Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences  (Read 6987 times)

drcommercialization

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 21
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« on: March 19, 2009, 05:06:47 pm »

If you have experiences good or bad with Sony's lens repair service please post to share your experience

I have a Zeiss ZA Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM (Sony SAL-2470Z) lens that I'm thinking of sending into Sony's Repair Center in Texas for repair.  I've noticed significant softness in the field (a recent trip to Big Bend NP) at 70 mm vs good sharpness at 24-50 mm.  My Imatest test results validate what I see in the field.  Some Imatest results:

Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM
* 24 mm, f5.6
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2228 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2024 lw/ph
* 50 mm, f5.6
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2151 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 1994 lw/ph
* 70 mm, f5.6
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 1912 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 1754 lw/ph

The center point at 70 mm is very sharp (2380 lw/ph at 70mm, vs 2300 lw/ph for 50 mm and 2370 lw/ph at 24 mm) but sharpness degrades very fast as the location moves away from center at 70mm.  The magnitude of this behavior is not seen at 50 mm and 24mm.

F8 Data (I shoot at landscapes and therefore 'live' at f5.6-11):

Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM
* 24 mm, f8
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2123 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2014 lw/ph
* 50 mm, f8
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2119 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2026 lw/ph
* 70 mm, f8
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 1978 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 1835 lw/ph

Notice that moving from f5.6 to f8 results in decreases in sharpness at 24 and 50 mm, but an increase in sharpness at 70 mm.

Most tests that I've seen online show equivalent performance at 24, 50 (or 40mm) and 70 mm for the Zeiss 24-70 f2.8.  The one exception, which matches my experience, is the DIWA lab results at http://www.diwa-labs.com/wip4/compare_lens.epl?id=274121 which shows corner sharpness at 70 mm to be much lower than center sharpness, which is what I am seeing.

For those who are curious on how the Zeiss compares to my Canon lenses:
* Canon 24 mm f1.4 I: at f5.6
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2292 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2232 lw/ph
* Canon 24 mm f1.4 I: at f8
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2206 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2156 lw/ph
* Canon 24-105 mm f4 I: at f5.6 and 50mm  (which I had to have repaired by Canon for softness)
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 1867 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 1812 lw/ph
* Canon 24-105 mm f4 I: at f8 and 50mm
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 1937 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 1868 lw/ph
* Canon 50 mm f1.4 I: at f5.6
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2349 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2318 lw/ph
* Canon 50 mm f1.4 I: at f8
     - 9 non-corner locations average = 2246 lw/ph
     - 9 points + 4 corner points average = 2246 lw/ph

The Zeiss's performance slot it in between the Canon 24-105 mm lens and the 2 Canon primes.  Even with the behavior I am seeing at 70 mm, the Zeiss lens looks to be the sharpest zoom lens I've seen at any focal length.

For Imatest, I use a 60x90 inch target that consists of 3.5 in square gray blocks printed at 9600 dpi.  I run through several different focuses to account for the curvature of the wall that I am using and field curvature of the lens (which is excellent in the Zeiss lens).  I process the RAW files in Lightroom, using autowhite, autotone, I set Black to 0, use a linear curve, with no sharpening or noise reduction.  I've found for sharpness testing on the Sony that there is no difference between Capture One and Lightroom, although, as several have posted, noise control is somewhat better in CR.  

I'm trying to figure out if my Zeiss lens is typical or not.  I like its performance up to about 55 mm, after that, I'm not happy with it.  If my lens is not typical, then I'd like to send it in for repair to Sony's lens service center, but I've not found much online that tells me about other people's experience with Sony Repair.  Any experiences that you can share would be appreciated.  Thank you.
Logged

Bill Caulfeild-Browne

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 313
    • http://www.billcaulfeild-browne.com
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2009, 07:50:20 pm »

Can't help you yet, but I've just returned a 1.4TC that's really soft for repair or replacement under warranty. I'll let you know how it goes. They're certainly very accommodating over the phone but the proof of the pudding lies in the eating.
Bill
Logged

Brammers

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 89
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2009, 10:01:27 am »

I've got 2 experiences to tell you about.  The first time I used them was in China to fix a Zeiss 135 with a loose front section.  It had to be sent from Beijing to Shanghai and I got it back all fixed up within about a week - very simple repair but done well.

The second experience relates to a lens that I was buying.  I was after a 2nd hand 24-70 and due to the cost of the lens I wanted a few shots from each one to check that I didn't have a lemon.  The first lens that I vetted was a lemon - it had significant softness on the right side of the frame, esp at the long end.  I informed the seller who confirmed the decentering for himself and sent it away to Sony.  I bought a different lens, but the owner of the original said that his lens was returned completely fixed.  

Zoom lenses do fall away in sharpness towards the long end and any construction flaw would generally manifiest itself as an unevenness of sharpness.  I'd be very sure that you had a particularly poor sample, probably by comparing to other samples on the same body, before you sent it away for repair.
Logged

Ralph Wagner

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20
    • http://www.photosforfreedom.com
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2009, 05:13:32 pm »

Here's a positive experience related over at alphamountworld's website:

http://www.alphamountworld.com/
Logged
------------
Ralph

aaykay

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 359
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2009, 12:01:10 pm »

I am personally not very confident about the quality of the Sony Laredo repair center.  

However, when it comes to Zeiss lenses, from what I remember, the outer casing is built by Sony, while the optical module (consisting of the lens elements etc) is built by Zeiss (with a unique Zeiss serial# that is separate from the Unique Sony lens serial#).  

So if you were to send the lens in for repair, they would replace the entire optical module (the Zeiss part) with a new one, if the existing one is found to be out-of-spec.  This was verified by a person who found that the "repaired" lens that he got back, had the same Sony serial# that he sent in, but had a different Zeiss serial# from the one he sent in (indicating that the outer Sony casing remained the same, while the inner Zeiss optical module was switched with a new one).

Based on the above, I doubt they would even attempt to repair the Zeiss lens (since such specialized proprietary Zeiss equipment is doubtful to be available in Laredo) but will simply replace the optical module with a new one (if the existing one is found to be out-of-spec).
Logged

aaykay

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 359
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2009, 12:05:47 pm »

However, to answer your question, I find my CZ 24-70 f/2.8 to be prime-sharp right from 24mm to around 60mm but at 70mm, the excellence drops down a bit.  This is on an A900.  So it seems like your experience could be typical.  Maybe the other people using the  lens on this forum can chime in.

Logged

Vivec

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25
    • http://www.daanvisuals.com
Sony Lens Repair Service Experiences
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2009, 03:49:54 pm »

Quote from: aaykay
However, to answer your question, I find my CZ 24-70 f/2.8 to be prime-sharp right from 24mm to around 60mm but at 70mm, the excellence drops down a bit.  This is on an A900.  So it seems like your experience could be typical.  Maybe the other people using the  lens on this forum can chime in.

Yep, at 70mm it is somewhat less sharp than in the 24-60mm range. Nevertheless, it is still extremely good -- when I am using it I have never noticed any loss of sharpness at 70mm in practice so there might be something wrong with your lens.

Secondly, I sent my 24-70 CZ to the laredo repair center due to zoom issues and it was perfectly repaired within 10 days -- very good experience.
The only thing that I would have liked to see is  better feedback where the lens was and when it was repaired; currently you just have to sit it out.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up