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Archive 2014 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?

  
 
OpticalFlow
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?


Hi,

I just ordered a used/returned A7 from amazon warehouse deals here in Germany. I had been looking for a while for one that wasn't advertised "as new" as that translates into very small savings. Finally one with cosmetic damage ("little scratches on body") came up tonight for a price that I couldn't resist.

I can't know whether the previous customer returned it because they simply changed their mind, mis-used it as a free rental for a weekend or whether they returned it because they found something wrong with their copy. Therefore I would like to give the camera a thorough going-over to check for potential problems within the 30-day period that I can return it no questions asked.

Obviously I will check the sensor for dust or damage.
I would like to try the sensor for misalignment issues but I only have a few adapted lenses handy, so it may be hard to tell whether any issues in that regard are due to the adpater or the sensor alignment.

Other than that, what should I look for? If think you have or had a bad copy, what's the issue? Anything known about issues that occur with high frequency?

Thanks for any input.







Apr 29, 2014 at 02:53 PM
OpticalFlow
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?


If anyone knows about a tool that can read out the shutter count, that would be useful too. Google didn't turn up anything for me apart from tools for the NEX series.


Apr 29, 2014 at 02:59 PM
wfrank
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?


Though some respected members here at FM have reported issues with the A7/r's and native lenses I think problems gets a bit exaggerated when reading a forum like this. So my take is that you should be quite unlucky to get a bad copy after checking usual stuff.

When it comes to decentered mount or sensor, I'd pick the fastest and longest focale you have and to some test shooting. And depending from where/what you come from (sensor/MP count), not forget that also the A7 with its 24MP is quite a strong magnifying glass to detect lens/adapter misalignment which you may not have seen before. So it is not necessarily the camera unless you see repeated behavior from several trusted lenses.

- 2 cents from here



Apr 29, 2014 at 04:18 PM
snapsy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?


Sony puts the shutter count in the EXIF for the A7/A7r. You can read it with any EXIF utility, such as exiftool


Apr 29, 2014 at 04:26 PM
OpticalFlow
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Buying a used A7 - problems to look out for ?


Thanks. When I first tried exiftool I didn't find the shutter count. Turns out, it doesn't work on the jpeg but works on the .arw (for the sample images I downloaded for the net)


Apr 30, 2014 at 05:54 AM





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