My second Sony breakdown!

[mikeriach]

Well I did open my big mouth so I guess I was asking for it.
The A99 died this morning, midway through our holiday .
I was shooting some swans with the 70-400 and following my last shot I was aware that the camera didn't make its usual sound.
On the screen it simply said "Camera error. Switch the camera off and back on again". Even with the camera switched off, the error message remained on the screen. I had to remove the battery. A few trials with a fresh battery made no difference, it really is dead.

I took off the lens and the shutter is clearly closed which is not the normal position (always open) so I'm guessing its the shutter.
So relief A77 out of the bag for the rest of the break on the Northumbrian coast (St Abbs tomorrow).

The pull of Canikon gets ever closer. Worse still, a friend is selling his barely run in Nikon kit including the newer 80-400 (2 APS-C bodies with around 1000 frames between them). Tempting!

The wife said to just go and get a Nikon outfit and who am I to argue.

Mike

[bakubo]

Enjoy your new Nikon gear! I have never owned a Nikon, but they have a good reputation going back decades. I have been buying film and digital cameras for 45 years. I have had lots. Maybe I have been very lucky since all of them were problem free except my Sony and KM cameras:

Sony A700
Sony A100
KM 7D
KM 7D (I had 2 KM 7D bodies, both with big problems)

It may not be fair to lump in KM with Sony, but Sony bought the KM camera business so the Sony DSLRs, at least the first few, probably had lots of KM blood in them. I have also owned many Minolta SLRs and the Minolta D7i. All problem free. Can't say the same about Konica Minolta and Sony though.

[pakodominguez]

There is not such a thing as problem-free camera.

I use my cameras intensively and I've been lucky not having a camera dying on my hands since... Nikon 8008 in 1994. Twice.

In other hand, I don't expect the cameras to last forever. I've been upgrading cameras every 2 or 3 years, and I have many different bodies, some for events, some for personal work, some for everyday stuff, so yes: I use the cameras but not really stress them until their last breath.

In your case, i think I'll wait a couple of moths, I believe the A99 is is overdone and it's replacement must be announced this fall.

[mikeriach]

I had Minolta film cameras since around 1979, and not a single camera fault with any of them.
XG2, XD7, X500, 7Xi, 9Xi, 700Si and Dynax7. I loved all of them for different reasons. My favourites probably the XD7 and the Dynax7.
I'll get a repair estimate first before I decide what to do. Currently I can get a body plus grip for £1499 which is a good deal considering the grip is £200.
But, and it is a big BUT. I can get a Nikon D750 + 24-120 grey import with a 3 year warranty for £1380 all in. So tempting.

Mike

[Birma]

Very sorry to hear about the A99, Mike. Especially annoying when on holiday, and in such a photogenic place!

I have had that "camera error" message and lock up. Replacing the battery resolved but then it came back. Battery out and back in, then a factory reset and, fingers crossed, ok since then. Sounds like yours is worse though

Tough decision. If I needed the long lenses like you then I think I'd also be going to either Canon or Nikon.

I'd like to see an A99 mk II with no mirror at all - don't see the point now they have on sensor focusing working so well. Not holding my breath though.

(I hope you'll stick around what ever you decide.)

[mikeriach]

Andy,

Did yours have the shutter in the closed position when the error message appeared?
I'll try all my batteries in turn just in case but I doubt it will work.
The red light temporarily lights when I put a new battery in but none of the buttons or wheels have any effect.

Mike

[mikeriach]

No luck with anything I tried so will need to call Mr repair man.

Mike

[Birma]

Hi Mike - no the shutter wasn't closed. I think mine was a different error, but that still resulted in a the same error message. I guess if the shutter has become stuck then the s/w is going to have to report an error. I hope that a repair can be made at a reasonable price and quickly.

[mikeriach]

Me too!
Last night a group of us rushed to the airport to shoot a pair of Uruguayan military transports transiting through.
It was a dark and murky night when they arrived and I had to shoot with the 70-200 f2.8 at 200mm, 1/80th and ISO800 on the A77.
That's one scenario when I really wanted my A99 for the superior ISO performance. I had to do a fair bit of playing with NR in LR to get a reasonable image for the web. I'll play a bit more later in PS to see if I can improve on the sharpening.
I reckon out of 130 shots only 10 were usable due to camera shake. My friend used a Canon 5D with 300 f2.8 at 1/60th and got a higher keeper rate so either I am getting older (no comments please) or Canon IS is superior to SSS.



Mike

[mikeriach]

Ah well the A99 is off to A J Johnstone in Glasgow for a repair quote.
I don't really want to lose it as I have accumulated a nice set of affordable short zoom lenses for it which I doubt I'd be able to get for the Nikon. Minolta or Konica Minolta 17-35, 28-75 f2.8, 28-105 and a classic 35-70 f4. They're of no real use on the A77 which is stuck with the 16-80Z.

I did see A99s secondhand for around £1200, Europe import new for £1250 and UK new for £1499, the latter including battery grip.

We'll see what the estimate is before doing anything hasty.

Mike

[mikeriach]

Just got the quote back from AJ Johnstone.
£342
I had guessed around £400 so not bad. £1479 is the best UK price I could find for a new one.

It's getting repaired.

Mike

[Birma]

Glad it is a reasonable price, Mike. I think Digital Rev is a couple of hundred cheaper, but not much difference.

Fingers crossed all is ok you get it back.

[mikeriach]

Camera returned yesterday. Seems to be working fine.
The repair note states "Complete dismantle to replace sequence assembly and return camera to standard."

Anyone tell me what they are talking about? Shutter mechanism perhaps?

[Birma]

I'm glad to hear you have got it back working, Mike.

We need Greg to decipher this I think. He was always really handy with the camera engineering diagrams.