My long-suffering Sony A7 III is a workhorse. I don't think it wanted to be (in so far as cameras have wants). Seven years ago it was a near miraculous camera with creative powers like 4K, a full-frame sensor and in-body stabilization at a price I could manage. But life has changed, and there was the accident.
The poor camera spent a lot of its last few years taken for granted. I'd wrap it in a cloth, or even a T-shirt, stuff in my bag, and leave it with its standard kit lens, because it was good enough (and, frankly, then some) to grab the shots I needed.
Perhaps that's how I forgot how amazing the camera had seemed on day one. After taking a couple of product shots, I just left it on the desk edge. I moved to make a cuppa and caught the strap by accident, pulled it off the desk edge, the camera hit the thinly carpeted office floor (as it has more than a few times before) but this time luck was not on my side. Next time I moved to look through the viewfinder (yes, I'm old school – I don't really use the big screen), the glass covering it was cracked.
Frustratingly, the actual Electronic View Finder (EVF) inside seems to be fine. That's the bit that, instinctively, feels like it ought to be expensive to me. It's electronic. But, obviously, the idea of shards of glass right next to my eye is more than a little bit worrying. I find my eyes – of which I have a decidedly limited number - quite useful and scraping them against broken glass seems unwise to say the least.
What can I do? Well, cameras can be repaired. So I tried online and got a quote (It was just shy of US$300 – a worry for me in itself since I'm based in the UK and feel like this means my address wasn't fully understood). Then I decided to visit one of my local London repair centres – Fixation – for a more reassuringly human experience. (As a camera geek I also enjoyed the fact it is in a branch of Wex, but that will only be true for one more week).
Perhaps unfairly, even before arriving, I find myself instinctively wary of the prices of many electronics repairs. A camera seems special, sure, but it is electronic. And look at phone repairs – they always seem difficult to compare to the purchase price. Why does a phone screen – a mere piece of glass – typically cost a third of the price of the phone? I'll bet this camera is going to be similar.
What really surprised me, though, was that I left the store knowing only that it'd be a week before I knew! I recall something to the effect that it is going to cost me the wrong side of £140 ($180) before any parts, but not a single guess as to the actual cost was hazzarded by the very professional man on the counter who was only able to warn me that these things fluctuate and I'd revieve a quote in a week and could decied whether to go ahead at the time.
So that leaves me during the already in action Black Friday camera deals season missing my A7 III - and wondering whether I ought to be cutting my losses. Or looking for a cheap new body that will fit my existing lenses, batteries and the like.
It's also got me into a whole existential thought process about how camera bodies age compared to the drones and action cameras I review – it's nice that this camera still feels mighty impressive at seven-and-a-half when a drone at two might not!
Anyway, I left without my camera (but I remembered to take my lens and memory card). I still have my original Sony A7 as a backup for the next month (won't be capturing any 4K on that, but I've also got an iPhone 17 Pro Max)
Even then, I will want my old camera in good condition to sell on later, so I think, ultimately, any repair that seems comfortably below the resale value is warranted (even if I will be kicking myself for this seemingly high cost). Kicking myself though – not kicking any cameras off the table!
Check out the best Sony Black Friday deals that we have found so far
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