My Sony AR7II Warranty Repair Experience with Precision Camera

LouMeluso

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I'm hard on gear. I know it. In the field, babying my camera is the last thing on my mind. Subsequently, the thing gets bounced around a fair bit. This was rarely a problem with my Canon EOS gear and, in fact my Sony gear has been fairly robust as well....until recently.

One day after a return from an rough and tumble outing in the woods, my A7RII just stopped working. It powered on OK but none of the buttons, rear wheel or shutter worked. The lens tested fine on another body. I tried removing the battery and rebooting but no luck. This camera was going to need service. As I prepped the camera for shipment, I pulled out my paperwork to include in the package when I noticed I still had two days, a mere 48 hours, left on my original Sony warranty! Hooray, I thought, but that would mean sending it to Precision Camera for Warranty service. I have not heard good things about Sony Service in general and this place in particular. The camera showed no physical damage but would they honor the trailing edge of my warranty? I gave it a try.

I went to the Precision Camera website identified my camera and got a preliminary "estimate" of about $360. Yikes! This is a blind, general estimate meant to prepare you for the standard costs of most repairs I assumed. I filled out the forms, I indicated this was a warranty repair, got a ticket number and express mailed the camera to them. Pretty easy to figure out and accomplish. So far, so good.

The next day I got an email that the camera had been received and entered into the repair shop. They have a web page where you can follow the progress of the camera: entered in service, waiting for parts, and then ready to be shipped. At the end point of the process, I called to see when it would be shipped. I talked directly to a customer service agent who was pleasant and knowledgeable. The camera was shipping that day. It was received by them on November 29th and express shipped to me on Dec 5th. They state this is their standard turnaround time. The repair sheet indicated the replacement of "mounted C. Board RL-1048", all settings calibrated, new firmware installed, mount checked and realigned, focus tested and calibrated, address values measured and adjusted, and the sensor, viewfinder, and external camera cleaned. Total cost to me...$ 00.00! All covered under warranty, no questions asked.
This was a very positive and pleasant experience. Despite past horror stories of Sony warranty service, my experience was great. Not only did the website make beginning the process easy, but the whole affair was handled professionally and quickly. My camera was returned looking like new and working perfectly. Even with mere hours left on the warranty, it was no problem. This was my Sony/ Precision Camera warranty repair experience logged on 12/7/2016
 
Sounds good. I think that unless there is evidence of damaging by water or from dropping, warranties are normally ok.
 
I also had a positive experience. My camera on a tripod blew over onto a boulder and got smashed/dented all over. I was up front about me causing the damage and that I didn't expect a warranty repair. Nonetheless, they fixed everything in just a few days with the camera looking brand new and charged me nothing!
 
Good the know.

My grey-market camera does not have warranty, but it is getting close to one year anyway.

For external electronic parts like switches board, LCD screen, I probably can replace them myself if they sell the replacement parts.
 
My experience was positive too with a faulty flash that was out of warranty. Flash repaired and firmware updated... zero cost! Turnaround time from shipping fro Trinidad and receiving my flash was less than a week.
 
Sounds good. I think that unless there is evidence of damaging by water or from dropping, warranties are normally ok.
 
I'm just curious, when you say you had a "rough outing" with the camera in the woods. What do you mean? Just normal usage? Or was the camera dropped a few times for example?
 
Thanks for posting this. In the back of my mind has been the worry that if anything happens to my camera it would be difficult to get it repaired or very expensive.
 
Always good to see positive service experiences.

W
 
I'm just curious, when you say you had a "rough outing" with the camera in the woods. What do you mean? Just normal usage? Or was the camera dropped a few times for example?
I'm not sure what "normal" usage means. I see that as variable to the conditions and the activity. The camera is around my neck or slung across my chest as I negotiate thick wooded terrain. This time of year, with heavy leaf/branch or snow covering, the footing is dodgy at best. I usually cut a staff or use a monopod as a third leg. I have slipped a couple of times. This is pretty "normal" for me as a nature photographer in North Eastern Illinois in late Fall. No, the camera was never dropped. As I said in my opening sentence, I am tough on gear.

--
My portfolio is here:
http://photo.net/photos/Lou_Meluso
 
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Thanks for the report - good to know.

Pentax switched to Precision repair services prior to Sony. About 2 years ago, my Pentax K3 camera started shooting continuously and could not be stopped by turning it off. Only battery removal stopped the sequence. It was a known occasional problem with that model. I sent it to Precision for warranty repair, which was known to require disassembly and installing a new set of firmware in some internal module. It was shipped back, working fine within a week.

In this difficult economical time for camera manufacturers, it makes sense to use a separate but professional repair service
 
Good to hear, due all complains it seems they have upped their game, it's anyhow an indication of it.

Go out and enjoy your gear again. 👍👍
 
I'm hard on gear. I know it. In the field, babying my camera is the last thing on my mind. Subsequently, the thing gets bounced around a fair bit. This was rarely a problem with my Canon EOS gear and, in fact my Sony gear has been fairly robust as well....until recently.

One day after a return from an rough and tumble outing in the woods, my A7RII just stopped working. It powered on OK but none of the buttons, rear wheel or shutter worked. The lens tested fine on another body. I tried removing the battery and rebooting but no luck. This camera was going to need service. As I prepped the camera for shipment, I pulled out my paperwork to include in the package when I noticed I still had two days, a mere 48 hours, left on my original Sony warranty! Hooray, I thought, but that would mean sending it to Precision Camera for Warranty service. I have not heard good things about Sony Service in general and this place in particular. The camera showed no physical damage but would they honor the trailing edge of my warranty? I gave it a try.

I went to the Precision Camera website identified my camera and got a preliminary "estimate" of about $360. Yikes! This is a blind, general estimate meant to prepare you for the standard costs of most repairs I assumed. I filled out the forms, I indicated this was a warranty repair, got a ticket number and express mailed the camera to them. Pretty easy to figure out and accomplish. So far, so good.

The next day I got an email that the camera had been received and entered into the repair shop. They have a web page where you can follow the progress of the camera: entered in service, waiting for parts, and then ready to be shipped. At the end point of the process, I called to see when it would be shipped. I talked directly to a customer service agent who was pleasant and knowledgeable. The camera was shipping that day. It was received by them on November 29th and express shipped to me on Dec 5th. They state this is their standard turnaround time. The repair sheet indicated the replacement of "mounted C. Board RL-1048", all settings calibrated, new firmware installed, mount checked and realigned, focus tested and calibrated, address values measured and adjusted, and the sensor, viewfinder, and external camera cleaned. Total cost to me...$ 00.00! All covered under warranty, no questions asked.
This was a very positive and pleasant experience. Despite past horror stories of Sony warranty service, my experience was great. Not only did the website make beginning the process easy, but the whole affair was handled professionally and quickly. My camera was returned looking like new and working perfectly. Even with mere hours left on the warranty, it was no problem. This was my Sony/ Precision Camera warranty repair experience logged on 12/7/2016

--
My portfolio is here:
http://photo.net/photos/Lou_Meluso
Thanks for sharing.

Based on your description of the symptom, it sounds like a ribbon cable quick connect that bridged the buttons to the PCB likely got knocked loose. I wouldn't be surprised if they just reconnected it and it was functional. Likely, the part they replaced was the ribbon cable assembly since the quick connect sockets can get loose and perhaps they replaced the socket or cable so it wouldn't come loose again.

Given that the part they referenced has a number of these ribbon cables with quick connects on it, I would wager that was the issue. Its $51.01 if you wanted to order one yourself:

https://www.encompassparts.com/item/10856148/Sony/A-2084-142-B/Mounted_C.board,_Rl-1048

20e3d7f687244685aa0d2e143451ebc8.jpg
 
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I had a broken a6000 kit lens (no, really, I have no idea how it broke - my guess is a niece dropped it but no one confessed) and sent it to Precision. It couldn't have been easier or faster to get it fixed or replaced outright. I was pleased.
 
I'm hard on gear. I know it. In the field, babying my camera is the last thing on my mind. Subsequently, the thing gets bounced around a fair bit. This was rarely a problem with my Canon EOS gear and, in fact my Sony gear has been fairly robust as well....until recently.

One day after a return from an rough and tumble outing in the woods, my A7RII just stopped working. It powered on OK but none of the buttons, rear wheel or shutter worked. The lens tested fine on another body. I tried removing the battery and rebooting but no luck. This camera was going to need service. As I prepped the camera for shipment, I pulled out my paperwork to include in the package when I noticed I still had two days, a mere 48 hours, left on my original Sony warranty! Hooray, I thought, but that would mean sending it to Precision Camera for Warranty service. I have not heard good things about Sony Service in general and this place in particular. The camera showed no physical damage but would they honor the trailing edge of my warranty? I gave it a try.

I went to the Precision Camera website identified my camera and got a preliminary "estimate" of about $360. Yikes! This is a blind, general estimate meant to prepare you for the standard costs of most repairs I assumed. I filled out the forms, I indicated this was a warranty repair, got a ticket number and express mailed the camera to them. Pretty easy to figure out and accomplish. So far, so good.

The next day I got an email that the camera had been received and entered into the repair shop. They have a web page where you can follow the progress of the camera: entered in service, waiting for parts, and then ready to be shipped. At the end point of the process, I called to see when it would be shipped. I talked directly to a customer service agent who was pleasant and knowledgeable. The camera was shipping that day. It was received by them on November 29th and express shipped to me on Dec 5th. They state this is their standard turnaround time. The repair sheet indicated the replacement of "mounted C. Board RL-1048", all settings calibrated, new firmware installed, mount checked and realigned, focus tested and calibrated, address values measured and adjusted, and the sensor, viewfinder, and external camera cleaned. Total cost to me...$ 00.00! All covered under warranty, no questions asked.
This was a very positive and pleasant experience. Despite past horror stories of Sony warranty service, my experience was great. Not only did the website make beginning the process easy, but the whole affair was handled professionally and quickly. My camera was returned looking like new and working perfectly. Even with mere hours left on the warranty, it was no problem. This was my Sony/ Precision Camera warranty repair experience logged on 12/7/2016

--
My portfolio is here:
http://photo.net/photos/Lou_Meluso
Thanks for sharing.

Based on your description of the symptom, it sounds like a ribbon cable quick connect that bridged the buttons to the PCB likely got knocked loose. I wouldn't be surprised if they just reconnected it and it was functional. Likely, the part they replaced was the ribbon cable assembly since the quick connect sockets can get loose and perhaps they replaced the socket or cable so it wouldn't come loose again.

Given that the part they referenced has a number of these ribbon cables with quick connects on it, I would wager that was the issue. Its $51.01 if you wanted to order one yourself:

https://www.encompassparts.com/item/10856148/Sony/A-2084-142-B/Mounted_C.board,_Rl-1048

20e3d7f687244685aa0d2e143451ebc8.jpg
Many thanks for the information. Not that I would dream of opening any camera. Still good to know what the part is and does. I envy the guys that tinker fearlessly inside those tight-fitted spaces. Much appreciated!

--
My portfolio is here:
 
I had the dreaded Camera error message on my a6300. The shutter was stuck closed. I sent it to precision and they email you a tracking number to follow the repair. All in all a very good experience. A total of. Just 9 days out for service.
 
I also had a great experience with Precision. Broke the tabs that hold the eye cup on my A7RII and everything was fast and great. They're also great at communication. Every time I emailed them with a question I got a phone call within an hour or so.
 

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