Sony A700 Condensation problem

LuvJackman

I'm brand new to the forum but a search didn't answer this question, so here goes!. After waiting years to jump into a digital SLR and after doing mega research (do I get the Nikon D300, etc) I picked the Sony A700. The photo quality is marvelous BUT I've been having condensation issues, triangles of condensation on the internal lense.

The is makin me cranky <g>.

Admittedly, I'm an amateur with the camera, I've not had it long enough to know it well. BUT this condensation is driving me nuts. I sent the first Sony A700 back to the dealer when this problem developed, the second one does the same thing~~I've had it all of 6 hours!!!!:scratch

I don't live in a humid area, in fact, I live in a part of the country with minimal moisture. The camera has not been exposed to temperature extremes.

What's a gal to do? Have I don't something wrong? (Like should I have kept the camera in the box:barb!!! ) Does Sony just have a problem with this and I should head back to Nikon??

If anyone can help, I'd sure appreciate it!

wayne861

Sony condensation

LuvJackman wrote:

I'm brand new to the forum but a search didn't answer this question, so here goes!. After waiting years to jump into a digital SLR and after doing mega research (do I get the Nikon D300, etc) I picked the Sony A700. The photo quality is marvelous BUT I've been having condensation issues, triangles of condensation on the internal lense.

The is makin me cranky <g>.

Admittedly, I'm an amateur with the camera, I've not had it long enough to know it well. BUT this condensation is driving me nuts. I sent the first Sony A700 back to the dealer when this problem developed, the second one does the same thing~~I've had it all of 6 hours!!!!

I don't live in a humid area, in fact, I live in a part of the country with minimal moisture. The camera has not been exposed to temperature extremes.

What's a gal to do? Have I don't something wrong? (Like should I have kept the camera in the box!!! ) Does Sony just have a problem with this and I should head back to Nikon??

If anyone can help, I'd sure appreciate it!

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

I have tens of thousands of cliks on my A700 and A100, from below zero, to 95 degrees and there have been no problems, condensation, or anything else. They have been as rugged and trouble free as all my old Minolta's have been. I am not sure what you mean by the internal lense. Do you mean the view finder? A little more information might help someone on this great forum to help you.

Nikon makes a great product, but I think you have something going on other than brand selection. Try to describe your problem a little better and maybe one of the experienced people on the forum will be able to help you.

Wayne

LuvJackman

wayne861 wrote:

Hi, Welcome to the forum.

I have tens of thousands of cliks on my A700 and A100, from below zero, to 95 degrees and there have been no problems, condensation, or anything else. They have been as rugged and trouble free as all my old Minolta's have been. I am not sure what you mean by the internal lense. Do you mean the view finder? A little more information might help someone on this great forum to help you.

Nikon makes a great product, but I think you have something going on other than brand selection. Try to describe your problem a little better and maybe one of the experienced people on the forum will be able to help you.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

I'm relieved to read your reply. I'm sorry I am not yet savvy enough to know exactly how to express the problem, so I'll just describe as best I can.

When I first opened the box and looked through the viewfinder, I've got a clear field, a totally clear rectangular view. Within hours of getting camera two, I look through the viewfinder and I've got shadows on the upper left quadrant of the rectangle, across like a triangle, and an identical one across the lower left quadrant. I had the same issue with the first camera. I had these shadows (which I may have incorrectly deemed condensation) disappear for a short time with my first camera only to reappear again with no change in altitude or humidity. These "shadows" show up on the digital image as well.

I hope that makes the issue more clear. I LOVE the camera; as I said the images are lovely. But the "shadows" aren't and I don't know what has caused them or how to make them disappear.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read.

Furono

I have the a700 here in Japan. It's been raining all year long and it's always high humidity. Never any problems. Maybe yours has a defect.

Steve

BackToSlr

LuvJackman wrote:

I'm brand new to the forum but a search didn't answer this question, so here goes!. After waiting years to jump into a digital SLR and after doing mega research (do I get the Nikon D300, etc) I picked the Sony A700. The photo quality is marvelous BUT I've been having condensation issues, triangles of condensation on the internal lense.

The is makin me cranky <g>.

Admittedly, I'm an amateur with the camera, I've not had it long enough to know it well. BUT this condensation is driving me nuts. I sent the first Sony A700 back to the dealer when this problem developed, the second one does the same thing~~I've had it all of 6 hours!!!!<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/headscratch.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >

I don't live in a humid area, in fact, I live in a part of the country with minimal moisture. The camera has not been exposed to temperature extremes.

What's a gal to do? Have I don't something wrong? (Like should I have kept the camera in the box<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/wings.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >!!! ) Does Sony just have a problem with this and I should head back to Nikon??

If anyone can help, I'd sure appreciate it!

Very intrigued by your description. I have never had any condensation problem of any kind, even in singapore, india, indonesia, malaysia (all very humid places). Or in pretty cold or dusty environments. Am curious to see what the problem is. Could you post the pictures (that you took) where you can see the problem?

BTW Sony just released a v4 firmware update for A700 which is great as it adds a couple of new features


Also let us know which lens are you using.

Cheers,

N

Internaut

Condensation problems could occur
If you are using your shiny, new, (reasonably) weather sealed A700 with a none weather sealed lens. But.... (and this is a big capitalized "But"), even with my none weather sealed DSLR *and* lens, I only ever see condensation on the eye piece and on the UV filter on the front of the lens (and this is in Fiji where it gets humid at times). The A700 is a nice/expensive piece of kit - get it checked out and, if necessary, replaced or repaired.

LuvJackman

Internaut wrote:

If you are using your shiny, new, (reasonably) weather sealed A700 with a none weather sealed lens. But.... (and this is a big capitalized "But"), even with my none weather sealed DSLR *and* lens, I only ever see condensation on the eye piece and on the UV filter on the front of the lens (and this is in Fiji where it gets humid at times). The A700 is a nice/expensive piece of kit - get it checked out and, if necessary, replaced or repaired.

Everyone's input is very much appreciated. This morning, when I got up to check the camera, everything looks fine.

I know...hmmm.

First, I'll see if the camera remains fine at my current altitude for a full 24 hours. I'm taking it up to 8500 feet tomorrow for about 10 hours so I'll see if that has any impact. Maybe this one will be ultimately fine and just needed to get over the shock of being a mile high. I have no idea.

I'm hoping I can just settle down and get to know my new baby.

Thanks again for the thoughful replies.