Sony a6000 bricked!!!!

Hi All,

I turned on my Sony a6000 for the first time in a few weeks, and the shutter was not responding, it was not taking a photo, so I tried doing the update from v2 to v3, and after loading to 90% (tried doing update on both Mac and PC btw) it failed...and then after, it would load the main screen, but none of the functions responded to the buttons or dials...I dropped off the camera at Photo Tech Repair Services in NYC, and they said its the main and electric circuit which is the problem, parts costing $229 not including labor!!!! Nearly half the price of what I paid for the camera from BHPhoto!!!! What do you suggest I do? Are they marking up the price for the part(s)? Can I find the part for cheaper and supply it to them? Any kind of bargaining chip I can use...the quote seems so high!!!! Thanx in advance for suggestions.

Not sure how long you have had the camera for but if its been a couple years with a good amount of use I would opt to buy a new a6000 especially if it will be 200-300 bucks to fix.

It seems like the Western countries gave up on repairing things a few decades ago so if any little thing goes wrong the item is trash.

You might be able to find a mainboard on ebay or something:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A6000-mainboard-for-sony-A6000-main-board-A6000-motherboard-camera-Repair-Part-/302239897667?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

(looks like a used or refurbished part)

and do it yourself sometimes with electronics it is just a bad connection or dirt so if the camera is trash anyway it does not hurt to pull it apart.

But if the main board is $230 and labor probably the same it does not make much since when you can buy new for 500 and a used one for less

It's all water over the bridge at this point since the camera is bricked now anyway but did you try the "take the battery out for a few minutes" trick before you decided to do a firmware upgrade

Replacing camera parts is not always that straightforward.

The sensor comes with a CDROM that must be loaded onto the main board. I presume this corrects for defects and per-pixel uneven response.

Also, the viewfinder comes with a color calibration setting that must be entered via some tooling. This is less critical however, it is just an RGB adjustment.

Almazar80 wrote:

There are standard prices for major parts for most cameras from most manufacturers. The $229 price is not out of line for a mainboard. Having said that, you can buy a new A6000 for $500 right now, and around $400 when they have their November sales.

You are probably right. But about 10 years ago, I bought a Canon video camera for $1000, got hit by a rogue wave at the beach, the camera died immediately. I took it by Canon in Irvine on the way home, they told me the mainboard had gotten wet, it would cost $150 to replace it and ship it to me. It arrived at my house a week later. I realize that was 10 years ago, but the cost of that camera was roughly the same as what I paid for the a6300, but this repair looks to cost him maybe twice what Canon charged me, and he wasn't stupid enough to drown his camera like I was.

I love Sony cameras and am very happy with my a6300. But Sony customer service scares me and makes it difficult to commit thousands of dollars to their system. I've had 2 bad customer service experiences with them (not involving the A6300), and I really hope they get their act together.

edcgadgetgeek wrote:

Hi All,

I turned on my Sony a6000 for the first time in a few weeks, and the shutter was not responding, it was not taking a photo, so I tried doing the update from v2 to v3, and after loading to 90% (tried doing update on both Mac and PC btw) it failed...and then after, it would load the main screen, but none of the functions responded to the buttons or dials...I dropped off the camera at Photo Tech Repair Services in NYC, and they said its the main and electric circuit which is the problem, parts costing $229 not including labor!!!! Nearly half the price of what I paid for the camera from BHPhoto!!!! What do you suggest I do? Are they marking up the price for the part(s)? Can I find the part for cheaper and supply it to them? Any kind of bargaining chip I can use...the quote seems so high!!!! Thanx in advance for suggestions.

Looks similar to a sticky shutter button problem. I fixed it with a $7 dollar cleaner.

Not sure if your camera's problem is the same. This is for your reference: "Sony A6000 Shutter Button Needs Cleaning or Replacing "

DaFireMedic wrote:

Almazar80 wrote:

There are standard prices for major parts for most cameras from most manufacturers. The $229 price is not out of line for a mainboard. Having said that, you can buy a new A6000 for $500 right now, and around $400 when they have their November sales.

You are probably right. But about 10 years ago, I bought a Canon video camera for $1000, got hit by a rogue wave at the beach, the camera died immediately. I took it by Canon in Irvine on the way home, they told me the mainboard had gotten wet, it would cost $150 to replace it and ship it to me. It arrived at my house a week later. I realize that was 10 years ago, but the cost of that camera was roughly the same as what I paid for the a6300, but this repair looks to cost him maybe twice what Canon charged me, and he wasn't stupid enough to drown his camera like I was.

I love Sony cameras and am very happy with my a6300. But Sony customer service scares me and makes it difficult to commit thousands of dollars to their system. I've had 2 bad customer service experiences with them (not involving the A6300), and I really hope they get their act together.

Integration and miniaturization costs money. As does the increasing non-standardization of parts across said mainboards. It's not like the old days where the majority of cameras across a line shared the exact same part and just had other items bolted/harnessed on to do the job. The tight integration of all the components as well as, just as significant to overall inventory costs, the packaging of said components to the specific form factor of a model cause the cost of replacements to go up. (If the a5100 and a6000 share the same mainboard, I'll eat a random article of clothing on this one.)

I think it is that often, service is seen as a profit center, and not as support for loyal customers. That said it can be costly to keep parts of obsolete products around. However these cameras are current models.

Anyway, from some looking around it seems that at least the clickwheel and shutter of the A5000 and A6000 are identical parts.

TO11MTM wrote:

DaFireMedic wrote:

Almazar80 wrote:

There are standard prices for major parts for most cameras from most manufacturers. The $229 price is not out of line for a mainboard. Having said that, you can buy a new A6000 for $500 right now, and around $400 when they have their November sales.

You are probably right. But about 10 years ago, I bought a Canon video camera for $1000, got hit by a rogue wave at the beach, the camera died immediately. I took it by Canon in Irvine on the way home, they told me the mainboard had gotten wet, it would cost $150 to replace it and ship it to me. It arrived at my house a week later. I realize that was 10 years ago, but the cost of that camera was roughly the same as what I paid for the a6300, but this repair looks to cost him maybe twice what Canon charged me, and he wasn't stupid enough to drown his camera like I was.

I love Sony cameras and am very happy with my a6300. But Sony customer service scares me and makes it difficult to commit thousands of dollars to their system. I've had 2 bad customer service experiences with them (not involving the A6300), and I really hope they get their act together.

Integration and miniaturization costs money. As does the increasing non-standardization of parts across said mainboards. It's not like the old days where the majority of cameras across a line shared the exact same part and just had other items bolted/harnessed on to do the job. The tight integration of all the components as well as, just as significant to overall inventory costs, the packaging of said components to the specific form factor of a model cause the cost of replacements to go up. (If the a5100 and a6000 share the same mainboard, I'll eat a random article of clothing on this one.)

Thank you, that helps to explain the price difference.  But Sony's customer service in the past has been very poor in my experience (again, not with their cameras), the polar opposite of my experiences with Canon, and to a lesser degree Panasonic. I would have no concerns about investing thousands in a Canon system as I am confident that they stand behind what they sell. I don't have the same confidence with Sony based on my past dealings with them, as well as feedback from other Sony users who've needed to go through their customer service. I think much of this has to do with Sony's private contractors that they use for repairs, but those people are Sony's representatives and they need to monitor them for quality service. Sony makes outstanding cameras, but they need make sure to provide a high level of support for their products or the professionals that they've worked so hard to attract with their A7 and A9 line are going to be heading back to Canon or Nikon.

It cost me that much to replace a battery door for my a6000 when I dropped it about 1 foot...

Most of the cost is in labor (disassembly and reassembly) and not the part iteself, hence the high ticket price to repair everywhere.

I agree with a couple of others, sell for parts as-is, buy anew body. Maybe even check a local camera store or two who consign...you may get a great deal and be able to inspect prior to purchase.  Given the popularity of the body, I would be willing to bet there is an open-box deal to be had via Best Buy online as well.

csintexas wrote:

It seems like the Western countries gave up on repairing things a few decades ago so if any little thing goes wrong the item is trash.

You might be able to find a mainboard on ebay or something:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A6000-mainboard-for-sony-A6000-main-board-A6000-motherboard-camera-Repair-Part-/302239897667?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275

(looks like a used or refurbished part)

and do it yourself sometimes with electronics it is just a bad connection or dirt so if the camera is trash anyway it does not hurt to pull it apart.

But if the main board is $230 and labor probably the same it does not make much since when you can buy new for 500 and a used one for less

Yes, buying a used circuit board from an unknown source (with poor feedback) on ebay and disassembling your camera to install it yourself should certainly work out well.:-D

Given that the cost of the repair is likely to approximate the cost of a new camera, toss it. That's what I did with an 18-105 Sony lens that would have cost $500 to repair and a little bit more to buy new.