Recently got back from my trip in the Red Sea with my new camera housing. During dives, most if not all of the buttons would become unresponsive or very very slow. This didnt seem like a depth issue as it occured even at 10 meters. Turning the camera on and off would sometimes fix it but not often. Is there a setting that is affected by pressure or is there something else im missing.
A7 IV Buttons occasionally become unresponsive
- Thread starter Opaul20
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Housing issue pressing another button and locking the setup would be my guess
What housing are you using? FWIW, I have my A7IV housed in Aquatica and after close to 80 dives with this set-up, I have not experienced the problem you are having. If your set-up works fine out of the water and starts giving you problem in the water (10 meters you have already doubled the external pressure on the housing), then I would think that it is housing pressure-related somehow creating either a misalignment of plungers vs camera buttons or exercing partial pressure on one or more buttons of the camera.
I'm using a Seafrogs housing, i know not ideal, but didnt think it would have issues day one. The issue does eventually solve itself, even with no change in depth/pressure so thats why i ruled out missaligned buttons. Would having the camera under vaccum while underwater help solve this? Thanks.
Did you buy the housing from seafrogs.com.hk? If yes, you could try contacting their support - they're generally quite responsive.
Vacuum shouldn't make much of a change, it's roughly equivalent to 2-3 meters of depth.
If you work all the different buttons dry, do they feel equally stiff? Is there any wobble anywhere?
Vacuum shouldn't make much of a change, it's roughly equivalent to 2-3 meters of depth.
If you work all the different buttons dry, do they feel equally stiff? Is there any wobble anywhere?
Yeah from their wabsite, i have since contacted them and just sent over some images hopefully they can help aswell.
Buttons all see equally stiff really, only one would be AF-ON button feels easier to press than the others but nothing crazy different.
Thanks.
Buttons all see equally stiff really, only one would be AF-ON button feels easier to press than the others but nothing crazy different.
Thanks.
As Bermaglot pointed out, the pressure differential is minimal. I would also add that it is only there to establish a benchmark of some sort to activate the sensor in your housing which, if it perceived a change (due to a small leak), would warn you before water comes in and trigger the moisture alarm system, if so equipped.
I also have a vacuum system in my Aquatica that I activate every time my camera is in the housing and the set-up is prepped for diving and it has never impeded the proper operation of the camera. Contacting SeaFrogs is your best option.
Does it happen outside of water, or only at depth?
I've had four different SeaFrogs housings, and the only thing even remotely similar to this behavior that I've experienced was on my 1st gen A6xxx Salted Line housing where the 4-way controller wouldn't work right on the surface (always went down or to the right, never up or left), but pressure of 5-10 or more meters of water somehow balanced it out and it worked fine.
Another thought - next time the issue occurs, try pressing each housing button in turn several times, to jiggle it loose if it's stuck, checking camera responsiveness after each button test. This may help to isolate the specific button causing the problem.
I've had four different SeaFrogs housings, and the only thing even remotely similar to this behavior that I've experienced was on my 1st gen A6xxx Salted Line housing where the 4-way controller wouldn't work right on the surface (always went down or to the right, never up or left), but pressure of 5-10 or more meters of water somehow balanced it out and it worked fine.
Another thought - next time the issue occurs, try pressing each housing button in turn several times, to jiggle it loose if it's stuck, checking camera responsiveness after each button test. This may help to isolate the specific button causing the problem.
Thank you guys for the response. Yeah im looking at getting the Leak sentinal so that i can take it underwater at pressure.
Ive since spoken to Seafrogs customer support and they suggest it to be the AF-ON button becoming depressed due to a slight deformation under pressure. I tested this theory on the camera and it definatly seems plausable as when pressed down it renders all other buttons, bar the shutter and display button, unresponsive. As a result they suggest I take off the rubber end inside the housing to increase the distance between the buttons so that it doesnt happen. I have yet to test this under pressure and am not sure when but will update here once i do. Thank you all for the help!
Ive since spoken to Seafrogs customer support and they suggest it to be the AF-ON button becoming depressed due to a slight deformation under pressure. I tested this theory on the camera and it definatly seems plausable as when pressed down it renders all other buttons, bar the shutter and display button, unresponsive. As a result they suggest I take off the rubber end inside the housing to increase the distance between the buttons so that it doesnt happen. I have yet to test this under pressure and am not sure when but will update here once i do. Thank you all for the help!
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