Although I wouldn’t normally recommend removing the screws from Sony cameras there are times when this is something you need to do, for example to remove the microphone mount on an FX6.
Most of the small screws have a thread locking compound applied to the threads to prevent them from shaking or vibrating loose. This can make them hard to unscrew.
JIS NOT Phillips!!
The main issue is that most cross of the commonly found small and miniature head screw drivers are manufactured to the “Philips” standard. But the screws used on the Sony cameras are manufactured to the JIS standard. The differences between these two very similar looking standards means that you will not get a secure and tight fit between a Philips screw driver and a JIS screw head. The edges of a Philips screwdriver are at an angle that is too shallow to properly engage with the full depth of a JIS screw head. So when you try to undo a tight screw the head of the screw will deform or strip, often to the point where it can’t be undone.
Whenever working on Sony cameras you should use JIS standard screwdrivers and ensure the screwdriver is the correct size for the screws you are working with. The smaller screws used for thing like the microphone mount on the FX and Alpha series cameras are JIS size +0 or +00. A JIS size +0 seems to fit most but I would also get a +00.
Don’t try to use a miniature Philips screwdriver on a tight JIS screw. It might look like it fits, but only a very small part of the screwdriver head will be correctly engaged with the JIS screw and once the screw head is damaged you can’t undo the damage and it may become impossible to remove the screw without drilling it out.
If you search for “Vessel JIS” you should be able to find good quality small and miniature JIS screwdrivers on Amazon, ebay or from other suppliers.
Tag Archives: broken
Sony FX6 Intermittent Audio – Is Your Handle Secure?
There have been a few people popping up on various user groups and forums complaining of a sudden loss of audio or intermittent audio on their Sony FX6 cameras. A common cause of the loss of audio on the FX6 is a slightly loose top handle. The XLR inputs, MI Shoe and the cameras built in microphones are all part of the top handle, so if the handle is a little loose and the connection between the camera and handle isn’t perfect you can suddenly lose all your audio inputs.
As the connection between the handle and camera is a digital one you often won’t get any warning and if you are not wearing headphones you might not notice that you no longer have audio. Hint – wear headphones and monitor your audio when doing anything where the audio is even the slightest bit important 😉
So it is advisable to regularly check that the thumb screws that secure the handle are tight as if done up finger tight they do have a tendency to work lose over time. The thumbscrews have sockets for an allen key and I strongly suggest you use an allen key to tighten them up, done up this way they rarely come loose.
LUT Download Issues when using Chrome – Fixed
Some of you may have been having issues downloading my LUT’s and some other content. This was occuring due to Chrome blocking the download of any files it deems unsafe. I have installed some upgraded tools on my server and you should find that downloads will work again now. Do let me know if you ever encounter issues with the site. The sooner you let me know the sooner I can look into them. Thanks.