p.2 #2 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
On buying from the Sony Store direct vs. indirect retail. We used to have a physical Sony Store here in Seattle before their cost cutting measures last year led to closure. I could usually negotiate for a 10% "Student" discount on photo equipment or a more significant discount on the extended warranties from the sales staff there. Simply going by what the sales staff said - the Sony warranties used to be resold third party underwriter's product, but they moved the warranty business in house due to customer service issues. The advantage of the local retail store, beyond the ability to negotiate a discount, was that the team would take your repair, ship it off to sony service, and manage it until return. On a PC warranty repair, they were very useful in getting a mis-repair taken care of, so there seemed to be some advantage in dealing with them vs. a call center somewhere. So the advantage was buying from a physical Sony owned store. I don't know that there is any advantage from buying from sonystore.com vs. third party retail.
I almost never buy warranties and prefer to self insure (given huge margins on warranties and fact that I buy a lot of stuff so my holding period is rarely very long), but I bought the A7 at release before Sony marketing changed their tune and I didn't really trust their claims of dust and splash resistance after looking at the body and lack of seals/gaskets on the body or native glass. I question some of the weathersealing on my GH4 and EM1, and the A7 is nowhere close to the robustness of those bodies.
p.2 #3 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
darrellc wrote:
I almost never buy warranties and prefer to self insure (given huge margins on warranties and fact that I buy a lot of stuff so my holding period is rarely very long)
Thanks! I appreciate all of the info. Very helpful.
I, too, usually prefer to "self insure." I do the same thing with most shipping services, as I have never successfully been compensated for damages caused in shipping (out of 3 attempts, twice for items over $2,000.)
There are a few exceptions, but as you said, the "insurance" you are buying is usually pretty expensive compared to the average loss. Especially with the steep depreciation of some of these electronic devices.
p.2 #4 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
Frogfish wrote:
I'm guessing Darrell is going to tell you something along the lines of my advice : if you shoot at the beach you should be wiping your camera down anyway ! There is salt in the air and droplets, far smaller than you can see, landing on your gear. You don't want to let that ingress your camera or lenses.
I did wipe them down, but with a clean, dry cloth (micro fiber). Even though I could not see any dirt. Should I have used a damp cloth? And if so, what about the front lens/lens filter element (one camera was a Rolleiflex).
p.2 #6 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
Maybe just bad luck/one in a million (if it truly was just "a drop")...
I used to shoot frequently at the beach and waterfalls in SoCal, been splashed with A LOT of water by huge waves on 2 separate occasions (enough to freak me out and instantly worry about the camera, in addition to completely soaked head to toe), as well as smaller splashes/drizzles/etc. Even shot in a light rain once. Never had an issue with the body, but it may just have been me that was lucky.
p.2 #7 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
An update......
After receiving the online quote of $772 on Sony's Fastrac site I called Sony Canada for an explanation. The Sony service representative on the phone didn't seem to know very much. I wouldn't have much confidence that he would have known the difference between an A7R and a Playstation. His only response was "if that is what Fastrac says then that is what it is". He couldn't provide any explanation of the cost. I asked him if he knew any Sony authorized service centres for cameras in BC. He gave me the contact for a company in Alberta (which later advised me that they haven't serviced current Sony models for a few years). When I asked the Sony service rep what the pickup address on Fastrac site was, he responded that it was a Purolator depot. Turns out that this was the address for Fusion Cine which is Sony's local factory authorized repair location.
Needing the camera repaired, I opted to pay the $772 on Sony's Fastrac site. I dropped off the camera at my local (soon to be closed) Sony store. On the following Monday, the Fastrac online status indicated that the camera had been received. It then changed to "Sony Comments" and remained that way for a week.
Today, I received an email from Fusion Cine advising that "Regret that camera has gotten wet and is severely corroded. It cannot be repaired. I have assembled and it is here for you to pick up." No comment on what area was corroded or whether I would see any of my $772 returned. I emailed Fusion Cine asking for a better explanation but have heard nothing back from them.
At this point, I have paid Sony $772 for someone to tell me that the camera is not repairable.
A few posters above made some good points:
- I do have insurance but the repair cost was not much more than my deductable. Now that it is unrepairable, I will work through insurance
- a few made the point of always protecting your camera. I would agree
- some commented that they have drenched their A7R units. Perhaps but I would suggest that you are sitting on a ticking time bomb of corrosion. The A7R is not weather sealed - you may get lucky or you may not.
- one comment questioned whether the camera was hit with just a drop or whether the water was extensive. The salt water that hit the camera was a minor drop. The camera has seen minimal light mist near waterfalls. It has seen nowhere near as much water as my still working Fuji and Canon cameras. If I am shooting near a waterfall, I typically protect the camera with an OpTech rainsleeve or shoot with the 5D3.
- Another comment suggested getting an aux LCD - Good tip that I will look into
Thanks everyone for your input - it is appreciated.
I didn't post this thread to bash Sony or state that any other brand is better. The image quality from the A7R is astounding and I will miss it. I really wanted people to be aware of the possible problems associated with the lack or weather sealing.
p.2 #8 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
A potential solution for water resistance, might be the products offered from NanoProtech. I've not used this on cameras, but it is has been effective on outdoor plant/eqpt with fuse boards, electrical contacts ... etc
With a digital sensor it would probably be best to spray into a container and then brush liquid on, rather than a spray 'n' pray approach
p.2 #9 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
One word: insurance! Don't go anywhere or do anything without it.
That said - Sony really do need to make the next iteration water-resistant. If Fuji can do it with the X-T1 and Olympus with the OMD(?), then Sony need to get their act together.
p.2 #11 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
Thanks for the update. This thread still scares me a bit. I'm adding an A7R to my canon kit. I thought about going the D810 route, but it's a huge additional cost considering I already have all the Canon lenses I'd need. A D810 + 14 -24 (which is very expensive to add filters to if shooting near water so that's a problem within itself) + say a 24-120 is a heavy alternative.
I guess I'll just take a 5D3 or 6D with me as backup.
Chris
p.2 #12 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
My Canon 5D MkII also behaved once funky in high summer humidity a few years ago in Pennsylvania. After putting the camera back into a dry bag, everything went back to normal and is fine since.
I never assumed that the A7 series is water-resistant - when we talk about light leaks coming from the mount, it is obvious that water (gas) can also easily creep in. I would assume that the mirrorless camera is also very sensitive to humidity. I am simply not going to the extreme testing this - I avoid water spills hitting the camera and shooting in high humidity with my A7R.
p.2 #13 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
I have a friend who also managed to destroy her A7r with water damage. She'd put it in her bag with a water bottle that leaked and then had the thing sitting in the water for a couple of hours (while switched on). The camera wasn't repairable but she managed to convenience the sales/support staff to give her a discount (40%) on a replacement body when she contacted them (had to supply proof of ownership, proof of damage etc and serial number). This was in Australia so not sure if they'll do such things world wide but may be worth asking about. From talking to her it sounded like there may have been a policy for offering discounted replacement bodies when unrepairable though she said one of the Sony people she was communicated later with was unhappy that she'd been offered 40% off which was higher than usual (she'd gotten the offer in writing) but they honoured it.
Any way it would be worth contacting them and asking about that, you may not be able to get 40% off a replacement but it seems like there may be a reasonable chance to get a decent amount off.
p.2 #14 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
This is a vexing issue for me. I cannot find on the Sony site anything about weather sealing on the new A7II. However, B&H has this in their what looks to be a Sony description.
The body now features a magnesium alloy top and front like the higher end a7R and a7S and major buttons and dials have much improved sealing to prevent water and dust from entering your camera.
p.2 #15 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
retrofocus wrote:
My Canon 5D MkII also behaved once funky in high summer humidity a few years ago in Pennsylvania. After putting the camera back into a dry bag, everything went back to normal and is fine since.
The 5D MkII was sort of infamous for it's so so weather sealing and, perhaps because of this, Canon much improved the sealing on the 5DIII.
p.2 #16 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
Another update....
I had been in contact with a Sony Marketing Specialist that I had met here in Vancouver. He gave me a fairly good explanation of why the camera could not be repaired and assured me that a refund of my prepaid amount was forthcoming.
A representative from Sony then contacted me and offered me a refund of the prepaid repair cost or the option to apply that amount against the purchase of a discounted (new or re-certified) model.
In the end Sony has resolved the issue to my satisfaction.
I will be picking up the damaged A7R next week and plan to disassemble it to see the corrosion. From the description given to me by Sony, it sounds like it has extensive damage.
I couldn't think of any occasion when the camera got wet except for the time described in my original post. But then I thought about how many times the camera has been used around the ocean with a light, almost invisible sea mist (with an unsealed adapter).
p.2 #17 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
suchy wrote:
I couldn't think of any occasion when the camera got wet except for the time described in my original post. But then I thought about how many times the camera has been used around the ocean with a light, almost invisible sea mist (with an unsealed adapter).
Salt is the enemy. That's almost certainly what killed it.
p.2 #20 · Warning for A7R Users regarding water damage
I know it's not weather sealed, but I was shooting the kids out in the snow the other day and had chunks of snow hitting the camera from the trees with no damage.
