Trublack screen coating problem on Nex cameras....

I have just successfully disposed of the Trublack screen protector on my NEX6 (The one that is installed by Sony at the factory on all NEX cameras) and have removed the inevitable delaminating problem in the future.

The issues that drove me to remove it were.

1. My NEX5n had a screen protector over the trublack screen from new. When the protector I added got too scratched I attempted to peel it off and replace it with a new one. Guess what happened? In various places the old protector pulled some of the trublack coating off the sony factory fitted one underneath! Big mess. I then successfully peeled off the Sony one and added a new protector straight onto the NEX screen. Touch screen works as before. This made me think about the NEX6 screen. All the NEX cameras, A7, A7r and some of the Sony DSLRs have this coating.My neighbour had an A58 and the coating started to come off that at the corners.

2. I was gently wiping the NEX6 screen with a new micro fibre cloth to add a screen protector and a tiny particle of something in the cloth left a hairline scratch about 1 cm long on the screen! I have never had this issue with any other camera.

My conclusion is that the trublack anti reflective coating on the surface of the screen protector that they attach to the clear lcd cover in the factory is very soft and will likely deteriorate quickly..

As is well documented here and elsewhere, they are poor quality, scratch in a second and delaminate, sometimes in under a year.This is because Sony in their wisdom decided not to use a toughened screen or even a glass one that it common place on decent smartphones. My HTC has Gorilla Glass 3!

If the camera is still in warranty Sony may sort it out. Sadly the new replaced screen cover will most likely do it again.

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Below I will share my experience on how I removed the protector, uncovering the tougher, plastic screen underneath to which you can attached an ordinary screen protector or a glass one. Just like you would with a mobile phone or tablet.

I can now replace the protector periodically when it becomes too marked by simply peeling it off and replacing it without worrying about the trublack coating peeling off from underneath...

May I stress at this point that this is my own experience and it worked well and if you are carefull the protector can be removed with out any problems. I am not telling anyone to try this, you do this at your own risk.

I placed the NEX6 face down on a bean bag and used an LED desk light so I could clearly see what I was doing.

I read that the protector is very well stuck so I needed to be careful.

The first thing was coaxing one of the corners of the protector away from the screen. The edge of the protector is ever so slightly smaller than the actual lcd. I ran a finger nail edge along the edge of the protector a few times and eventually my nail popped under the edge of the protector lifting it slightly. A finger nail is too soft to scratch the LCD screen and I would never use any form of sharp implement to do this. Once I had a corner, I very very slowly teased the corner towards the centre of the screen peeling it off a mm at the time. Then I worked along the shorter edge until one end of the protector was clear.

The thing I had to be very carefull with. The protector was very well stuck and there was a risk it would pull the actual clear lcd screen cover off as well as it is only stuck around the black edges onto the screen body. To prevent this I pressed down on it with a finger of my other hand right next to where I was peeling off the protector thus preventing it pulling away from the camera. This process was very slow and took at least half an hour. But its not to be rushed. It did peel off cleanly and left no residue what so ever. I was left with a pristine clear LCD screen cover.

Then I simply cleaned with a micro fibre cloth and added my choice of protector. It's now future proofed and I can replace the protector at my leisure with out any issues with the trublack coating.

I have not noticed any difference when viewing the screen in bright light/sun. The rear screen is useless in these conditions regardless of whether the anti reflective coating is there or not. I use the EVF.

Hope this helps if you have these issues. A few images attached of others with the same problem.

Nex6

DSLR

NEX

5N

5N

There are many more to be found too..

Other than that lapse by Sony it's a superb camera. I just can't understand why they would sell a premium product (They are not cheap!) and add a rubbish screen cover.