Roger Cicala tests the A7r light leak issue (yes it’s there and it can be solved)

Image courtesy: Lensrentals

Roger Cicala from Lensrentals tested how sever the A7r light leak issue is and these are his findings:

  • We tested several A7rs and several A7s and all were the same, so it’s simply a design issue, not a batch of defective cameras.
  • The light leak occurs with the body cap in place, but is more severe with a 35 f/2.8 Sony lens mounted instead of the body cap.
  • The leak is worst when the light is shined onto the lens-release button area. It is also bad when the light shines onto the lower left quadrant of the lens mount, and directly above the lens mount. Other areas either didn’t leak or showed only a thin line that was far less pronounced than these areas.
  • Wrapping something around the lens mount stopped the left side leaks, but not the leaks around the lens-release button.

Roger fixed it by putting some rubbed material around the mount and lens release button. This helped to get rid of the problem. And he also wrote this:

And for you Fanboys who just can’t wait to Sony bash over this odd little issue, let he whose camera is without light leak cast the first stone. Because, so far the same problem has been found with Canon, Nikon, and Fuji cameras. I assume a similar solution will work just fine for those, too.

Sony knows how to fix the leak (and Fuji X-T1 has similar issue too!).

Image courtesy: SLRclub.

One more update on the Sony A7 and A7r light leak issue story:

A source just told me that “The Sony service centers know how to fix the light leak“. The cause was “an assembly issue“. This has been confirmed by a test run by an user on the Korean site SLRclub. It’s the mount ring that has to be fixed to solve the issue.

And if you think Sony is the only company having such troubles well….the porbably most popular camera of the moment, the Fuji X-T1 (here at Amazon) has been reported to have the exact same issue!!! But Fuji already offers a service where you can sind in the camera and get it back repaired within 10 days.

New RCCDroid APP makes you control the A58 (and other Sony cameras too?) via tablet/smartphone.

At rccdroid.glensk.com you can read about the new RCCDroid Android App (Download here at Pplay.google.com). It’s a new App that allows USB Tethering/Remote Control of the Sony Alpha SLT-A58. But someone on the Sony Germany community also discovered that it should actually work on other cameras like the DSLR-A700, DSLR-A850, DSLR-A900, SLT-A99, ILCE-7 and ILCE-7R).

This is what you can with the Android powered device and USB connection:
Preview of a taken picture on a large display (e.g. Tablet)
Long term exposure without touching the camera (BULB)
HDR Series
Selfportrait with correct focus

The following features are planned for future versions
Timershots (Time laps)
Change of camera properties
HDR Series with different adaptions
Automatic shutter by noise
Wireless mode via Bluetooth
Videotakes
Writing of GPS data to pictures
Support of further Sony models (e.g. A99)

Sounds great!

Part three: Find the Sony website errors!

Note: In an attempt to fix the many confusing errors present on Sony websites we plan to post them all on SAR. Let’s hope Sony will read us and fix them :)

On that Sony US page (Click here) you can find a big mistake on an image. Well with all the massive amount of NEX and A models we had the least couple of years even Sony website manager got confused! Can you find the error?

 

Sony Tidbits…


This video show you how to install the lens turbo Mark II – Canon EOS – NEX.

Zeiss 135mm lens review by Phillip Reeve.
Tamron 16-300mm 28-300mm Hands-On Preview (ePhotozine).
Carl Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 Hands-on Photos (Photographyblog).
Best lenses for the 20-MPix Sony Alpha A3000: Primes and Zooms (DxOmark).
Sony job cuts arrive in Australia and New Zealand (Zdnet).
A Live Webcast Discussion of the New Sony a7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera System at BHphoto.
Shooting with the Sony A7 (Imaging Resource).
Zeiss 55mm FE lens test at CameraStuffReview.

Raymond:I would like to offer up a mini long-term review I have posted up about my experiences after one year with the Sony RX1, which I love. I would like to offer up the link for your readers if you think they would be interested in the read. http://jkspepper.tumblr.com/post/77778577061/one-year-with-the-sony-rx1

Andy:A couple of raws on my blog from the new Zeiss FE zoom….http://blog.proimagenz.com/

Bart:Here’s something that’s fun… and addresses a very OLD rumor :)
The rumor is that old Minolta lenses possess a magical color profile. But do they? I created an online test of 5 image pairs… each with one photo taken with a vintage Minolta lens (like the Beercan) and one with another lens. Can SAR readers tell the difference?
(Answers are shown after you test yourself)
I was pretty surprised with how hard this was!!!
https://juventio.wufoo.com/forms/s1fhoadd140jnqg/

Mat:Here is a portrait session that made me fall in love with the A7 and the Zeiss 55mm :)
http://www.bestmirrorlesscamerareviews.com/2014/02/28/chasing-light-for-portraiture-a-sony-a7-gallery/

Gustav (via Dyxum) asked about the lens diference betwen 70-200mm Version I and Version II:

for all the guy`s here on DYXUM , i contact on of the lens-developers of Sony-Japan.
i ask him if he can tell the different between VERSION I and VERSION II
this is what he wright to me

There are mainly three big modification between I and II. One is “nano-AR coating” which reduce lenses’ refraction drastically for the clear photo. Second is improvement of MTF. It looks same lens structure I and II but II has a different lens structure from I. Each lens and its position are newly designed. The last one is high-speed AF system. We apply a AF system of new generation same as 500mmF4.0.

i hope everybody have something with this information , we know now the differents between GI and GII
greetings gustav

Chris:I enjoyed the nice pre-spring weather here in Germany to take some pictures with the A7 and some wide-angle Canon FD lenses (24/28/35), also comparing it to the 5N with the kit lens 1855. It might help others to understand the characteristics of those wide-spread lenses on the A7 and ease choosing the right aperture for the job. Comparisons include the different FOV of the lenses, edge and center crops as well as best shots processed in ACR with AC removal.
http://luxorphotoart.blogspot.de/2014/02/yes-you-can-have-it-both-photography.html
Now how I wish that I could test an A6000! :-)