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Unreliable Sony? Or just unlucky!


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Despite having my NEX6 repaired twice under warranty I was happy to buy the A6000 and decided to add the 16-70mm Zeiss lens to the combination. The upgraded lens made all the difference and I decided I was set for life. There is no comparison between the 16-50mm and the 16-70mm lens despite reading some not so good reviews for the Zeiss lens!

 

6 weeks into a 10 week European trip and the camera started giving me "Camera error, turn power off then on again" messages. The only way to fix it was remove and reinsert the battery but the problem continued intermittently till I got home.

 

After sitting on the table for a week I went to turn camera on and up came the message again, only this time it wouldn't go away no matter what. It's now back with Sony with the demand for a new camera instead of repairs. It's less than 4 months old!

 

Has anyone else experienced my unfortunate run of luck with Sony? I deliberated long and hard before buying the A6000 as the trip alone was costing heaps. Yes I had the Sony RX100 as a backup but it doesn't give the same quality photos as the A6000 and 16-70mm lens. They are sharp!

 

It has really shattered my confidence in Sony as when I get it (or a replacement back) I'll always be thinking "what next!"

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Sorry to hear of your Sony woes, hopefully you can get the camera sorted.

 

No problems with my NEX 6, despite considerable use and abuse. The paint is wearing off in places, it has been dropped, carried on numerous cycle/walking trips, and exposed to the rain, but, touch wood, it continues to perform faultlessly.

 

There was a thread here about QC/reliability issues with the RX100, and a friend of mine had to have his repaired, but I've not previously heard of any issues with the NEX series.

 

I've had good and bad experiences over the years with both Pentax (film) and Canon (digital) cameras and suspect that all marques occasionally allow a less than excellent sample to pass through their QC system.

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John, that was my original thought but I used 3 genuine Sony batteries (I had 2 from the NEX6) and it made no difference, then I thought it might be the SD cards (all Sandisk) and it happened with all of them. So I think I must've bought one of the few lemons. Hopefully they'll replace the camera as, judging from the few I've checked out so far, I'm really happy with the quality of the photos and love the lens.

 

I guess it could've been worse - it was frustrating taking the battery out to reset all the time but at least it didn't die completely till I got home :blink: ​ 

 

I've had no problems with the RX100 - so far!

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John, that was my original thought but I used 3 genuine Sony batteries (I had 2 from the NEX6) and it made no difference, then I thought it might be the SD cards (all Sandisk) and it happened with all of them. So I think I must've bought one of the few lemons. Hopefully they'll replace the camera as, judging from the few I've checked out so far, I'm really happy with the quality of the photos and love the lens.

 

I guess it could've been worse - it was frustrating taking the battery out to reset all the time but at least it didn't die completely till I got home :blink: ​ 

 

I've had no problems with the RX100 - so far!

 

I was going to suggest checking the memory card next, but you beat me to it.

 

Good luck with getting a new camera if Sony can't fix the problem properly.

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I have an RX100 which gave me problems with the lens, soft, not only in the corners, but all down one side of the image.  Repaired under warranty, it was returned in nine days and completely fixed.   Nearly three years old now and still working well after nearly 9000 exposures.

 

I later bought an RX10, and I was not happy with the IQ, Zeiss lens problems again!  Eventually I decided to send it back to Sony for repair.  This was when I discovered that the warranty was only one year not two, and I had to pay for the repair.  I did so, and Sony took over a month to repair it (waiting for spare parts).  It eventually came back with an excellent repair.  I felt it was worth paying for the repair, because it is such a versatile camera.

 

Both cameras work very well now, but I would be very nervous about buying another. 

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Despite having my NEX6 repaired twice under warranty I was happy to buy the A6000 and decided to add the 16-70mm Zeiss lens to the combination. The upgraded lens made all the difference and I decided I was set for life. There is no comparison between the 16-50mm and the 16-70mm lens despite reading some not so good reviews for the Zeiss lens!

 

6 weeks into a 10 week European trip and the camera started giving me "Camera error, turn power off then on again" messages. The only way to fix it was remove and reinsert the battery but the problem continued intermittently till I got home.

 

After sitting on the table for a week I went to turn camera on and up came the message again, only this time it wouldn't go away no matter what. It's now back with Sony with the demand for a new camera instead of repairs. It's less than 4 months old!

 

Has anyone else experienced my unfortunate run of luck with Sony? I deliberated long and hard before buying the A6000 as the trip alone was costing heaps. Yes I had the Sony RX100 as a backup but it doesn't give the same quality photos as the A6000 and 16-70mm lens. They are sharp!

 

It has really shattered my confidence in Sony as when I get it (or a replacement back) I'll always be thinking "what next!"

 

Carole, I don't see this as a Sony problem. I've owned 5 Sonys so far and have yet to have any problems, knock wood. As in Peter's case, a faulty camera is given to a skilled Sony technician with the right tools, who replaces parts and fine tunes everything. That's better than a camera coming off the assembly line, I think. Machines and software can develop problems. Given the chance, I alway opt to buy refurbished equipment.  

 

What you did right was carry a backup camera on an expensive trip. So many people don't do this. And that was a Sony too, right? 

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I've had 3 Sony RX100s - (2 x MK1 and 1 x MK3) .  My wife still uses her MK1 and I changed my MK1 for the MK3.

 

No problems with any of them to date.

 

The only camera I've ever had a problem with was a Canon and a factory re-set sorted that out. So guess I've been lucky.

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"What you did right was carry a backup camera on an expensive trip. So many people don't do this."

 

Good advice, Edo. I can't afford to go on those expensive trips very often, but when I do, I always take along two camera bodies, preferably ones that take the same lenses. Learned that one a long time ago. You don't want to be stranded on Bora Bora without a camera.

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My RX100 developed softness down the right side of photos when I zoomed in.  Then it stopped recognising any memory card not long after the guarantee ran out.  I have never had a problem with other brands but I would probably buy sony again, as I don't see many other people having problems with them.

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Thanks Edo, I hadn't thought of that and now look forward to getting my Sony back better than it was before :)

 

Yes, I did have the RX100 MK1 with me but fortunately the A6000 held out (albeit with a lot of removing and reinserting of battery) until I got home and as mentioned before I was really pleased with the new camera/lens combination. The 16-70mm leaves the 16-50mm kit lens for dead!

 

Many thanks for all comments.

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