A77 has died

[Gramps]

My beautiful great Sony A77 has died on me.
I set out to take some shots one day and there was a Dragonfly just sitting there.
So not to miss a chance I quickly change the lens to get the thing and it took one shot and then came up with

CAMERA ERROR
I turned it off and then back one and took another shot. But then the same thing appeared.
I tried this a few times and got never let me take more than one shot.
Inside on google I found a heap of things to do to fix it.
So all things were tried and done. But still the same message.

To say the lest I was not happy with it.
So I looked for the Sony a77ii to replace it but this can only be bought in America.
I am not sure if I am willing to pay the exchange rate from our money to American money.
So I might have to change camps and go the way of Canon.
Not that I want to but because of the lack of any good backup here in Australia.
Sony Australia are pathetic, I rant the non Support help line and I ended up reporting then dope I was talking with.
I want to stay with Sony but if I can't get the updated model here and the new ones being out of my price range.
Something has to give.

If I do make the change I will let you all know and if i do it then it will be the end for me here as I will
no longer be a Sony user.
So watch this space.

[leuius]

R.I.P.

Have you tried changing the memory card? Maybe a wildcard option but I once had a similar incident and it turned out to be a bad (spot on the) card. "Camera error" is not very descriptive...

Assuming the dead will not resurrect, have you thought of an A6x00 replacement? With three models, there is bound to be one that fits your budget. You may also be charmed by the size/weight. With an adapter, you could reuse your A77 glass so the investment remains small.

Just a thought (or two)

Good luck,

Stef

[Gramps]

Thanks Stef but as I just put in a thread just a short while ago its now time to move on.
And as I said there this is down to the lack of care by Sony Australia.
Their way of support is to tell you to buy the most up to date camera.
So due to them here I say its time to move on.

To what you said I have thought of the other camera but what I said is stopping me.
To the memory card its a yes done it.
And I am not willing to stay with Sony any longer.

[leuius]

And I am not willing to stay with Sony any longer.

Well, best of luck with whatever option you feel is best.

Just curious, why Canon as opposed to Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, etc? Is it just a money thing (special deal) or are you seeing a specific advantage (technical, support, glass, etc)?

For what it's worth, my close photography friends (say about 20 people) are split almost 50-50 on Canon and Nikon (we are only 4 using Sony so far) and all the serious camera problems (requiring a trip back to support) have occurred on the Canon bodies. May be just a fluke and the sample is small, but my impression is that Nikon has the edge in reliability. Your mileage may vary... not wanting to start a religious war here.

Regards,

Stef

[Gramps]

I am not bothered with trends and what other people use.
I pick for what I see as the best possible option for me.
When I 1st got my Sony A77 it was due to the fact that all other camera's were sold out and this was the last one left.
Which back then was the Sony A390 and a good camera.
I then bought more lenses and got to a point where I needed to move up a little.
So the lens I had I just didn't want to throw them away I got the A77 in a Sony.
Loves it and still think the world of it.

Then last light after we had finished unpacking the car from our trip away I got to my big lens.
It took me a while to get it and to hold it and to know it was going to go made me think again.
I really don't want to let that lens go and I have found a few of the Sony A77ii in America.
But none in Australia, so I had to find the exchange rate and this is bring the camera up to a price on the limit.
The good side is I don't have to spend more money for the lenses I have already.
A massive plus for me. but it will never go to Sony for anything it needs if something happens.

So now I am waiting for the wife to do all the checks I have done here to find one.
She just doesn't believe me and thinks she still can find one in Australia.
Which she will but it will not be band new. So I have to let her think she knows better so I just let her go.
And in the end she will find out that my research has been fully covered.
Now waiting for her then I have to order it and then wait for it to reach here which is a couple of weeks.
That will stretch out longer due to Christmas.

[leuius]

I think you have it right, glass first, body second.

I was a Minolta user in the film days. When I gradually converted to digital, I picked smaller point and shoot camera types, to see where that would get me. It was always on the back of my mind that my prior investment in good glass was going to waste. I did not want to sell those beautiful and sturdy optics, besides I was still using them (I have quite a few) from time to time.

When I felt too limited by the all-in-one digital approach and researched a bit, I came up on the NEX family. The A6000 was just getting introduced and I immediately picked up on the potential to adapt old lenses. That was a turning point for me. I have had fun using all those vintage optics with a modern body ever since, even if the benefits of newer optics (AF, stabilization, coatings, etc) are undeniable and permitting to expand the scope of what I shoot.

To me it's less Sony, although I think they have great technology, than mirrorless. That is the main paradigm shift. I will never go back to a mirror system and there are several options should Sony goof in the future. Canon and Nikon are behind the curve in this regard, content to milk their captive base for the most part. Not sure how long they can continue to look the other way. I can see the argument of those users not wanting to switch glass, but a good portion of Canikon users are (willingly?) blind to realize the potential to switch body brand while keeping their previous optics. At least up to the point where they are satisfied with a different technology and ready to gradually trade up to native glass.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, just glad you are finding a solution to your problem. And bodies do fail, good optics last longer I find. Sorry to hear that Sony Australia is not up-to-par. But in the end, like all electronic devices, when components fail (after warranty period) it's possibly time to move on. By then the price of parts/repair is hard to justify versus upgrading/modernizing. Possibly not the case with higher-end products, but the up-front cost markup also gets you. Not saying this is a great idea but a sign of the times. No win situation?

Regards,

[Gramps]

Stef to me it wasn't a rant but someone passionate about what they use.
I do agree on them and I was just pushed by the Australian branch bit the less said about those useless mob the better.
I have found a company in America that has got 8 Sony A77ii and I want to order one.

Just need her who must be obeyed to do her research which I have done but thats not good enough.
So I really don't know if I will ever get another camera the way she is going.
But this is how it is in my house all the time.

[Gramps]

Today I cleaned all contact point on my old camera and took my time as the wife was doing Christmas shopping.
Once they were cleaned I put the macro lens one and it took 2 shots and then the same message came up.

But also today I ordered my new body only Sony A77ii.
It should get here by about the 19th of next month and I will need that time to get use to it.
Though I have had to ask why more money has come out that it should have.
But thats not an issue at all. I just want a new camera now.

[leuius]

Hi Gramps!

Very cool that you got what you wanted; the A77II is supposed to be a good camera. Hope you like your "Christmas gift" when you get it!

On that subject, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Best of everything to you and your family/friends.

Stef

[Gramps]

Thank you so much Stef. I would like to say the same to you in Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family for here is Australia.
Our temperature has been estimated at the low 40 degree's celsius.
So it will be a day inside.
I can't wait to get the camera so I am watching those youtubey thing s to learn about it.

[leuius]

Our temperature has been estimated at the low 40 degree's celsius. So it will be a day inside.

It's -7C here this morning, so still a "pleasant" winter day. It's supposed to dip to -30C this coming week, so days inside here too but for the opposite reasons!!

Cheers,

Stef

[Gramps]

I can actually say I know what that 7C is like and I don't like it as I am a summer person.
All my working life until my back stuffed up I was outside working through summer.
Always ended up looking darker than many of the local Aboriginals But with lighter skin that has not bee exposed to the sun.
But with luck I was born with an olive complexion so I am not as much at risk of skin cancers, which I think our land has the
highest rate of it.
But the -30 C is something I have never been in and I don't think I care to be in it.
I'm not sure if you get use to it but I know for me it would take a life time to get use to it like that.
So I totally understand why you stay inside. I have heard of cabin fever on a few shows from your area, so I only know
of it through them and I think I like to keep it like that.
If we ever did make it over that way it would be in your warmer months.
Hope you had or have a great Christmas and a top New Year.

[leuius]

The southern part of Canada, which is where most Canadians live is in a moderate zone, roughly at equal distance from the equator and the north pole. We do have 4 very distinct seasons. Increasingly though we are seeing the climate shift to the warmer side. The summers are hotter and the winters less cold. At least in terms of duration and also in terms of when the seasons start (later it seems).

The seasons I prefer are spring and fall. On a good day, you can step outside with no advanced thinking. You can open windows and feel the wind from morning to dusk. Summers, with the humidity, are just too uncomfortable. Winters can be harsh; -30C or even -40C is not fun but you can manage if you dress accordingly. To me, -10C is just perfect for spending time outside and you know that anything coming out of the sky will be snow, not the dreaded drizzle or icy rain that turn streets, sidewalks, everything really, into a slippery mess. Snow is a pain to shovel but a very good exercise (bad back notwithstanding) and breathing the cold winter air is pure pleasure.

Being accustomed to all seasons, I tend to find something I like and dislike in each one and I am happy to go from one to the other. A few months of each is just long enough.

Since you are ahead of us in time, I hope your Christmas was nice. Mine is just starting but should be quiet... the weatherman is calling for 15cm of fresh snow today. So it will be shovel-time later today, moving the car to one side of the street to let snow removal operations do their thing, changing to the opposite side the next day, that sort of routine. Still, it's vacation time so it's hard to complain.

Have a good one Gramps.

Stef

[Steve]

your funny gramps...you like me fire all the guns when get annoyed and think reasonably afterwards...lol...so me.
Bugger about sony support I have used sony support twice....and had great support...and sent my a6000 away twice.....so gutted to hear that.
As has been said the shift is to mirrorless and the glass is what costs when u shift so glad u got a new sony.
My mate i shoot with is a pro photogrpaher and is sponsored by canon...he shoots his astro on cnaon...BUT shoots his landscapes on a7r2....on canon glass......luvs both systems...Its interesting when u see pros do this.....his canon is a 5dmark 4 that canon GAVE him.

[Gramps]

Stef thanks for that, and we had a good day as we went to or daughters who has the kids and this left us no clean up.
Which we get lumbered with every year. But as far as the day it was fantastic to watch the kids.
Our daughter has got our eldest grandies and one is 12 and the other one turns 8 today.
Yesterday I had to set up her trampoline and I am paying for it big time today and last night as I couldn't sleep.
This happens when I get into too much pain. But it was worth it.
On the weather I am Summer and Autumn as we still get the odd hotter day in there to..
It has been so interesting talking with you on this and have enjoyed it all.
So thank you for that and Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Though I don't believe it it as I believe the new year starts on your birthday.

Steve I was pleased to see that I am not the only one.
But truly Sony Australia can take a long walk on a short pier.
My changing was partly to do with the wife not wanting to spend out.
And after telling her for about a 100 times that in the long run it will save us money as I don't have to spend to get the lenses.
She was told by the people she was helping who are Canon people.

When it worked out that I would have to spend up to more than $1500 to buy the lenses I have now.
Well she seen the light and they were now in another state and us at home.
If the new camera lasts me another 4 years I might be up for new lenses by then to.
So then it could be a big push for the mirrorless or what ever the new trend is about then.

The research I have done on the new one and the focus seems to be the big thing.
And no more GPS which I hated on the camera.
My camera should be here around the 19th which isn't too far away, then I will post photos again.