With the A1ii being released, I'm looking at advancing my hobby photography to a larger sensor. I shoot with an a7iii today and have been eyeing an A1.
I thought new ones left would be a bit more discounted but seems they are still around $5200. So I started looking at used models and that opened a new area of question. With so many using electronic shutters now, how do you measure the age / condition of this camera to know if it's a good value or not? I have seen some sites showing mechanical shutters in the low 3,000 range. Some others have mechanical shutters in 50,000 range which is likely someone that didn't use the advanced features of the electronic shutter. Any ideas with the shift in technology?
Just for the sake of clarity, the A1 has the same size sensor as the A7iii, it's just higher resolution.
If you want to know the age of the camera, the easiest way is probably just to ask the seller (assuming a private seller). If you are buying from the forum here, I think most sellers would be happy to provide that information.
I wouldn't be overly concerned about the number of electronic shutter actuations personally, mechanical shutters can eventually wear out, but nothing is moving with the electronic shutter. Some of the bodies with higher mechanical shutter usage might be using flash more often, i.e. event or studio photographers. Even then, I think the measured mean time before failure is something like 500,000 shutter actuations, so while there isn't a guaranteed number it will last for, they are pretty durable.
camm80 wrote:
With the A1ii being released, I'm looking at advancing my hobby photography to a larger sensor. I shoot with an a7iii today and have been eyeing an A1.
I thought new ones left would be a bit more discounted but seems they are still around $5200. So I started looking at used models and that opened a new area of question. With so many using electronic shutters now, how do you measure the age / condition of this camera to know if it's a good value or not? I have seen some sites showing mechanical shutters in the low 3,000 range. Some others have mechanical shutters in 50,000 range which is likely someone that didn't use the advanced features of the electronic shutter. Any ideas with the shift in technology?...Show more →
You should be able to find a really nice one in the 3500.00 range now.
As stated above... if you buy here, just have a convo with the seller.
Irrelevant.
Any camera could have been used for many, many hours of video in hot conditions on the beach with salty air which has caused irreparable damage due to corrosion which will brick the camera a month after you buy it. The continual overheating has caused damage too, just in case the corrosion does not finish it off.
Brand new bodies, treated with care, fail. Some, just after warranty expires.
There is no difference to a DSLR. Some shutters fail early, some go many times longer than average.
If I was spending this much on a used camera I would ask for it to be inspected/cleaned by Sony authorized service company before purchase. That way you would know you’re getting something that has been throughly checked.
Same thing that some people do when they buy a used car. They get it checked out at a dealer first to make sure there are no hidden problems.
LiveShots wrote:
If I was spending this much on a used camera I would ask for it to be inspected/cleaned by Sony authorized service company before purchase. That way you would know you’re getting something that has been throughly checked.
Same thing that some people do when they buy a used car. They get it checked out at a dealer first to make sure there are no hidden problems.
What kind of inspection and cleaning would you expect from this service company - and at what price?
I can't help to think you'll pay money for nothing you can't see for yourself when checking the camera.
camm80 wrote:
With the A1ii being released, I'm looking at advancing my hobby photography to a larger sensor. I shoot with an a7iii today and have been eyeing an A1.
I thought new ones left would be a bit more discounted but seems they are still around $5200. So I started looking at used models and that opened a new area of question. With so many using electronic shutters now, how do you measure the age / condition of this camera to know if it's a good value or not? I have seen some sites showing mechanical shutters in the low 3,000 range. Some others have mechanical shutters in 50,000 range which is likely someone that didn't use the advanced features of the electronic shutter. Any ideas with the shift in technology?...Show more →
I would be cool by any number of shutter actuations below.... let's say 150K. There are many second hand A1 cameras available with significantly less actuations than so.
I finally bought my one from a camera shop, the deal included 6 months of warranty. The camera looked and felt like new and it had 2100 shutter actuations under its belt. More importantly, everything regarding bluetooth and WiFi worked after the firmware updates.
That's one way to get a really good camera at an affordable price. You decide what's acceptable for you.
Thank you all for the insights. While I would love to just jump to an A1ii, I think it's a prime time for me to jump into an A1 from a used market like mentioned. I will watch the buy and sell page here, but also been checking my local shop and another online reseller that allows a return policy. Never used them before so always a bit hesitant but sounds like promising option as well. Thanks for the feedback!
Jonas B wrote:
What kind of inspection and cleaning would you expect from this service company - and at what price?
I can't help to think you'll pay money for nothing you can't see for yourself when checking the camera.
I have the Sony Protect Plan, comes with a free annual inspection/cleaning etc. If I was going to sell my a1 then I would send it in first and get it checked out.
Jonas B wrote:
What kind of inspection and cleaning would you expect from this service company - and at what price?
I can't help to think you'll pay money for nothing you can't see for yourself when checking the camera.
Sony Pro support will inspect and clean a camera (and lens) for free:
For Camera:
Clean and inspect sensor
External cleaning of body and dials
Validate and Clean Viewfinder
Check/Clean Proximity Sensor
Check/Clean Contact Pins
Check/Clean MI Shoe
Take image of lightbox to ensure clean sensor
Check/update firmware (requires customer approval)
Check general functionality of camera (buttons, dials, wheels, EVF, LCD, ports, etc. all function as expected)
For Lens:
Clean front and rear elements
Check/Clean filter treads as well as contact
Clean external body of lens (barrel, zoom/focus rings, aperture ring)
If Filter is attached, ASC will remove filter to perform test
Take sample image and inspect quality
Check/update firmware
Check functionality of all buttons
TT1000 wrote:
Sony Pro support will inspect and clean a camera (and lens) for free:
For Camera:
Clean and inspect sensor
External cleaning of body and dials
Validate and Clean Viewfinder
Check/Clean Proximity Sensor
Check/Clean Contact Pins
Check/Clean MI Shoe
Take image of lightbox to ensure clean sensor
Check/update firmware (requires customer approval)
Check general functionality of camera (buttons, dials, wheels, EVF, LCD, ports, etc. all function as expected)
For Lens:
Clean front and rear elements
Check/Clean filter treads as well as contact
Clean external body of lens (barrel, zoom/focus rings, aperture ring)
If Filter is attached, ASC will remove filter to perform test
Take sample image and inspect quality
Check/update firmware
Check functionality of all buttons
While i feel that Sony Alpha Service for repairs is worth the membership, I feel that their clean-check may not be worth the bother.
Pretty much everything they do can be done by the owner, without the expense of shipping an expensive camera (that is working), with insurance for this free service.
PhotoTeacher wrote:
While i feel that Sony Alpha Service for repairs is worth the membership, I feel that their clean-check may not be worth the bother.
Pretty much everything they do can be done by the owner, without the expense of shipping an expensive camera (that is working), with insurance for this free service.
They use some kind of microscope I think to check your sensor. I don’t think you can do that at home.
I’m not sure if you pay for shipping or they do. For me it’s local so I walk it in and have my equipment back the same or next day depending on when I drop it. Repairs are lightening fast as well. And their equipment evaluation program is useful too. You get discounts on any repairs not under warranty. It’s easily paid for itself for me but you do you as they say.
TT1000 wrote:
Sony Pro support will inspect and clean a camera (and lens) for free:
For Camera:
Clean and inspect sensor
External cleaning of body and dials
Validate and Clean Viewfinder
Check/Clean Proximity Sensor
Check/Clean Contact Pins
Check/Clean MI Shoe
Take image of lightbox to ensure clean sensor
Check/update firmware (requires customer approval)
Check general functionality of camera (buttons, dials, wheels, EVF, LCD, ports, etc. all function as expected)
Thank you.
I see nothing there you can't do yourself. It's very much like the annual service you maybe pay for if you have an older car. Yes, the headlights work, the oil level is correct, yes the proximity sensor is clean and works, yes, even the firmware is checked...
They even mention checking the sensor twice. If not already in the know I think it's way better to learn how to clean the sensor by yourself.
TT1000 wrote:
They use some kind of microscope I think to check your sensor. I don’t think you can do that at home.
I’m not sure if you pay for shipping or they do. For me it’s local so I walk it in and have my equipment back the same or next day depending on when I drop it. Repairs are lightening fast as well. And their equipment evaluation program is useful too. You get discounts on any repairs not under warranty. It’s easily paid for itself for me but you do you as they say.
OK, They also mention shooting a light box to check the sensor. A light box, a micrscope... wh, if there is a problem you'll notice yourself I guess.
But it's cool you are close to the facility and can have possible repairs done quickly.
I chuckle when I see an A1 for sale with a quoted shutter count because I doubt the vast majority of users actually use the mechanical shutter. I think the shutter count on my A1 is probably a hundred at most, and I've taken tens of thousands of photos with it.
Where and how it's been used is more relevant IMO, but I doubt you'll get any seller admitting that they used it for something like surfing photos where salt water spray and sand would have potentially done a number of the camera. Also far more relevant than mechanical shutter count is how many hours of video it's shot, because that generates a huge amount of heat that can degrade electronics over time. Unfortunately there's no "shutter count" equivalent for video recording.
Another thing to note on the A1 is that there's a known issue that causes the wifi chip to malfunction and basically cripple the camera requiring a complete motherboard replacement. I'm not sure Sony has ever admitted the issue or identified how/why it happens, but there are many accounts of this happening after firmware updates, so if you buy a used A1 make sure it's updated to the latest firmware and confirm that the wifi and bluetooth features function normally.
