NEX-6: Camera Error, Turn Off, Turn On. I Might Have Fixed It.

[Ray Maines]

I have an NEX-6 camera that had developed the dreaded "Camera Error: Turn Camera Off, Then Turn Camera Back On" defect.



At first, the message would only come up once or maybe twice before the camera would settle into its proper dependable working mode, then I'd have to turn the camera off and on again 6-8 or 10 times, and I retired the camera when it just wouldn't ever work properly. There didn't seem to be a known cure for this problem and the camera has been sitting in a drawer since the a6300 came out.

I happened upon a YouTube video that said the problem might be the magnet that controls the shutter had become dislodged and then went on to do a long involved teardown and rebuild. Way over my head.

The guy said in passing that his way was better than "just banging the camera down on a solid surface." I've been thinking about that comment for a couple of weeks and decided I really didn't have much to lose, as the camera was dead anyway. So I took the camera body out to the back deck and slammed the bottom of it down on a very sturdy bench. Then I did it once more for good measure.

Well, guess what? It seems to have worked. According to what I saw in the video, the magnet seems to have been moved back to its proper location and the camera seems to be working just fine. There is no apparent damage to the camera body, all the controls, and the LCD are working properly. I'm only a dozen or so pictures into this, but so far, so good.

My NEX-6 gone from paperweight to functioning camera. My fingers are crossed this fix is permanent, or at least repeatable.

 

[reesedee]

I've learned to live with the same error for about 2 years. It seems to be a common error for Sony cameras.

My 3N shows this error when is not used for a while. Often it just shows after not being used for couple of minutes. The error is gone when I turn the camera off and on again after the first error shows. Maybe I can try this "slam-the-camera" method someday. I can't forgive myself if I break it, since this is the only "real camera" I have now.

Anyway, thank you for your post. I have tried many suggestions before, yet the error still remains a problem to my camera.

Cheers.

 

[tandukion]

I have an NEX-6 camera that had developed the dreaded "Camera Error: Turn Camera Off, Then Turn Camera Back On" defect.

At first, the message would only come up once or maybe twice before the camera would settle into its proper dependable working mode, then I'd have to turn the camera off and on again 6-8 or 10 times, and I retired the camera when it just wouldn't ever work properly. There didn't seem to be a known cure for this problem and the camera has been sitting in a drawer since the a6300 came out.

I happened upon a YouTube video that said the problem might be the magnet that controls the shutter had become dislodged and then went on to do a long involved teardown and rebuild. Way over my head.

The guy said in passing that his way was better than "just banging the camera down on a solid surface." I've been thinking about that comment for a couple of weeks and decided I really didn't have much to lose, as the camera was dead anyway. So I took the camera body out to the back deck and slammed the bottom of it down on a very sturdy bench. Then I did it once more for good measure.

Well, guess what? It seems to have worked. According to what I saw in the video, the magnet seems to have been moved back to its proper location and the camera seems to be working just fine. There is no apparent damage to the camera body, all the controls, and the LCD are working properly. I'm only a dozen or so pictures into this, but so far, so good.

My NEX-6 gone from paperweight to functioning camera. My fingers are crossed this fix is permanent, or at least repeatable.

 

[sergerez]

I have an NEX-6 camera that had developed the dreaded "Camera Error: Turn Camera Off, Then Turn Camera Back On" defect.

At first, the message would only come up once or maybe twice before the camera would settle into its proper dependable working mode, then I'd have to turn the camera off and on again 6-8 or 10 times, and I retired the camera when it just wouldn't ever work properly. There didn't seem to be a known cure for this problem and the camera has been sitting in a drawer since the a6300 came out.

I happened upon a YouTube video that said the problem might be the magnet that controls the shutter had become dislodged and then went on to do a long involved teardown and rebuild. Way over my head.

The guy said in passing that his way was better than "just banging the camera down on a solid surface." I've been thinking about that comment for a couple of weeks and decided I really didn't have much to lose, as the camera was dead anyway. So I took the camera body out to the back deck and slammed the bottom of it down on a very sturdy bench. Then I did it once more for good measure.

Well, guess what? It seems to have worked. According to what I saw in the video, the magnet seems to have been moved back to its proper location and the camera seems to be working just fine. There is no apparent damage to the camera body, all the controls, and the LCD are working properly. I'm only a dozen or so pictures into this, but so far, so good.

My NEX-6 gone from paperweight to functioning camera. My fingers are crossed this fix is permanent, or at least repeatable.

 

[Jesper Frickmann]

For a couple of years, I have had the Front Curtain Shutter off because of this problem. I just tried your tip - took the lens off and bonked it a couple of times on the table. First time it did not work, but the second time seemed to do the trick; at least for now.

Amazing! Thanks for the tip

Jesper

 

[Jesper Frickmann]

Tried the camera again this morning. Got the failure, cycled power and it went away. So the jury is still out...

Jesper

 

[Jesper Frickmann]

Tried again this evening, and it failed again. So I am back to Front Curtain Shutter = off

Jesper

 

[Ray Maines]

Can you tell me the video link? I happened to have similar things. I dropped my Nex-6, and then it always give me "Camera Error. Turn Camera Off then turn camera back on" in 15 seconds if it is not used (will still work if I capture photo in 15 seconds), and there is shutter sound every time the error popped out.

I think it is the same thing with the problem of the magnet on the shutter.

No sir, I'm sorry but I can't seem to find that video. Sorry for the long delay in this. I've looked on YouTube and can't find the video I referenced

 

[Ray Maines]

Can't thank you enough... I followed your instructions and slammed it against the floor 3 times in a row. ...

Having nothing to lose, it's something worth trying. Truly, the hope dies last.

Thank you. I think "slammed" and "having nothing to lose" are the keys here.

 

[Ray Maines]

For a couple of years, I have had the Front Curtain Shutter off because of this problem. I just tried your tip - took the lens off and bonked it a couple of times on the table. First time it did not work, but the second time seemed to do the trick; at least for now.

Amazing! Thanks for the tip

Jesper

Thank you, sir. However, I don't think "bonked" is quite good enough. Try "SLAMMED".


The difference in our two situations is that I had a totally dead camera that was nothing more than a paperweight and you still have a semi-functional camera.

And for what it's worth, in about 100 pictures my camera has once shown the original error message. That was a little unsettling, but still, it was only once. Mostly it's fully functional and dependable.

--
"If you have to pixel-peep to see the difference, there ain't much difference." -- Sam K., NYC
Tacoma, Washington, USA

 

[Zoophobia]

I did the "bang camera three times" but I did it by banging on a cloth on the floor and it works! Crazy but it works! Finally my suffering is over! Thanks bros.

 

[pascar73]

Hi all, I have permanently fixed the problem (without hard hitting the camera), by disabling the from curtain shutter in the settings menu. After that the shutter sound changed, and the defect is gone. Never reappared again, although I am aware of the difference in the exposure setting disabling the front curtain. Anyhow, my 7 years old NEX-6 with nearly 125.000 shots on its shoulders, now works perfectly again!

 

[PieterB]

I have an NEX-6 camera that had developed the dreaded "Camera Error: Turn Camera Off, Then Turn Camera Back On" defect.

At first, the message would only come up once or maybe twice before the camera would settle into its proper dependable working mode, then I'd have to turn the camera off and on again 6-8 or 10 times, and I retired the camera when it just wouldn't ever work properly. There didn't seem to be a known cure for this problem and the camera has been sitting in a drawer since the a6300 came out.

I happened upon a YouTube video that said the problem might be the magnet that controls the shutter had become dislodged and then went on to do a long involved teardown and rebuild. Way over my head.

The guy said in passing that his way was better than "just banging the camera down on a solid surface." I've been thinking about that comment for a couple of weeks and decided I really didn't have much to lose, as the camera was dead anyway. So I took the camera body out to the back deck and slammed the bottom of it down on a very sturdy bench. Then I did it once more for good measure.

Well, guess what? It seems to have worked. According to what I saw in the video, the magnet seems to have been moved back to its proper location and the camera seems to be working just fine. There is no apparent damage to the camera body, all the controls, and the LCD are working properly. I'm only a dozen or so pictures into this, but so far, so good.

My NEX-6 gone from paperweight to functioning camera. My fingers are crossed this fix is permanent, or at least repeatable.

In the case of my a6300, it was a broken shutter. Twice. Nothing I did made the camera work again in normal mode. Silent mode worked just fine.

 

[Nielk Mike]

 

[Emka]

Hey guys,

first I want to say how much I was laughing while I was reading this thread - it is hilarious to fix a sophisticated camera by bagging it on a hard floor. This thread really made my day.
Then I tried this method with my old NEX 6, which had also started to show this annoying error message. AND IT WORKED! Fantastic … and really fun to try! ;-)

Seriously, thanks for coming up with and sharing this simple way of fixing things!

 

[Sediki]

I have an NEX-6 camera that had developed the dreaded "Camera Error: Turn Camera Off, Then Turn Camera Back On" defect.

At first, the message would only come up once or maybe twice before the camera would settle into its proper dependable working mode, then I'd have to turn the camera off and on again 6-8 or 10 times, and I retired the camera when it just wouldn't ever work properly. There didn't seem to be a known cure for this problem and the camera has been sitting in a drawer since the a6300 came out.

I happened upon a YouTube video that said the problem might be the magnet that controls the shutter had become dislodged and then went on to do a long involved teardown and rebuild. Way over my head.

The guy said in passing that his way was better than "just banging the camera down on a solid surface." I've been thinking about that comment for a couple of weeks and decided I really didn't have much to lose, as the camera was dead anyway. So I took the camera body out to the back deck and slammed the bottom of it down on a very sturdy bench. Then I did it once more for good measure.

Well, guess what? It seems to have worked. According to what I saw in the video, the magnet seems to have been moved back to its proper location and the camera seems to be working just fine. There is no apparent damage to the camera body, all the controls, and the LCD are working properly. I'm only a dozen or so pictures into this, but so far, so good.

My NEX-6 gone from paperweight to functioning camera. My fingers are crossed this fix is permanent, or at least repeatable.