Photoclubalpha

When I was moving my tripod, the camera came off. I don't know if I hit the release button or what happened. All I know is that the LCD on my a77ii is toast. I'm checking around for repair estimates now. This might be a nightmare though. The first place to get back with me said they can't get parts for this camera yet.

That is very sad news! Perhaps Sony themselves can do a repair?

Sony, had me send my 70x400 lens to a place in Texas for repair. I got in touch with Sony, by phone.
Maybe they won't be too expensive, or even cover it under warranty.

Sad. I know you were really looking forward to using it.

I called Sony and they don't use the place in Texas anymore. They just recently switched to Precision Camera in Connecticut. The Sony rep assured me that once Precision Camera had the camera, they would be able to get any part from Sony that they need. I'm still waiting on another place to get back with me. I'd like a price estimate before I ship the camera off, but it looks like that won't be happening. The worst thing is that this whole thing was preventable if I'd followed my own advice to my Mom. Put the camera strap around your neck when moving or adjusting the tripod in case the tripod goes down or the camera comes off. However, since I really didn't like the Sony neck strap, I hadn't got around to putting one on this camera. So I'm pretty ticked at myself at the moment.

Things like that are so easy to do, just a few millimetres one way or another and you'd have missed it. I have done something similar in the past. It is quite amazing how unstable a tripod can be especially with a big lens.
Hope it is fixed quickly.

Mike

While I am waiting to hear back from a couple of places, I thought I'd check the rest of the functions. The auto focus seems to work as before. I'm able to change settings and take photos. However, I am getting a Steady Shot error. I initialized the camera from the menu to reset everything, but to no avail. Steady Shot doesn't work now. I have a feeling this is going to get real expensive before it's all done.

Spencer's Camera says they can get parts. They also do IR conversions, which I've been thinking of doing to the a580. I'll get a price break on the labor if I send in both cameras. Just waiting for a price on the parts. Of course if I go this route, then I'll have to dust off the a100 again.

Okay, he gave me a worst case scenario on the price at just under $400 for the LCD and IS replacement. The cost could be less if the IS and the LCD pivot can be repaired instead of needing replaced. I'm going to go ahead and send it in to Spencer's along with the a580. The a77ii will get repaired, the a580 will get a full spectrum conversion and the a100 will get used again.

Glad you've got a solution. I kept my A100 for some time and had fond memories of it. When I reused it I found the view finder very dark and of course no live view. I then decided to trade it in. Makes you appreciate the new stuff you've got though

I have fond memories of mine also. I just don't know if I will ever be ready to part with it. It's been packaged to ship for about two years now and I've never been able to bring myself to sell it. I even took pictures of it, the batteries, CF cards, etc. but still it sat in the box. Now I'm glad I kept it. It should be fun getting acquainted with this old friend again.

I hadn't heard from the repair shop in awhile, so I gave them a call. I'm going on a trip at the end of the month and was wondering if the cameras would be back by then. I sent them an email a week and a half ago but hadn't heard back. It turns out that someone typed in my address incorrectly so I never got the final pricing/status information from them. One of the parts for the a77ii is on back order until the end of the month so I won't have it in time. However, the a580 will be finished and shipped to me next week. That means I'll have an IR camera for the trip. Since it's getting a full spectrum conversion, I also ordered a UV/IR Hot-Mirror Filter so I'll be able to take standard daylight pictures with the a580 or with the use of my IR filter I can take IR shots. Currently I'll be limited to the cz16-80 and the Tamron 70-300 because it's a 62mm filter. The anticipation's killing me.

Sorry to hear about the A77, but the IR conversion will be some compensation I expect. Definitely on my list for "one day".