A7 after 6 foot fall onto asphalt!

[Panza]

Was trying to take advantage of the new moon tonight. I was moving my camera to a different spot and heard a thunk. Yep. I tried to take advantage of a tripod I found while doing spring cleaning, a Manfrotto with the quick release plate. I thought it was on quite tight, but in the midst of the darkness it was on the tripod backwards. Darn you quick release plates.... no more of these!



I had the FE 16-35mm f/4.0 OSS on the camera when it fell. Surprisingly, the lens was fine. Built like a tank, the lens hood suffered a minor scruff, the glass elements were fine (Hoya filter gives me peace of mind also). The rear of the lens was fine as well, no warping, nothing wrong with body.

Camera, eye cup has a small scruff. Controls, dials, digitals, wifi, all still work fine. No warping or dents in the body.



There is a visible gap from where the mount meets the camera, this is also where the camera would communicate with the lens. Due to this gap in the electric system the camera can no longer send signals to the drive by wire systems of the lens.
My native lenses no longer works!

When using a non-native lens, images look fine.


Here is an image from the dropped Sony A7 camera adapted to my M-mount Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2. (This was shot at f/2.4)
The fully manual lens works like a dream!



Rear screen works OK.


Will have to send this in for a repair.

[antony]

Sorry to hear your misfortune. Hope you can get your camera back soon.

a Manfrotto with the quick release plate. I thought it was on quite tight, but in the midst of the darkness it was on the tripod backwards. Darn you quick release plates.... no more of these!

Just to be clear,
was the tripod faulty or somehow you did not secure it well (on that darn quick release plate)?

Do let us know how the repair went.

[dragion]

I was so afraid to even look at your post...!
I'm glad that the damage wasn't as severe as it was in my mind.

Hopefully, Dr. Sony can fix A7 with speed and precision, so it will be back in your hands again soon.

[Obelix]

I expected much worse.
I think this is a good example of benefits that come with "weak, plastic mount" that nobody liked.

[VLReviews]

...
Will have to send this in for a repair.

I would first diassemble the mount and inspect the body. If there is no damage to the main body parts, just get a tough E mount from Fotodiox to replace the mounting plate and see where it get's you!

The 40$ for the mount will surely be less expensive than sending it in for repair.

[Panza]

I would first diassemble the mount and inspect the body. If there is no damage to the main body parts, just get a tough E mount from Fotodiox to replace the mounting plate and see where it get's you!

The 40$ for the mount will surely be less expensive than sending it in for repair.

Was thinking about this, that screw is definitely broken though, and I do not know of a kit which comes with the small metal screws required to hold the mount in place.

[Panza]

Sorry to hear your misfortune. Hope you can get your camera back soon.

Just to be clear,
was the tripod faulty or somehow you did not secure it well (on that darn quick release plate)?

Do let us know how the repair went.

RC2 plates. In the dark its near impossible to tell which side is which, but it will mount on the tripod head both correctly and incorrectly. If you place it on the tripod backwards it's not as secure as if you would put it on with the lens facing forward and can slip out as did in my case.

[Panza]

I expected much worse.
I think this is a good example of benefits that come with "weak, plastic mount" that nobody liked.

I was thinking the same thing. The weak point of the camera is the part that will break first. The stress of the impact clearly caused the plastic mount of bend and break first saving the other parts. : ) For this case the lens was actually my main concern (because the A7 bodies are getting cheap now, if you can call it "cheap").

Bodies will come and go, but lenses should last forever.

[wilmeland]

Pan,
Definitely too bad, but think you may be relatively lucky. From pictures, seems like really might be as simple as removing the broken screw part that's still in the camera, then replacing with a new one. Think the screw size for nex mounts is a #00 phillips screw, not sure of length, but you should be able to remove one of the good ones and go to a camera or phone repair place or maybe jeweler to get a source for new one. If you can find helpful shop, they might be able to remove the broken piece. Think that's the difficult part here. With any luck, after loosening all screws and then sequentially tightening, the ring would be brought back into correct shape and things should work.

Good luck & let us know how it goes,

Willie

[Panza]

Pan,
Definitely too bad, but think you may be relatively lucky. From pictures, seems like really might be as simple as removing the broken screw part that's still in the camera, then replacing with a new one. Think the screw size for nex mounts is a #00 phillips screw, not sure of length, but you should be able to remove one of the good ones and go to a camera or phone repair place or maybe jeweler to get a source for new one. If you can find helpful shop, they might be able to remove the broken piece. Think that's the difficult part here. With any luck, after loosening all screws and then sequentially tightening, the ring would be brought back into correct shape and things should work.

Good luck & let us know how it goes,

Willie

Thanks for the tip Willie, contacted Sony and since it's an out of warranty definite drop, the service would be over $300. Hrm. Might as well get a tough e-mount that I was planning on getting anyhow. : )

http://www.precisioncamera.com/

If you call customer service, they sent me to this website since it is the closest service center in my area. Connecticut from New Hampshire ehh?

[antony]

RC2 plates. In the dark its near impossible to tell which side is which, but it will mount on the tripod head both correctly and incorrectly. If you place it on the tripod backwards it's not as secure as if you would put it on with the lens facing forward and can slip out as did in my case.

Thank you for providing additional detail.
Most of my RC2 quick release plates have clear marking (using white correcting pen) on the back, and I don't take them off camera often. That was before I got the MeFoto tripod.

Next time when I use Manfrotto tripod, I will be extra careful with the orientation of the quick release plate.

MeFoto tripod's quick release plate can be inserted either way. Time to get more quick release plates for MeFoto.

[Jay]

Really sorry to hear about this pan, but at least the damage appears minimal luckily

Jay

[Panza]

Before sending the camera in, I decided that the bent E-mount was causing the native lenses to become useless.
The bend also meant that focal plane was shifted, as a result I could only shoot close subjects in focus. 3rd party lenses had no infinity. A simple amazon purchase of a Fotodiox Tough E-mount did the trick. Here's the process & results.


I prepared my tools and went to work. An eye-glass repair screwdriver/flathead. Flathead worked better.


It was quite scary to remove the screws. I covered the sensor opening with the foam padding they provided in the packaging. This prevented screwed from falling in. I could've taped it as needed to the camera but ... I'm not that meticulous.


Removed the two E-mount pieces. The plastic part is black. That piece supposedly gives the A7 series the famous "wobble".


I left the exposed screw shaft in the bottom right because it gives it more strength. It's not important overall, but with a simple eye-glass repair kit screw I'll replace it.


All native lenses work again. Auto-focus, EXIF Data, etc.

Few scuffs on the body, lens hood, and eye cup is not bad for what happened. I had a photography event yesterday and shot it with my Nikon, but I was a little sad I couldn't use the Sony for any of it.

Sony remains as my compact travel companion.

[Obelix]

Glad to hear it worked for you
So replacement kit didn't have any screws?

[Panza]

Glad to hear it worked for you
So replacement kit didn't have any screws?

The Tough E-mount itself isn't actually a replacement kit. It would've been nice if they provided a screw but they are assuming you are only replacing your existing functioning mount for a stronger one.

[Obelix]

Sure looks like you need "tough" screws

[antony]

Before sending the camera in, I decided that the bent E-mount was causing the native lenses to become useless.
(…)
All native lenses work again. Auto-focus, EXIF Data, etc.

Congratulations.
You are brave.

[Jay]

Excellent work and thanks for sharing the photos of the process! Overall it looked pretty easy and I'm really glad to hear the camera works as it's supposed to For a 6 foot fall onto a hard surface I would say you got very luck Pan.

Great work with the repair and thanks again for sharing the bad and good news!

Jay