I got a call from the repair shop today regarding the cost to repair my 5n that got damaged when the CineStar6 went down. I wasn't really all that surprised when the tech told me it would cost a bit over $500 US and would take 6 to 8 weeks to get the parts from Sony if I wanted to proceed with the repair. I thinked him for getting back to me and asked to have the 5N put back together, I'll go pick it up later this week.
So the bottom line is this, the Nex 5N is basically a throw away if it gets damaged. I got the impression from the tech that it didn't really matter what part breaks, if you don't have insurance or the warranty won't cover whatever is wrong, the cost is likely to be just slightly less than or to equal to the replacement cost of the camera. If you decided to send it direct to Sony their flat rate non-warranty repair service is minimum $200, plus the cost of parts and those parts aren't cheap, so that's no bargain either.
The good news is that the damaged 5N does still work and there's nothing obviously messed up inside, just a broken case and an LCD screen that doesn't close tight to the body anymore. Unfortunately the broken case renders it useless for aerial work now as the tripod mounting lug area is where the case broke so it can't be bolted to a platform now and the hole will let dirt inside easily. A new 5N is on the way so now I've got two, I guess I'll have to find a way to plug up the hole and stick the damaged one in the tankbag of the R 1200 RT for those occasions when I'm out riding and see something interesting to take pictures of!
Ken
So the bottom line is this, the Nex 5N is basically a throw away if it gets damaged. I got the impression from the tech that it didn't really matter what part breaks, if you don't have insurance or the warranty won't cover whatever is wrong, the cost is likely to be just slightly less than or to equal to the replacement cost of the camera. If you decided to send it direct to Sony their flat rate non-warranty repair service is minimum $200, plus the cost of parts and those parts aren't cheap, so that's no bargain either.
The good news is that the damaged 5N does still work and there's nothing obviously messed up inside, just a broken case and an LCD screen that doesn't close tight to the body anymore. Unfortunately the broken case renders it useless for aerial work now as the tripod mounting lug area is where the case broke so it can't be bolted to a platform now and the hole will let dirt inside easily. A new 5N is on the way so now I've got two, I guess I'll have to find a way to plug up the hole and stick the damaged one in the tankbag of the R 1200 RT for those occasions when I'm out riding and see something interesting to take pictures of!
Ken
