Myths and truths about Sony Alpha shutters

If you read photographers' forums, you may get the impression that the shutters on the Sony A7 III fall apart by exactly 100,000 frames. Sony systems are regularly brought to my service for service - from the cropped A6000 to the full-frame monsters A7R IV. Let's figure out without panic where Sony has real problems and where they are just online horror stories.

Real statistics on the survivability of Sony Alpha shutters

Camera model	Official resource	Average actual mileage	Characteristic sores
APS-C Series (A6000, A6300, A6400, A6600)	100,000 – 150,000	150,000 – 250,000	Very stable lightweight bolt block.
Sony A7, A7 II (first generations)	150,000	120,000 – 180,000	Loud shutter, sensitive to dust.
Sony A7 III (Alpha 7M3)	200,000	180,000 – 300,000	The first batches had their first curtain cut off (famous factory defect).
Sony A7 IV, A7C, A7C II	200,000	250,000 – 350,000	The damper has been improved, there are significantly fewer breakdowns.
High-Res Series (A7R II, A7R III, A7R IV, A7R V)	500,000	350,000 – 600,000	Dual-motor vibration-free shutter drive.
Flagships (A9, A9 II, A1)	500,000	500,000+	90% of frames were shot with the electronic shutter without wear.

The main nuance of Sony: Electronic shutter vs Mechanical

Unlike DSLRs of yesteryear, modern Sony cameras allow you to shoot inSilent Shooting (Silent shutter)or with electronic front curtain (EFCS):

• When shooting in quiet mode, mechanical shuttersdon't move at all. There is no wear on the shutter!
• In standard verification services, the counter increases the total number of matrix activations (Image Count), including electronic frames.
• Therefore, a Sony camera with a range of 250,000 frames could take 200,000 frames on a quiet shutter in the studio - and it The mechanical shutter is virtually as fresh as new.

Why does the shutter on the Sony A7 III break and how to avoid it?

On the A7 III model, in the first 2 years of production, lamellas with weak point riveting were used. With a long series of With a mechanical shutter, the lamella could come off and scratch the matrix. In the service we install an updated shutter block from latest revisions (Part No. 1-493-556-21) - the problem does not recur with it.

Expert advice:enable the function in the menu"Electronic front curtain" (e-Front Curtain) Shut.). This reduces mechanical vibrations and halves the load on the mechanism drive.