won't try that again! Promise!

Anyway, after that event the camera was completely dead, dead, dead.
It would not even power on with a regular Sony battery.

I knew that Sony had contracted out their repair service to Precision Camera.
Also, a few days prior I had come across this particular thread at FM.
Sony repair by Precision Camera - FM Forums
Thanks to the OP for starting it!

So, I went to the Precision Camera website and could only find the A7r listed - but not the A7r Mark II.
I called their number, got a friendly lady on the line, after about, oh, 10 seconds.
She asked me when I had bought the camera and concluded that my camera was too new to be on their list and likely still covered under warranty.
She told me to fill out the online form for a different camera type. I chose A7r and explained in the comments the situation.

On Friday afternoon, May 20, 2016 I sent the camera off with USPS, of course properly insured, and got a tracking number.
The postal clerk told me the packet would arrive on Monday, May 23, 2016. And it did.
On Monday I also followed up with another entry into the Precision Camera web system to give them the USPS tracking number.

A day later, that's yesterday, Tuesday, May 24, 2016 Precision Camera sent an email confirming receipt of my camera.
They included pertinent tracking info about my camera. They also called, but I missed the phone call.

So today, Wednesday, May 25, 2016, around noon a FedEx truck pulled into our driveway and delivered a packet I didn't expect.
It was from Precision camera and contained my perfectly repaired A7r2 (I checked it), free of charge. WOW! WOW! WOW!

And what an amazing job they did! Here is their Explanation of Repairs:

A complete repair and return all functions to factory specs.

Auto focus test, check, recalibration and realignment
Firmware download corrections and adjustments; address values measured and adjusted
Complete cleaning (internal-external) and optical system

Description of Parts Used

Mounted C. Board SY-1058***CORE***
Panel Module (SUB for SC 1-811-695-11)

WOW! I am mightily impressed! Many thanks Precision Camera!

I will send them right away my Olympus E-M5 Mark II, that is no longer under warranty, so a repair I pay for.
The E-M5.2 ruined 2 Lexar memory cards with CARD ERROR when shooting video.
The memory cards can't even be formatted in camera or in my Apple computer!
I used the E-M5.2 with the battery power grip and suspect that the camera doesn't seem to switch over correctly from one battery to the other.

BTW, does anyone know what address values measured and adjusted actually means? TIA.

 

[Jim DE]

Yeah I have to admit (I am on the Sony Pro Support Program) I have nothing but good things to say on the two experiences I have had with Precision Camera Repair and the Sony Pro Support Program. They are reasonably fast even when they have to order parts for a repair and their communications during the process and their in house tracking program both are excellent. Both the Pro Support people and the Precision Camera people have acted like true professionals and care about their customers.

Sad thing is Sony USA no longer offers extended warranties or their Accidental Drop and Handling (ADH) warranty. This has nothing to do with Precision Camera but does have everything to do with Sony USA's new philosophy on involvement after the sale. It is highly unlikely I would ever buy a Sony camera at Best Buy or ever use Best Buy's Extended warranty programs as who knows where these bodies would be worked on if a service is needed after the factory warranty expires. I really liked the old Sony Store and the deals one could get dealing with their sales personnel, Sony Credit Card usage extra savings deals, and Sony extended warranties. Most likely when the bodies I currently have no longer are covered by extended warranties I will drop the Sony Pro Support program, my Sony Credit card(which honestly at zero interest is a great deal but outside of that the company that has this card is very poor to deal with), and just buy from B&H and use their extended ADH warranty programs and purchase on my debit card.

 

[GlenC]

Last week, Thursday, May 19, 2016 I apparently fried the electronics of my A7r2 by hooking up an external power source that was recommended on the web for cameras, iPhones, iPads, etc.
I won't try that again! Promise!

Anyway, after that event the camera was completely dead, dead, dead.
It would not even power on with a regular Sony battery.

I'm curious if the charging device was like this one ?

I'm planning on charging my A7r2 every night for about a week using this external battery through the usb port. It seemed my choices were one big battery ($40) or a ton of sony batteries (much >$40). Maybe I better rethink this?

Glen

 

[k-hawinkler]

I'm curious if the charging device was like this one ?

I'm planning on charging my A7r2 every night for about a week using this external battery through the usb port. It seemed my choices were one big battery ($40) or a ton of sony batteries (much >$40). Maybe I better rethink this?

Glen

Thanks Glen, I would follow this advice External Battery Packs for Sony a7 a7R a7S a7II a7RII a7SII by Brian Smith.
I don't know anything about the device you point to. I trust Brian Smith tested what he recommends. YMMV.

 

[GlenC]

Thanks Glen, I would follow this advice External Battery Packs for Sony a7 a7R a7S a7II a7RII a7SII by Brian Smith.
I don't know anything about the device you point to. I trust Brian Smith tested what he recommends. YMMV.

Thanks for the link, lots of options but not exactly what I was looking for. I went ahead and tried charging my A7rii with the external battery connected to the usb port and it charged the camera battery 100% after an hour or two (camera was off). This will do the job for me when I'm out in the field without any power, I'll be able to charge the camera overnight.