A7S help needed

[drak24]

Hey guys, was wondering if anyone can be of any assistance. Recently the enter button (center button of the wheel) has become stuck and I'm not sure why. At first it would seem to have gotten stuck to being in the cold, but now it's just completely stuck down and won't pop back up despite the rest of the wheel being functional. If you press really hard, it'll sometimes work but that doesn't help when I'm in the middle of a shoot and want to switch record speeds. Does anyone have any suggestions to rectify the problem?

 

 

Btw, I've worked as a camera tech for a over 5 years. My initial thought was to disassemble the camera, remove and reset the button; which would probably solve the problem, but I don't have a service manual for this camera. I found the disassembly for the A7 and A7 II but they are different compared to the A7S in terms of disassembly. The folding LCD mechanism seems to be removed differently and I don't want to remove the flex cable without a sure way to reconnect it. 

 

Right now I think my other options would be to do the remote control thing with the camera; I'd have to read up on how that works since I haven't done much else other than update the firmware on the camera, or option number 2, send it in for repair; which I don't wanna do because I have shoots coming up. I do have a Mk3 as a backup camera but since I don't run ML, I prefer the footage from the A7S.

[Guest Peter Kelly]

As you will no doubt be aware, there can only be one of two reasons for this problem: either the sprung metal behind the button is damaged, or there is dirt preventing the movement.

And again unfortunately, as you do seem to appreciate, if it is the former only a proper repair will fix it, and for the latter the chance of removing the dirt without taking the camera apart is very unlikely.

 

In the past, when the cost of repair has compared unfavourably with the value of the camera, I've had some success using very gentle cleaners dripped into 'sticky' switches, hoping to either dissolve the foreign matter, or lubricate its movement to drop out of harms way. I'm not sure I would go too far down this route with an A7S though!

 

Best of luck sorting it.

[drak24]

Appreciate the response. I was trying to follow the teardown for the a7 but the LCD removal is different, and unfortunately that's the part that's preventing the back panel to come off so I can reset the button/wheel. I believe I removed all the screws necessary but obviously not since it's still pretty secure lol. If anyone else may have any guidance I'd appreciate it, still waiting to see if my buddies can get the service manual.