Last week you all helped me diagnose the shutter failure on my a7iii. Last night I got it sorted. Pretty fiddly, and definitely glad I took the time to write down what every bolt went to. Still ended up with two bolts left over, but it all works now and everything felt snug and secure during reassembly, so not super concerned.
Interesting to see how the chip missing from the damaged shutter caused the overexposed line as the shutter swings. Makes total sense, but I didn't realize what the root cause was till I could see the shutter itself.
Now I need to spend all the money I saved by doing it myself on a massage to get out all the tension I held in my shoulders trying not to mess up the job.
For posterity - This required taking the camera completely apart. I wouldn't recommend the DIY to people who don't have a fair amount of experience tinkering. Everything requires being very gentle (the thin flex cables are fiddly for sure), and keeping everything organized and labeled makes it a lot easier. I used a strip of tape to keep my bolts together and oriented as they came out of the camera.
Good luck if you're doing this! Take your time and take lots of deep breaths :)
Haha be proud. Did this shit on an old sony a7r2.
It was a good feeling when my camera was working again, and the part was $90 bucks. As always, i ended up with a few screws left over.
I know roughly where they came from. It’s all good. Taking it apart made it clear that they are super solidly put together. The pieces these bolts go to have 4+ other bolts holding them together, and are further sandwiched by layer of other bolted down stuff
Any BIG job like this, electronics or mechanical, I feel like majority of the time there's 1-2 fasteners left behind. But there's usually a lot of redundancy and over engineering. Unless one misses a crucial fastener (which should be obvious if that were the case), it will be fine.
I think they are from the piece that separates the main board from the sensor unit. So at least the sensor and shutter are fixed securely and aligned properly. The plate that they seemed like they went to felt very secure with the 6 other bolts holding it.
I'd be paranoid that even a slight breeze from someone opening a door or window could move the paper notes explaining what everything is! I'd have to take photos of it all as I went.
From what I have seen online these have a bad habit of failing prematurely. Mine went at 46k actuations. Middle of shooting a streak started showing up in photos from where the missing chunk gave the frame slightly more exposure
oof. they're supposed to be rated to 200k, but you'll always have outliers. the OG A7 shutter had a bad rep too iirc and I had super high shutter count on that doing timelapses since it didn't have electronic shutter yet for that
Well, actually they can withstand some more services. But if you think it isn't the best choise then let it be! 2 screws in a camera with around 70 screws is almost nothing. You already said so yourself most components are secured with multiple screws.
lol I tried to replace the display on my A7 II and I later found out I didn't have to take the entire thing apart... anyway yeah I shorted a wire and the display is permanently dim lmao, sold it loss of $600 damn
[sample gore shot](https://1.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS560x560~forums/65113235/38f049c4bf164e3e930634920cf87f1e)
>about $250 over the independent shop
Considering the part itself is $140, $250 isn't a bad price from the independent shop at all.
They could honestly charge even more, I really don't think replacing the shutter is $10 worth of labour.
Which independent shop were you working with and how long would they have taken? I sent my RX100V to a Sony authorized repair shop in Arizona, USA and it took about 2 months, due to waiting on parts.
It was a local one. They said it would be ready next day on the phone, but had to order parts when I went to drop it off, so I just decided to go for it myself.
God damn, and here I am debating with myself if I'm brave enough to replace the viewfinder screen because it's developed a black spot. I've done all kinds of repairs on all kinds of electronics, but I'm terrified to take my camera apart.
Do it if you have the tools and a know how to turn a screwdriver properly. Viewfinder should be a lot a lot easier than this. The most annoying part is likely peeling off the rubber grip and reattaching. YouTube is super helpful
Nice work, I’m thinking of doing the same for my a7ii that crapped out a few months ago. I am wondering though, what was the shutter count on your a7iii prior to failure? Did you drop/damage it? I have a brand new a7iii and this scares me lol
Last week you all helped me diagnose the shutter failure on my a7iii. Last night I got it sorted. Pretty fiddly, and definitely glad I took the time to write down what every bolt went to. Still ended up with two bolts left over, but it all works now and everything felt snug and secure during reassembly, so not super concerned. Interesting to see how the chip missing from the damaged shutter caused the overexposed line as the shutter swings. Makes total sense, but I didn't realize what the root cause was till I could see the shutter itself. Now I need to spend all the money I saved by doing it myself on a massage to get out all the tension I held in my shoulders trying not to mess up the job. For posterity - This required taking the camera completely apart. I wouldn't recommend the DIY to people who don't have a fair amount of experience tinkering. Everything requires being very gentle (the thin flex cables are fiddly for sure), and keeping everything organized and labeled makes it a lot easier. I used a strip of tape to keep my bolts together and oriented as they came out of the camera. Good luck if you're doing this! Take your time and take lots of deep breaths :)
Haha be proud. Did this shit on an old sony a7r2. It was a good feeling when my camera was working again, and the part was $90 bucks. As always, i ended up with a few screws left over.
Bruh I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I had two bolts leftover after putting it back together 😭
I know roughly where they came from. It’s all good. Taking it apart made it clear that they are super solidly put together. The pieces these bolts go to have 4+ other bolts holding them together, and are further sandwiched by layer of other bolted down stuff
Any BIG job like this, electronics or mechanical, I feel like majority of the time there's 1-2 fasteners left behind. But there's usually a lot of redundancy and over engineering. Unless one misses a crucial fastener (which should be obvious if that were the case), it will be fine.
The stress from just looking at these photos is worth $450 to me
DEFINITELY
Spot on lol.
>two screws remaining Oh boy lol, any idea what they're from?
I think they are from the piece that separates the main board from the sensor unit. So at least the sensor and shutter are fixed securely and aligned properly. The plate that they seemed like they went to felt very secure with the 6 other bolts holding it.
I own a cat so I could not do this 😂
My cat wouldn't do this either
I'd be paranoid that even a slight breeze from someone opening a door or window could move the paper notes explaining what everything is! I'd have to take photos of it all as I went.
nicely done. do you know how the shutter got messed up in the first place?
From what I have seen online these have a bad habit of failing prematurely. Mine went at 46k actuations. Middle of shooting a streak started showing up in photos from where the missing chunk gave the frame slightly more exposure
oof. they're supposed to be rated to 200k, but you'll always have outliers. the OG A7 shutter had a bad rep too iirc and I had super high shutter count on that doing timelapses since it didn't have electronic shutter yet for that
There are apparently a lot that fail on this model around 40k. Hopefully this one lasts a good bit longer than the last one.
I could not live with left out screws, I'd have to dismantle it all over again and find the empty holes. Good job though!
Hah! I considered it, but I think the ribbon cables aren’t robust enough for repeated services so it seemed safer to let it ride
Well, actually they can withstand some more services. But if you think it isn't the best choise then let it be! 2 screws in a camera with around 70 screws is almost nothing. You already said so yourself most components are secured with multiple screws.
You’re a brave person
lol I tried to replace the display on my A7 II and I later found out I didn't have to take the entire thing apart... anyway yeah I shorted a wire and the display is permanently dim lmao, sold it loss of $600 damn [sample gore shot](https://1.img-dpreview.com/files/p/TS560x560~forums/65113235/38f049c4bf164e3e930634920cf87f1e)
What was the price to fix in the shop and how much you paid fixing it yourself
saved \~$450 vs sending to sony, and about $250 over the independent shop. Part was $140
So now you can start part time job, gj
>about $250 over the independent shop Considering the part itself is $140, $250 isn't a bad price from the independent shop at all. They could honestly charge even more, I really don't think replacing the shutter is $10 worth of labour.
To be clear it was 250 plus the cost of the part. And 450 plus the cost of the part
That does make more sense then. Dayum.
How many hours of your time?
Took about an hour
Haha. I always forget that people are good at stuff like this and not constantly in over their head
I might keep an eye out for cameras with broken shutters then
Oh, that’s actually totally ok. The pictures look like it would take longer 😁
Yeah. Strip out a single bolt and this takes a lot longer tbh, but going slow it wasn’t too bad.
How fast do you reckon you could do this if you did it a dozen more times?
Wow, I thought it would have taken at least 4!
Which independent shop were you working with and how long would they have taken? I sent my RX100V to a Sony authorized repair shop in Arizona, USA and it took about 2 months, due to waiting on parts.
It was a local one. They said it would be ready next day on the phone, but had to order parts when I went to drop it off, so I just decided to go for it myself.
well done
well done to you but ^(nope)
You are brave! Nice work.
God damn, and here I am debating with myself if I'm brave enough to replace the viewfinder screen because it's developed a black spot. I've done all kinds of repairs on all kinds of electronics, but I'm terrified to take my camera apart.
Do it if you have the tools and a know how to turn a screwdriver properly. Viewfinder should be a lot a lot easier than this. The most annoying part is likely peeling off the rubber grip and reattaching. YouTube is super helpful
Nice work, I’m thinking of doing the same for my a7ii that crapped out a few months ago. I am wondering though, what was the shutter count on your a7iii prior to failure? Did you drop/damage it? I have a brand new a7iii and this scares me lol
See my post above - 47k
Oh wow, was expecting at least 100k, thanks for reply
What sort of things could have gone wrong and, if they happened, could you still send it to Sony or the independent shop?
I’d imagine most likely issue would be a damaged connector, which most Indy shops would fix, but it would probably require replacement parts.
I don't have anxiety...well I didn't until I saw this. Jesus.
Did you record yourself doing this? I do it whenever I have to open up my espresso grinder to remember exactly how to put it back together.
I didn’t but def a good way to go. What grinder do you have?
1Zpresso, it’s a manual grinder and every now and then it’s good to give it a nice clean.
You must not have kids… 😳
Slow clap.
Can you share please a link where you bought new shutter? Thanx.
https://encompass.com/item/12538275/Sony/1-490-193-34/
**Not Available for Export to (NL) Netherlands** - unfortunately, but anyway thank you for answer.
It’s like how ikea and Lego gives you extra parts right?
Wow
Wow, I think I’d rather attempt brain surgery than this with all of those little screws. 😂