Design Flaw Alpha 7ii

[Rcferris]

This an advisory for 7ii users.  Don’t know if it applies to other models.

in summary, if your Auto Finder/Monitor function stops working, and the Monitor function is no longer available in “Auto” mode, do the following:

Look at the view finder, and at the top center, you’ll see a tiny lens.  Wipe that lens with a clean, dry cloth (I use coffee filters), and the auto/Monitor function should be restored.  Unfortunately I had to learn this the hard way, having lost two weeks of African pictures.  Hopefully, this post will save other unfortunates souls encountering the same problem.  

If Sony had their act together, they would consider an Advisory on this, since when I called Sony, they knew immediately what the problem was.

[Olaf W.]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's a common problem with many if not all makers. Something covering the eye sensor makes the camera believe you're looking through the viewfinder. I'm not sure if any maker mentions this in their manuals or elsewhere.

[adwb]

It’s never been in the manuals but the 3rd party manuals and lots of YouTube and forum posts have mentioned this ever since the first A7 was released 

[Rcferris]

Thanks for the background information.  Unfortunately, when I encountered the problem I was in the African bush, with no  access to WiFi or the internet for a month, so had no way of checking on line resources or even calling Sony, and as a result lost many picture opportunities needing the Monitor function, with no time to use the View Finder to change to Manual.  Ended up using my phone instead, which was very limiting.  Sony's silence on this this is deafening ?!