How to Make Your Sony Camera Last Over a Decade

I’ll admit that even though I still think that many Sony cameras feel like Playstation controllers, they’re still highly capable. The Sony a7 original, which we reviewed back in 2013 is still a camera that I pull out of the closet a few times a year mostly because of the paltry battery life. But otherwise, I’ve modified mine to be full spectrum thanks to the most excellent folks at Kolari Vision. I also own the Sony a7r III, a camera that I still consider to be one of the best bodies Sony ever made. The company’s marketing and cult tactics will have you believe that you need to upgrade camera bodies with every single cycle. But in truth, you really don’t. So as a photographer who’s used and owned Sony cameras for almost two decades, here’s how you can get more out of them and prolong the life of your camera.

Words of Wisedom First

Several years ago, Sony was one of the companies that made me lean our product testing into durability checks much more than other brands. If a brand says that something has weather sealing or has moisture and splash resistance, then they should cover it under their warranty, right?

They don’t. And I don’t just mean Sony here. The only ones who might are Leica and OM System and that’s with certain products.

That’s why Phoblographer partnered with Full Frame Insurance to create the Photography Care Program.

Recently, we went through some checks to ensure that the policy still works for both amateurs and professional photographers. And indeed, it does. Insurance will cover you when your camera’s warranty doesn’t. And it’s really not that much money in the long run.

If you don’t want to buy insurance, just make sure you can buy the same camera again used or refurbished at a price you’re willing to pay. Otherwise, insurance will cover you much better than needing to buy a new camera or lens.

The Kolari Sensor Filter Has Saved So Many Clean Ups

One of the most annoying things about many mirrorless cameras has been ensuring that the sensor stays clean. This is easier to do with weather resistant lenses that have adequate sealing throughout the lens, at the mount, and at the front. For the best sealing, we often recommend using some sort of lens filter like a Pro Mist for some character or a UV filter.

We can thank Canon for the idea of bringing the shutter down over the sensor to protect it from dust — which other companies have adopted. But what’s more, there are companies like Kolari vision that make really good in-camera clip in filters. After I converted my original Sony a7 to full-spectrum, I used these filters to modify the image quality even more. Now I rarely ever need to clean the camera sensor when I pair the Sony a7 with lenses from folks like Tamron — who make incredibly weather resistant lenses.

Here are some of my favorite photos that I’ve made using the modded Sony camera.

So even if you have an older camera body, a good idea is to modify it to infrared so that you can keep getting use out of it. This tip comes from a good buddy of mine, Tony Gale.

Change Up the Image Quality

Sometimes the old Sony image quality gets really stale. On top of that, the camera brand’s philosophy sticks mostly to doing all the work in post-production. But that gets really annoying, and God only knows what Adobe is doing with all the data of how you edit your images.

So what I’ve done in recent times is applied film profiles to my Sony cameras. I’ve really liked the ones from Veres Denail EX. Combined with lenses from Viltrox and Tamron, I get images that folks around me really love. And if I’m being my honest self, I also really like the look of some of those photos.

Above are a few sample images of exactly what I’m talking about.

Maintain the Hot Shoe: WD40 Works

First off, the photo above is from our Artisan Obscura hot shoe cover review. It’s not a bad hot shoe. Now, this is going to sound nuts, but if your camera’s hot shoe isn’t working all that well anymore, WD-40 works pretty well to fix that. I really only recommend this if the camera is really old and there’s no way that Sony will honor any sort of warranty around it. But at the same time, I’m pretty sure that someone in a repair shop would’ve done the same thing anyway.

For years, my Sony a7r III and Sony a7 original were giving me problems with the hot shoe and flash sync with Profoto units and those of other brands. This is due to the weather resistance wearing down. Then one day, I grew so frustrated with it that I used WD-40 in the hot shoe.

All the problems were gone. To clarify this more, I didn’t use a lot. Just a quick spray and then I let it settle in and wiped it off using a paper towel.

This frustration came from the fact that I’m so annoyed that the Right to Repair here in America has been completely gutted by lobbyists. I should be able to repair my camera and not have to need to upgrade to another camera body. The same goes for your phone, your computer, etc.

Clean the Autofocus Contacts with Isopropyl Alcohol

Lastly, one of the best ways to ensure that your autofocus is always working well is to clean the camera lens contacts and the contacts on your lens with isopropyl alcohol. Sony camera bodies are the ones that our staff has had to do this with the most. This method is also verified by 15 experts in an article we wrote back in 2021. In fact, the same information was even given to us back in 2013 when we fact-checked an article written in Pop Photo that claimed that vodka could clean your lens contacts.

None of those experts said that it was clean enough.

In fact, lens companies often have pure alcohol around for this. But it’s a highly controlled substance. The alternative that’s available to most consumers is isopropyl alcohol. The articles we linked to previously will teach you how to do this cleaning method.

So with all these tips, you’ll ensure that you don’t have to buy another Sony camera unless you really need to or really want to. Your current camera can do a great job as it is. We don’t need to give into hyper-consumerism and get rid of our cameras and products every single release cycle. That’s like Apple bros who buy each and every new iPhone. At a certain point, it really just doesn’t make any sense.