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A77 Sensor repalr/replacement

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Patrick in Oregon

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I have a couple of scratches/lines on my A77 sensor from me being stupid while cleaning. I found the replacement part on sears direct and it costs over $600. I bought the camera used from B&H for about $600.

I'm beyond the B&H used equipment return window and I obviously don't have a Sony warranty.

I assume sending it to Sony will just cost me the full price of the sensor.

Maybe I'll just sell it on ebay and try to recovery some of the money.

Any suggestions? Should I just learn how to heal photos and hide the marks?
 
Solution
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Patrick in Oregon said:
I have a couple of scratches/lines on my A77 sensor from me being stupid while cleaning. I found the replacement part on sears direct and it costs over $600. I bought the camera used from B&H for about $600.

I'm beyond the B&H used equipment return window and I obviously don't have a Sony warranty.

I assume sending it to Sony will just cost me the full price of the sensor.

Maybe I'll just sell it on ebay and try to recovery some of the money.

Any suggestions? Should I just learn how to heal photos and hide the marks?
Click to expand...
Hi Patrik,

It is not easy to scratch the sensor or the covering glass plate. Are you sure you have real scratches?

I had an accident with one of my sony DSLRs, I was cleaning it the sesnor holding the camera...
Patrick in Oregon said:
I have a couple of scratches/lines on my A77 sensor from me being stupid while cleaning. I found the replacement part on sears direct and it costs over $600. I bought the camera used from B&H for about $600.

I'm beyond the B&H used equipment return window and I obviously don't have a Sony warranty.

I assume sending it to Sony will just cost me the full price of the sensor.

Maybe I'll just sell it on ebay and try to recovery some of the money.

Any suggestions? Should I just learn how to heal photos and hide the marks?
Click to expand...
Ahoy!

It's not cost effective to spend retail money on a single component. Unless you can sort in PP, I would keep as an emergency back-up or just sell on and declare the issue. With respect to the warranty (even though it's expired), I would doubt it'll be covered as you actually caused the problem and it's not a component failure (I would check the small print and exclusions).

Obviously it won't return you much (maybe 50% at best), but SLT EVF and budget aside, have you considered a 3 digit Alpha with OVF as they're much cheaper yet still a decent platform or do you have other plans? I have a Dynax 5D and an A100K if interested, but I'm guessing they'll be too old for you even though they're in great shape.

Personally, I wouldn't rule out anything, but be prepared to compromise on your next purchase subject to whatever you get back for the A77 if it sells.

--
Mark (aka Pirate!)
 
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I believe Sony has a flat rate for repairs of $168 for the A77. It doesn't matter if its one little part or a complete PC board. They charge you the same price.

Of course a scratched sensor maybe considered mechanical damage which they do not cover.

 
It will be the filter that sits on top of the sensor that is scratched. I would suggest taking it to a specialist that converts cameras to infra-red. They are expert at removing and replacing these filters and will probably be a lot cheaper than Sony repairers........ or you could take it as an opportunity and have the camera converted to infra-red?

As one door closes another one opens.......
 
Yes it appears so.

If you go to the link I provided in my earlier reply and enter your model number it will show the price for repairs and I assume it covers anything except the exceptions they list.
 
Just to be sure. Did you remove the SLT and then scratch the senor underneath? Or did you just try cleaning the SLT
 
bwigg said:
I believe Sony has a flat rate for repairs of $168 for the A77. It doesn't matter if its one little part or a complete PC board. They charge you the same price.

Of course a scratched sensor maybe considered mechanical damage which they do not cover.

https://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web/index.do
Click to expand...
Ahoy!

Seems to me that as the OP caused the damage ergo it's self-inflicted and not a component failure and would IMO fall out of any manufacturers warranty coverage.

Sigma (UK) have a repair tariff posted online, and you pay according to the item model/type and there is a base price for inspection, though you'll pay through the nose if it's outside of the standard cover, and the OP's problem isn't financially viable to have corrected by Sony as it'll involve a full-on strip-down and with the price of the replacement part(s) thrown in, it doesn't make any sense to do. I would also think any repair such as this will require a 'clean room' and I doubt your average store or repair shop will have this.

I'm sure the OP will do the obvious thing and offload it and take a loss but move on and learn from the experience.
 
Gary-West Sussex said:
It will be the filter that sits on top of the sensor that is scratched.
Click to expand...
I think you're correct. Sensors (use a Mr. Spock voice) has a thin protective film coating, but due to the nature of the beast, it'll likely require a lab clean room in order to replace without contaminating the other delicate internal electricals.
Gary-West Sussex said:
As one door closes another one opens.......
Click to expand...
These are called revolving doors.

--

Mark (aka Pirate!)
 
The SLT was flipped up so I was behind it on the sensor - or the AA/low pass filter. I tried blowing on some stubbon specks and they didn't move. I swiped a cleaning rag, one of the soft ones you use on lenses or a pair of glasses, and ended up leaving a couple lines.

I knew it was a no-no to touch and thought I was being gentle. Guess not. I know the SLT is a only a thin film but I didn't know the sensor had a similar film on it.
 
From the eService page

"The Flat Rate Repair Program does not cover:
  1. Replacement of display parts such as: projection and TV picture tubes, optical blocks, plasma and LCD panels
  2. Internal corrosion or moisture damage
  3. Cosmetic parts, such as a cabinet.
  4. Any condition resulting from physical abuse, misuse, or excessive wear
  5. Business and professional products, or any product used commercially, or in a manner other than originally designed or intended.
  6. Devices older than seven (7) years from last market date.
  7. Damage resulting from any prior repairs.
If, upon examination, it is determined that your device does not qualify for the Flat Rate Pricing Program, you will be given a standard parts & labor repair quote which may require additional payment. If you decide to refuse the quote, you can elect to have your device returned to you for a nominal shipping fee, or to be disposed of at our facility."

They may consider this "physical abuse, misuse, excessive wear" but I feel like that might be more like....intentional damage or just plain beating it to death. I think it is worth a shot. If it doesn't qualify for the $168 then I'll just have it sent back to me, assuming the repair cost is unreasonable.
 
Patrick in Oregon said:
I have a couple of scratches/lines on my A77 sensor from me being stupid while cleaning. I found the replacement part on sears direct and it costs over $600. I bought the camera used from B&H for about $600.

I'm beyond the B&H used equipment return window and I obviously don't have a Sony warranty.

I assume sending it to Sony will just cost me the full price of the sensor.

Maybe I'll just sell it on ebay and try to recovery some of the money.

Any suggestions? Should I just learn how to heal photos and hide the marks?
Click to expand...
Hi Patrik,

It is not easy to scratch the sensor or the covering glass plate. Are you sure you have real scratches?

I had an accident with one of my sony DSLRs, I was cleaning it the sesnor holding the camera and VG facing down with a rocket blower pointing the blower tip upward towards the sensor. The camera slipped off my hand and the sensor landed on the blower tip. I immediately found a huge mark in the sensor, like a scratch mark and it didn't go away with wet cleaning. Finally I gathered courage and gave the sensor a hard rub with a lens cleaning cloth and the mark cleared away. I think that mark was from the sensor tip and not the glass.

To my belief, sensor covering surface is not really that fragile that people think of. It is similar to your specks, you can pretty much rub it with cleaning cloth.
 
Solution
That's interesting. I guess i'll take another look. I really thought the SLT and the AA filter were both made of a plastic-wrap type material. Naturally, after potentially scratching it already, I haven't dared come close to it since. Thanks!
 
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I'm going to take a look tonight to make sure it's not a streak of something. When I originally did it, I got frustrated at myself for not knowing when to stop so I've barely looked at it since.
 
Patrick in Oregon said:
I'm going to take a look tonight to make sure it's not a streak of something. When I originally did it, I got frustrated at myself for not knowing when to stop so I've barely looked at it since.
Click to expand...
Yeah, since it will need replacement anyways, I would say buy a legitimate cleaner and try again.

Loading…

www.adorama.com

I have never used a sensor cleaner... so good luck !
 
More rubbing worked. Thanks for the input - you saved me a bunch of money <3

I used a qtip to rub it but it left a bunch of fuzz. So I wrapped the qtip in a cleaning cloth and rubbed with a little bit of elbow grease and it started to lighten up. Took only a couple minutes for the lines to go away.

Thanks again
 
Patrick in Oregon said:
From the eService page

"The Flat Rate Repair Program does not cover:
  1. Replacement of display parts such as: projection and TV picture tubes, optical blocks, plasma and LCD panels
  2. Internal corrosion or moisture damage
  3. Cosmetic parts, such as a cabinet.
  4. Any condition resulting from physical abuse, misuse, or excessive wear
  5. Business and professional products, or any product used commercially, or in a manner other than originally designed or intended.
  6. Devices older than seven (7) years from last market date.
  7. Damage resulting from any prior repairs.
If, upon examination, it is determined that your device does not qualify for the Flat Rate Pricing Program, you will be given a standard parts & labor repair quote which may require additional payment. If you decide to refuse the quote, you can elect to have your device returned to you for a nominal shipping fee, or to be disposed of at our facility."

They may consider this "physical abuse, misuse, excessive wear" but I feel like that might be more like....intentional damage or just plain beating it to death. I think it is worth a shot. If it doesn't qualify for the $168 then I'll just have it sent back to me, assuming the repair cost is unreasonable.
Click to expand...
I've used this service outside of warranty, twice! I first used it to repair my SAL1650, which developed an issue where the mount appeared to be a bit lose and I couldn't always get it to close the aperture, no matter how clean the contacts on it or the body were. That one was June last year and was billed $142 (guess they put the price up in between). I then used it for something it looked like it didn't cover in Oct. My A77's LCD stopped working (connection issue in the twisting mount, I think), and they fixed it, despite it saying what it does about not covering LCD panels - I guess this covers products with big expensive screens. That time I was billed $173. If it turns out that the scratch is real, I'd definitely give this a shot.

I once even used the service on a scratched lens, which I told them was completely my fault, but they fixed it for free because it was under warranty!!! I didn't understand their logic, but I didn't complain either :)
 
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