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    November 30, 2015
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philpetersonkc's Reviews
 
Sony a7S DSLR Camera: Capture and share important moments in your life with the Sony a7S, which features a 12.2-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor for realistic photos and HD videos and built-in Wi-Fi and NFC (near-field communication) technology for simple pairing with your wireless devices. Just attach a compatible Sony lens (sold separately) to the E-mount and start shooting..
 
Customer Rating
1 out of 5
1
Great Camera While It Works - Awful Sony Service
on November 30, 2015
Posted by: philpetersonkc
As a professional documentary, corporate, portrait, industrial/manufacturing and sports photographer for nearly a decade, I depend on my camera equipment as a tool to make images for my clients. When my equipment needs adjusting or repairs, I depend on the manufacturer to stand behind their products and give good customer service. I've been a Canon user since my first digital camera and Canon has always stood behind their product, giving good customer service. In January 2015, I purchased a Sony a7S to use in low light situations, as a 3rd body and as a fun camera to always have with me. In my experience, I believe there is so much going for the a7S and the whole a7 series of cameras however, there is one devastating fatal flaw.
Let me just be clear, the Sony a7S is a great camera while it's working. In fact, the whole a7 line up is amazing. At issue is the camera's durability and Sony's service.
Without going into all the dates, times and names of people I talked to at Sony and Precision Camera, their contracted service provider, I'll just say that the service was awful, far below any standard service I've received over the years from Canon.
After several phone calls and promised return calls from Sony that didn't happen, I finally was able to speak with a Sony manager. She stated that my camera would not be repaired because "it would cost too much" and "it is out of warranty". Precision never gave me a quote to repair the camera. Further, in previous conversations, Precision said they wouldn't fix the camera, not that they couldn't...big difference. Sony's manager apologized multiple times but said that Sony would not repair my camera because it would "cost too much" and that "it was out of warranty". Since when does "out of warranty" mean a company should stop servicing their products leaving their customers stuck with expensive equipment that doesn't work? I've sent two generations old camera bodies and lenses back to Canon for their factory service with no issues. My friends who use Nikon have had the same experience with Nikon factory service. Sony and their contracted service provider, Precision's refusal to service equipment out of warranty falls well short of general industry wide customer service practices. I requested that the manager transfer me to her manager but she said that there was no one higher in the company I could talk to. Was she the CEO or a board member? Doubtful because she seemed to be reading off a script...when the customer says X, reply Y and try to move on to the next call. This scheme is common with companies who contract their customer service to other companies #usually in other countries#, hoping their customer complaints go away instead of providing customer service.
Sony has created a potentially great line of cameras that could change the entire industry. However, Sony/Precision's customer service is so completely inadequate, it's their Achilles heel and the fatal flaw in the a7 line of cameras. Sony has put itself at the mercy of Precision, a contracted service company who is clearly more concerned with lowering service costs than providing good customer service. Does this mean that Sony has surrendered customer retention in favor of just trying to get a constant stream of new customers?
Does the a7S II have better weather resistance? Sony's website doesn't say it was improved over the previous model.
I believe that Sony is capable of doing much better and I hope they prove me right.
But in the mean time, the a7S is a great camera while it works but an expensive paperweight because of poor to non-existent service from Sony/Precision when it doesn't.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
+7points
13of 19voted this as helpful.
 
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