Uh Oh - Some A7/A7r have light leak issues!!

Addy101 said:
BS, the Dutch Sony still states this. Also, take a look at the site kuujinbo linked to, the Nikon D800 and Canon 5Diii show the same characteristic. As noimmunity stated: (some) consumers take pride in finding the impossible flaw
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Yep I agree w/ Jon on this point as well...

Gary
 
Don't know about anyone else, but definitely wouldn't take the camera out even in light rain. If you own one or have held in hand, you probably realize for yourself the whole weather[sealing|proofing] is just marketing (look at the SD card slot). For example look at the 55/1.8 lens page:

http://store.sony.com/sonnar-t-fe-55mm-f1.8-za-zid27-SEL55F18Z/cat-27-catid-All-Alpha-NEX-Lenses

Toward the bottom of the page on the right side there's a heading titled "Features", then a sub-link titled "Dust and moisture resistant design". To quote:

Critical areas of the lens exterior feature dust and moisture resistant seals that help to ensure professional reliability even in tough environmental conditions.

Like it or not, no specific standards rating, such as IP code. Not making any judgement whether this practice is acceptable or not. There are a couple of things (OT) I don't like about the camera, and may end up selling down the line, but this "issue" will not be a factor in that (possible) decision.

Have walked with the camera in a very bright, sunny day for about four or five hours with a lens/adapter combo that weighs about 575 grams (1¼ lbs) without problem then or since.
 
I'm struggling to see how this could ever be a problem to anyone at all beyond someone going out of their way to find fault ...
 
Nikon????

Nikon????

GaryLH said:
Looks like they learned from Nikon what not to do (how long did it take for d600???).

Gary
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Six months plus to acknowledge a problem and try to treat it with numerous cleanings. About a year to start replacing shutter boxes and finally resolve the problem by replacing the problem with a new camera... D610.

Basically blew off and effed a high number their customers for a year.
 
Sparrow said:
I'm struggling to see how this could ever be a problem to anyone at all beyond someone going out of their way to find fault ...
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It certainly affects daylight long-exposure (with strong ND filters) photography. It may come as a surprise if you do it the first time without rigorous testing and don't follow forums or read camera literature. It is a real issue, but one that is easy to work around without sacrificing any functionality. The trick is to know about the issue.

A light leak may also indicate that a weather-sealed system is not so well sealed after all. But that depends on where the actual leak is. In any case, something that was not designed to get wet may very well get wet in fairly normal use. Generally, not a biggie for most users. I use my M8 the way many people feel requires a weather-sealed camera. It's a self-caused problem if something bad happens, but it is very unlikely that something bad will happen.
 
How people used cameras in age before weather sealing, take bit of care? This days cameras sure need sealing to withstand sweaty hands of enthusiastic forum photographers. Sealing, megapixels, high ISOs, lens sharpness - everything is overrated....
 
Lss said:
It certainly affects daylight long-exposure (with strong ND filters) photography. It may come as a surprise if you do it the first time without rigorous testing and don't follow forums or read camera literature. It is a real issue, but one that is easy to work around without sacrificing any functionality. The trick is to know about the issue.

A light leak may also indicate that a weather-sealed system is not so well sealed after all. But that depends on where the actual leak is. In any case, something that was not designed to get wet may very well get wet in fairly normal use. Generally, not a biggie for most users. I use my M8 the way many people feel requires a weather-sealed camera. It's a self-caused problem if something bad happens, but it is very unlikely that something bad will happen.
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... long exposures in daylight eh? and deliberately getting ones camera wet? ... I would refer you to my earlier observation :)
 
Well, you either have use for long-exposures or you don't. It either rains or it doesn't when you are out making photos. You can do a lot of things, and a lot of stuff just happens without your input. I think you are correct in saying these problems are pretty minor based on what we know now.
 
Roger at lensrental to the rescue again :)

A rather simple fix for the only issue I ever cared about "weather sealing". Now if someone were to show me the original issue can be reproduced at base iso and longest shutter time, I would be more interested then the outrageous high iso being used.

Gary
 
GaryLH said:
Roger at lensrental to the rescue again :)

A rather simple fix for the only issue I ever cared about "weather sealing". Now if someone were to show me the original issue can be reproduced at base iso and longest shutter time, I would be more interested then the outrageous high iso being used.

Gary
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I'm going to try again this weekend - I have, waiting for me this evening, a 10-stop ND filter which will fit nicely onto my Zeiss ZM 21mm lens. I like doing long exposures - making people disappear, making the city look like it's a deserted urban post-apocalyptic scene from "Omega Man" or such, etc. etc. :)

I'll see if I can get any sort of results with long exposures at a relatively low ISO (400 or below).

I tried this past weekend but the lens/filter combo was less than ideal and I couldn't get decent results (CV 12mm LTM mount using that "77mm filter" step up ring they include with it and a 10 stop ND filter - results with that lens and filters are less than desirable imho).

Right now, I don't think there's going to be that much of an issue but I do concur with respect to the weather sealing - that has got to be fixed somehow.

Good to see Roger's talking common sense over there at Lens Rentals :)

Cheers,
Dave
 
Lol. Omega man.. I wonder how many people remember that movie :p

The applications I can think of are
- silky water effect
- your people disappearing one
- astro photography.

Thanks
Gary
 
GaryLH said:
Now if someone were to show me the original issue can be reproduced at base iso and longest shutter time, I would be more interested then the outrageous high iso being used.
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Light leaks are not ISO related. A high ISO in the examples is used to keep the exposure time down (I guess most of the examples are with lens wide open for the same reason). You can easily count the exposure time that corresponds to your preferred ISO value. The light leak problem is basically relevant for people who use ND filters and bulb mode in daylight. If you never do that, this is likely not relevant to you. And if you are doing such exposures, you are probably enough in-the-know to wrap something around the lens and mount to reduce the risk.

It is anyway worth noting that a much lesser light leak than the ones demonstrated by the Lens Rentals guy affect photos. The ones he demonstrated pretty much kill the photos. There is, like in this whole matter, a lot of middle ground to cover. Of course, I know things on Internet must always [sic] be black or white. This is because Internet is digital and the tonality is therefore forever lost. :D
 
Well.. I don't think my A7 has any issues based on this quick and dirty test:
Zeiss 21mm ZM
46mm to 49mm step up ring
49mm 10 stop ND filter
ISO 50
30 second exposure
JPG SOOC - no adjustments


Cheers,
Dave
 
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