Is Sony A7 III w/ a broken card slot worth it?

Henkez said:

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Click to expand...

Henrik, it's your money and entirely your call as to the risk/benefit ratio. Personally, I would not touch it. What else might be wrong? Will the problem become worse. To me 800-850€ is still rather a lot of money. It's a gamble and you might win - or you might loose.

David Lal said:

Henkez said:

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Click to expand...

Henrik, it's your money and entirely your call as to the risk/benefit ratio. Personally, I would not touch it. What else might be wrong? Will the problem become worse. To me 800-850€ is still rather a lot of money. It's a gamble and you might win - or you might loose.

Click to expand...

Hi David, I'm not buying from Ebay or anything. It's a smaller website and I can text with the seller and probably have a video call to see that everything works. I know having something not working is always a red flag and I wouldn't buy if everything else doesn't work as should.

Henrik

Henkez said:

David Lal said:

Henkez said:

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Click to expand...

Henrik, it's your money and entirely your call as to the risk/benefit ratio. Personally, I would not touch it. What else might be wrong? Will the problem become worse. To me 800-850€ is still rather a lot of money. It's a gamble and you might win - or you might loose.

Click to expand...

Hi David, I'm not buying from Ebay or anything. It's a smaller website and I can text with the seller and probably have a video call to see that everything works. I know having something not working is always a red flag and I wouldn't buy if everything else doesn't work as should.

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik,

There's not much more I can say that I have not already said. If you do go ahead with the purchase then I wish you luck.

Obviously there is some risk, but then that's always the case with a used camera.

It sounds like you've done your research, and if you don't find any other problems associated with this issue you might take a chance. This sounds like a mechanical problem with the card slot and likely does not affect any other part of operation, but you can't be sure. And if the other slot fails then you're looking at a pretty costly repair - you might check on that cost before you buy. A call or email to Sony service should give you an idea on that.

I would look for a price around half what you might pay for a fully operational camera, maybe 60 percent. At a minimum I'd want to save more than it would cost to replace the card reader.

Good luck.

Gato

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Card slots are a common problem with bent or broken pins.

If you trust the seller that nothing else is wrong then it would depend entirely on the cost. IF the deal is good enough it would be worth it, if not, keep looking.

You are definitely in the power position here to haggle the price. For me it would have to be really cheap, not just a good deal. You can find GOOD deals on higher mileage and in perfect working condition cameras. Thus I said really cheap!!! Good luck

John

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Most cameras have only one card slot anyway.

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

If the other card slot works fine and there isn't anything else worng with the camera (and nothing in the broken slot is in a way that it could cause a short) then it might be OK. One fix could be gluing something to the door to keep the card pressed in. Just avoid opening the door when the camera is on (accidentally or intentionally). But to be honest, if you don't need FF, you can buy a new a6100 or a6400 for about the same price (they're not FF, but it would be new and you wouldn't have to worry about it).

If it was me, I wouldn't. There may be something else wrong with the camera that may not be obvious. When it comes to things that are broken I tend to walk away. While I understand some things break from age/use, and sometimes it's poor design on the mfr's part, this is a bit concerning, and for 850 it's too much of a risk especially if you're strapped for cash, because if something else goes wrong, or it has other issues, you're probaby not going to be able to fix it or buy another replacement camera due to your budget. I would take that 850 and buy a new a6000-series if you cannot afford a new FF camera. For street it won't matter as much whether you use FF or APSC IMO. In fact, I prefer cheaper cameras for street and the a6400/a6100 offer good quality for 850 less. And it would be new so you don't have to worry about it like I said.

--
NOTE: If I don't reply to a direct comment in the forums, it's likely I unsubscribed from the thread/article..

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Said already, many cameras have one slot only. So you have one slot, and an upgradeable slot (ie. you can repair it and think of it as an upgrade).

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

SD cards don’t use “pins” at least not in the same way as CF cards, they use sliding contacts that are much harder to damage.

GeoffRG said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

SD cards don’t use “pins” at least not in the same way as CF cards, they use sliding contacts that are much harder to damage.

Click to expand...

I'm talking about in the camera though and i think it is possible to bend or damage the contacts.

sirhawkeye64 said:

GeoffRG said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

SD cards don’t use “pins” at least not in the same way as CF cards, they use sliding contacts that are much harder to damage.

Click to expand...

I'm talking about in the camera though and i think it is possible to bend or damage the contacts.

Click to expand...

I’m talking about the camera too, CF card slots have a large number of fine pins, the contacts for SD cards are much larger and far less easily damaged.

GeoffRG said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

GeoffRG said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

SD cards don’t use “pins” at least not in the same way as CF cards, they use sliding contacts that are much harder to damage.

Click to expand...

I'm talking about in the camera though and i think it is possible to bend or damage the contacts.

Click to expand...

I’m talking about the camera too, CF card slots have a large number of fine pins, the contacts for SD cards are much larger and far less easily damaged.

Click to expand...

OK well regardless, I wouldn't purchase this myself. May run into issues down the road.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

The OP already said in his post that the card works fine, except that it needs holding in place with the door.

Is it worth buying? I don’t know! But it seemed to be worth mentioning my experience as it could be a real bargain. However, personally, I’d find out the repair cost (especially as it seems to be a known issue) and discount my offer by at least that.

Richard B99 said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

The OP already said in his post that the card works fine, except that it needs holding in place with the door.
Is it worth buying? I don’t know! But it seemed to be worth mentioning my experience as it could be a real bargain. However, personally, I’d find out the repair cost (especially as it seems to be a known issue) and discount my offer by at least that.

Click to expand...

I got the impression that the asking price already reflected the condition of the card slot.

GeoffRG said:

Richard B99 said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

The OP already said in his post that the card works fine, except that it needs holding in place with the door.
Is it worth buying? I don’t know! But it seemed to be worth mentioning my experience as it could be a real bargain. However, personally, I’d find out the repair cost (especially as it seems to be a known issue) and discount my offer by at least that.

Click to expand...

I got the impression that the asking price already reflected the condition of the card slot.

Click to expand...

I think that's what the OP said. So it was like $850 or something. Still kind of a lot to risk IMO. But it's not my money or my choice.

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

The OP said the card works fine only that it won't lock into the slot unless the door is closed. I have owned only one camera in my life that had 2 slots so the fact the second slower slot is the problem wouldn't deter me at all. In fact, I would use it as an opportunity to negotiate a lower price.

tbcass said:

sirhawkeye64 said:

Richard B99 said:

Henkez said:

Hi!

I found a great deal on a A7 III with a sc of just 35K but the only problem with it is that the sd card slot n. 2 (the slower slot) won't lock the card in. It works just fine and registers the card but won't lock it into place. I found that it can be used just like normal when you just close the door with the downside that the card can fall off if not opened carefully. Apparently this is a common problem with A7 III cameras. I wouldn't be doing commercial shooting (until a few years probably) as this would be my first own camera. I would be doing mostly street photography and maybe some landscape and portraits and be using one card anyway.

I'm on a pretty tight budget (1200€ including Tamron 28-75) and I think I can get the price down to 800-850€. Is it wort it?

Henrik

Click to expand...

Henrik. I had a problem like that on an SD card a few years ago. It turned out to be a little bit of plastic from the SD card itself was lodged in the holder. Managed to blow/ shake / pry it out gently. So it may not be just the camera. Needless to say, SD card went in the bin but it might not be the body.

Click to expand...

The possible risk here though is that if someone has tried to force another card in, it may have bent something (a pin). I guess a simple test to see if the card could be written to/read from would verify that, but still, there could be some hidden damage that's not easily visible. I would still pass if it was me.

Click to expand...

The OP said the card works fine only that it won't lock into the slot unless the door is closed. I have owned only one camera in my life that had 2 slots so the fact the second slower slot is the problem wouldn't deter me at all. In fact, I would use it as an opportunity to negotiate a lower price.

Click to expand...

Well, it sounds like the seller already adjusted to a lower price, so I don't think they will go any lower on it. Maybe they will, but the OP has to ask.

But we're also forgetting the OP said he was on a tight budget. If that is the case, I'd rather buy a new camera with a warranty to be sure (or even a used camera from a place like KEH where you get a 6 month warranty but still pay roughly average used price). That I think is a better option, and there are some used A7 III's on there in Good condition for around $1k. I would buy from KEH than buy one with a broken slot and possibly other underlying issues for $800. But that's just me. The OP has to make this decision to be honest. It's risky, and given their financial situation, I wouldn't if I was in their shoes.