Image courtesy: SLRclub.
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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.
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And just a moment ago Imaging Resource tried to convince us that there is no issue? How inconvenient to them.
Yes, very inconvenient for them (….) when they pointed out that it could well be common (not to be confused with always…) among many higher end cameras right now (and likely others too, at least my 2 DSLR/SLT’s suffer from it too).
Great if there’s a fix for the A7(R) cameras affected.
Take an overkill test where ALL is affected and calling this a non-issue is neither useful nor scientific. As I’ve repeatedly said and you conveniently ignore: try the minimum settings at which A7/R users have reported problems and see if your 2 DSLRs have the same issues.
http://www.grahamclarkphoto.com/sony-a7r-field-notes-with-canon-ef-lenses/
Graham’s image shows the same light leak on the upper right corner of his image. You can download the RAW and check the EXIF; that is a 30 second shot at ISO50.
If your two cameras leak light from the mount/flange at those settings, then true me, they need fixings. Just like some of our A7/Rs.
I conveniently ignore false assumptions and for my results sofar and my type of photography, there is no need for any fix. I always carry tape with my camera anyway.
They tested in a similar way as done by most with their A7(R)’s seen on forums and clamoring doom. Pretty extreme indeed, highlighted by their own results and lack of doom messages from users of those other cameras. If there are people suffering with their type of photography under much less extreme circumstances, great if there’s a fix for them.
It’s possible that different batches have this issue and other batches do not. I bought my A7 about 3 weeks ago. I tested it extensively and could not produce the light leak issue. Imaging Resources might have tested A7s without the issue. I don’t know what they said, but if they made conclusions beyond the bodies they tested then that’s unfortunate, I suppose.
Same here. I just got an A7 4 days ago, and no light leak that I can detect. I think it might have been a defective initial batch.
Yes, I agree,for sure not all cameras are effected. I also tested my A7 in every possible way (30 sec, iso 25600, 2 bright LED torch on the mount etc.), but not the slightest leak.
I’ve never had an issue with light leak on A7, I dont think I’ll send it in to Sony when they offer the service. Oh, and one small thing you mispelled send* on the last sentence.
Just tighten the 4 screws?
Is this a simple do it yourself fix or does it require servicing or parts?
How can we fix the problem ? is it possible to fix by ourself or not ?
I think the more pressing issue is the watermark on the sensor that looks like a circle with an R in it…
sorry, I’m just bored.
A DIY fix could be possible, but given that mount alignment is highly critical I would not want to disturb it. I could live with the hairband around the mount fix, or something similar. If Sony offers a free fix I’d take it.
I don’t think tightening the screws would help unless you find one obviously loose. An overtightened screw could possibly affect lens alignment and a stripped thread in the body would be a real disaster.
I received a call this morning from the Sony service center in Laredo, TX. I was told they have received my a7R which I reported had a light leak and it will be checked out by a technician. Turn around time is 7 – 10 days. Stay tuned.
Hopefully sony’s fix isn’t through a firmware update,if so, A7 is doomed. Sony never release firmware updates, it is more possible that they will fix for the A7II hahaha
I know it is a hardware issue, and it will not be fixed with a firmware update, but i remember Steve Job’s answer “you are holding it wrong”, I wouldn’t doubt sony would came up with something simillar. Customer support has never been their strong point.
Maybe it could be fixed with a firmware update… one that removes the ability to shoot long exposures at high ISO.
Only problem appears to be the level of service. If Sony were truly service oriented they would send overnight mailers and do a 24 hour turn around. Having the misfortune of having to deal with Sony’s service center in the past 10 days is probably being very optimistic. The last time I dealt with them it took a week to receive the shipping label/mailer from them, followed by 4 days until I got notice that they received it, and almost 2 weeks longer before I actually received the repaired item. So for anyone that counts on their equipment don’t expect to be able to count it for a month once it is in their hands. In my experience 10 days would be wishful thinking.
Sony, if serious about professional users need to adopt Canon’s CPS philosophy, its superb. I could two-day UPS my kit on a monday from Alaska and have it back by Friday, that’s a one day turn-around by Canon. Service is my one reservation in coming over to SONY.
Can someone please post the fix for the Fuji?
The rumor title reads ”
Sony knows how to fix the leak (and Fuji X-T1 has similar issue too!).”.
I went to the Fuji site but they did not report the Sony issue or provide a link, why?
Light Leak Problem: Fuji GER says “just a few X-T1 affected and repaired within 10 days”
Can the ugly-orange-ring phenomen be fixed also ?
yes, buy a Nikon.
I have a Nikon d600 already for tele and macro and a leica m8 for general photography. The sony a7 could be both for me, which would lead to one system. And yes, I am guilty, I love good looking cameras (I did not buy the nikon for design reasons, thats true). I had olympus OM4T, contax rts2 and leica m6 in film days. I really like the design of the a7/a7r. But only from the angles, when you can’t see that really ugly orange ring with the thousands words on it. Wouldn’t it be possible to change the ring with the simple black one from the a6000 ?
For tele and macro A mount is a much better choice..possibly the a77II would be a good choice for that use.
Do you predominately shoot selfies?
This is a non-issue! Or rather, it can be shown to exist but is only of significance for 1 in 10,000,000 shots and has appeared simply because of digital technology.
I’m certain this has always happened with interchangeable lenses, but film would never have shown it. Only now when people use ISO of 512000 and shine a light directly on the join can it be detected.
If by some crazy chance your favourite photography is affected by this nonsense then simply do as photographers used to do and cover everything other than the front element with a ‘blackout cloth’
Of course, if people still kick up a ‘hoo-hah’ and the manufacturers wanted to stop it happening at all then simply have the mounts coloured black in the way that the surface of guns are treated. This would kill any internal reflections which would have to be the at the root of it.
A…. no. You are wrong. Ever heard of “ND?”
Err… ever heard of a black cloth?
argh….I agree that this stupid light leak issue is just being blown out of proportion….I’m sick of hearing about ppl complaining about this when 99% won’t even get affected….can we just move on with something more interesting/value add?
http://www.minipixels.net | Automotive Photography + Design
Hearing that a fix exists and that owners can send them in for the fix is useful information and should make the issue go away so you need not be forced into reading about it moving forward.
The vast majority of complainers don’t own a A7/7r and never will, they just like to glom onto anything related to these cameras. Jealousy perhaps ?
It happens at 30sec, F11 and ISO1600…. So how is that a non-issue??
Even if your figures are correct (all the examples I’ve seen quote 25600 and higher) it still requires a strong light source for the effect to be seen and the two don’t go together: strong light, long exposure!
The only people who would ever notice are those who use ridiculous levels of ND filters for artificial effects. The number of photographers who do that and the number of shots they take render this a ‘non-issue’, as all they have to do is use a black out cloth over the camera.
To ask, “Why should they?” would be the same as asking “Why do they need to use external ND filters? They should be built in to the camera!”. It is a nonsense.
These cameras are within tolerance and people looking to go beyond those tolerances should take appropriate steps.
Consider that many tests show the light leak to be very overexposed at ISO25600 30sec. If you have an obvious light leak and continue to lower the ISO, just before it’s imperceptible then there is a loss of contrast. It would be subtle, maybe not even noticeable but you’d certainly give up some quality. You are probably getting some loss of contrast and you don’t even know it or have taken the time to think it through. A light leak is not like a light switch that gets turned on and off when you dial in ISO 25600, it’s a subtle gradation. You might be shooting in that subtle range everyday. Your images could be better and you don’t even know it.
There’s no way I’m going to be without a camera just so they have time to fix it. When they were first pushing the A7 cameras during introduction they would show up at the camera store ,why don’t they just come to the local camera stores with their repair people and fix these cameras for us. If they don’t like that idea how about sending us a loaner while they fix it. If they can’t make it convenient for us I say we have to get a class action suit going, that seemed to bring Nikon around. This probably only 10 people who ever notice this problem so they have plenty of time to get it fixed.
Sending in cameras for fixes, whether it be a defect or user caused, is a fact of life. Canon CPS charges for membership to be at the level that includes loaners.
If Sony doesn’t hurry it will cost more to fix the camera problems than it is worth.
REALLY – Canon makes it’s best customers pay “insurance” to protect themselves against manufacturing defects?
If you own a certain amount of cameras and L-lenses than you can get a free membership to the basic CPS level but it does not include loaners.
If Sony is willing to fix it the a class action law suit would be frivolous and would get throw out of court.
For all the plonkers out there! you will never take a picture at 12,600 ISO with a shutter speed of 30 second! this is not a real world problem! I’m upset the admin even posted this!
In order to get “light leak” you would have to shine a light on the side of the lens! I challenge anyone to find me a case where you would need to shoot at ISO 12,600 30″ sec and shining I light to the side of the lens!
Do we all know that EVERY camera has “light leak” when doing this?! in fact the 5Diii and D800 is much worse!
despite the dumb people complaining about this I’m more surprised this website is joining in! up until now I thought this website was pro SONY. but instead of bashing this claim and showing that every camera does this, they join in!!!! very disappointing!!
It happens at 30sec, F11 and ISO1600 …. so actually this is a very real problem….
From Sony Online Support as of today:
6:12 PM Connecting…
6:12 PM Connected. A support representative will be with you shortly.
6:12 PM Support session established with Maria – (C4Q9).
6:12 PM Maria – (C4Q9): Welcome to Sony Online Support.
6:12 PM Maria – (C4Q9): Please allow me a moment while I review your concern.
6:14 PM Maria – (C4Q9): I understand that there is a light leak on the images recorded from your A7R camera. Is that correct?
6:15 PM Customer: Yes under certain circumstances where I’m taking long exposure pictures at ISO greater then 1600
6:15 PM Customer: it becomes apparent
6:18 PM Maria – (C4Q9): Okay. I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. Sony is already aware of this and as of this time, our engineering team is looking into it. A firmware update will be posted on our eSupport page once they have finished their testings.
6:19 PM Customer: A light leak implies that there is a gap in the lens mount… how do you fix a gap with a firmware release?
6:22 PM Maria – (C4Q9): Our engineering is already working on this. We do not have information about the procedures they are doing with regard to this testing.
6:22 PM Customer: Ok… how do I find out when a fix is available?
6:23 PM Maria – (C4Q9): It will be posted on the eSupport webpage. As of this time, information on when it will be released in not available yet.
The level of denial is astounding; if this rumor is true, then *Sony themselves* are acknowledging that there’s a problem, and that there’s a fix for it. And yet a bunch of you are like “WAAAAH, this is a non-issueeeeee!!!! You guys are crazyyyyyy if you shooooot like thaaaaat!!!!”
Grow a brain.
Any light leak is extremely minor and will not affect the majority of shots. For those that want to push beyond the manufacturing tolerance then there is always a black cloth.
Using a simple and very long established solution is called having a brain. Jumping up and down about such a nonsense is not.
I agree with you. nobody should expect a camera to be light-tight. git rill. reel photographers carry a big black cloth – just wrap it around you head like a turbon. if you need to take a picture, just take the turbon off you head and warp it around the camera! jeeeez when wil peeple wake up!
give em books, give em books, they use the pages to wrap there cmaera.
Perhaps Sony should include a “Peter Kelley photographers cloth” – with each purchase of the A7/A7r, and a tube of black silicone caulk. Pete should receive his $99./cloth and you should get a modest suggestion “gratuity” for the black silicon caulk solution.
Rawhead should get a replacement A7 and a sincere thank you from Sony for his work in documenting this “spill”. Of course, Rawhead should also receive the Peter Kelley photographers turban and a tube of black silicone caulk – just in case.
You do not know that. I’m telling you, at least some of us have units that will reveal leaks at ISO50 @ 30s.
http://www.grahamclarkphoto.com/sony-a7r-field-notes-with-canon-ef-lenses/
If all other cameras display the same behavior at those settings, I’ll humbly retract my complaints. However, having 5 years of experience doing long exposure photography, both with film and digital, spanning a dozen different cameras, I’ve *never* seen light leaking from the mount of a camera at such modest settings. These experts on the Internet need to stop using this “25,600ISO, 30 sec, daylight” extremity as the baseline test setting.
And to repeat, if this really “were” a non-issue, that is well within spec, why would Sony acknowledge a problem and spend millions fixing it (if they end up doing that… I understand this is only just rumor still).
That is indeed an interesting example, although I would suggest that the top left aberration looks more like an internal reflection than a light leak, so I would also wonder about the other side, and wide aperture lenses can be very prone to flare.
Indeed, he says that a slight alteration of composition stopped it happening, which I would doubt for a leak.
In addition, he is using a Canon lens so his case may be down to adapter tolerances, rather than a fault with the camera.
For those who find it causes trouble (never denied there may be some), the answer is to use a cover.
I agree what’s to the top left is internal flare. That is precisely why I conducted a LOT of test at home to find the source of all of these. And my conclusion is that the crescent shaped ghost in the upper right comes, not from the lens (not lens flare), not from an adapter (I also use a Metabones EF-E Mk3), but from the lens mount itself, as has been verified by LensRentals as well. People using weather-sealed Sony/Zeiss lenses are seeing the same exact shape light leak in the same exact spot and similar, modest exposures (in terms of LE photography), that people have *never* seen on other systems. I’ve used everything from K200D,K20D,K7,5D,5Dmk2 for digital and Hasselblad to Kievs for MF, and Speed Graphic for 4×5, and I know for a fact that none of these had leaks from the lens mount at such modest exposures as 30s/ISO50. Now, *if* Sony returns my camera without fixing this issue, then YES I will use tape, cover, caulk, whatever the hell that’s out there so that I can continue to take photographs the way I like to. In the mean time, all I’m saying is that “this is NOT normal”.
I think we will have to agree to disagree with what is acceptable tolerance.
There are people that take cars rallying, but they don’t complain that the one they bought is not quick enough for purpose. They understand that the car in its original state will do what is expected within the normal operating levels and if they want more they need to adapt to the new criteria.
For my part the sample pictures shown would be little different if they had been shot at 1/400, so I see little point. Indeed, diffraction issues when using such apertures would be more troublesome for me!
In addition, I’m pretty sure all the cameras you mentioned had their own quirks and limitations (just don’t change that shutter speed on the Kiev without cocking it first…!), but I doubt any of the makers would have altered them for a customer.
Also check out a couple of newer shots Graham put up. Different setting, different composition, most importantly, different orientation (portrait), and yet the leak exists, in the same spot (not something that would happen in the case of flare): http://www.grahamclarkphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Sony-A7R-with-Lee-Big-Stopper-and-B+W-9-stops.jpg
if you put a bead of black silicone caulk around the lens mount it will probly work fine.
You can just peel it off if you ever have to chang lens. Put another beed of caulk after chang lens. It will still tak pixtures. my camera works gerat! i don’t understand people who complan.
Is there any kind of light leak on APS-C Sony Axxxx cameras which have E-mount too?