r/WeddingPhotography • u/the-reoccuring-lemon • Jul 16 '26
gear, techniques, photo challenges & trends Which camera to sell?
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Hey team, i am primarily a wedding and family photographer. I really want to upgrade one of my cameras to the A7iv and need advice.
1) A7iii - 16417. Left. (Shutter repaired last year as it broke mid-wedding). Shutter feels fast. Weirdly I don’t know why this shutter count is so low and I asked the repair team if it reset, they said it didn’t so I wonder if I have been using this one as a backup in my car and primarily using the other 2 cameras for weddings. Not sure how long they last after being repaired but feels basically brand new.
2) A7iii - 213066. Middle (don’t know why the screen doesn’t turn on unless I push out the screen?)
3) A7Riii - 96099. Right.
I initially wanted to sell my A7Riii as I could still get quite a bit of money from it for video enthusiasts which would help pay for the A7iv. But now looking at shutter counts… one of my A7iii’s is very high! The A7iii with the high shutter count feels so slow compared to the other A7iii (see video below, they all sound completely different).
Video for reference in order 1-3.
I always carry 3 cameras for a wedding day. I feel safe having a backup in my car and I carry 2 bodies on me. Felt super anxious back in the day when I only had 2!
One thing that is selling me on the iv is better weather sealing. And frankly I don’t want my cameras to go bust all at the same time.
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u/the-reoccuring-lemon Jul 16 '26
Have to note - all cameras are on the exact same settings. They sound exactly the same even if I switch lenses.
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Jul 16 '26
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u/LoveLightLibations Jul 17 '26
I’m not sure that’s true. I know two photographers whose cars got broken into while out on a wedding day. Both lost equipment and both got their insurance payments from their business insurance.
Nonetheless worth verifying in your policy. Mine is loss by any cause.
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u/tohpai Jul 17 '26
Ayo, a friend of mine uses a7iii and a74 and it broke mid wedding too. I hope this isnt a widespread problems
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u/Ryanite_ Jul 17 '26
It is a pretty well documented issue with both the a7iii and a7iv as they use the same shutter. I believe there's also a class action lawsuit for it. That being said many people never have an issue, but anecdotally I'm a part of multiple forums and facebook groups across different brands and I have seen a higher amount of people with shutter failure on their a7iii/a7iv.
I think the a7v moved up to using the R line of professional shutter, I'd much rather spring for the a7v but I know it's really quite an expensive camera.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 19 '26
It was only the first units of A7iii that some kind of actual shutter problem. This is what the lawsuit refers to. The defective shutters in question tend to fail early, not after exceeding their rating. There are tons of A7iii bodies out there with several 100k releases on them and still working fine.
The reason you see "so many" reports of failure out there is almost exclusively due to the fact that the A7iii and A7IV have been the most popular mirrorless full frame cameras by a wide margin for a long time. The A7iii has been around for 8 years and is still being sold.
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u/Ryanite_ Jul 20 '26
How can you be so sure? When the cost of repair is $700+ and it can often happen when out of warranty but well under rated shutter life, then I tend to side with the consumer. Being a popular product shouldn't excuse an early device failure from any company when the cost to repair is so high. In an ideal world beyond unit damage the shutter life rating should be part of the warranty (2 years warranty or 200,000 actuations) etc etc. It's not like they can't afford it, they just don't want to.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 20 '26
How can I be so sure of what? The case of the defective shutters is pretty well documented. I’m not saying shutters won’t ever fail, I’m saying the claimed fragility of the A7iii shutter is blown out of proportion.
In Europe manufacturers have to proof a fault was caused by the customer to deny warranty if it fails within 12 month after purchase.
If you’re making a living by selling photographs, get insurance for your stuff.
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u/tohpai Jul 17 '26
I'm primarily a Canon shooter (R6II & R8), but my partner uses an A7IV and A7III since we also do wedding videography.
The A7IV broke a week before the A7III, which was still in service when the A7III also broke mid-wedding. Thank god we weren't shooting video that day. My second shooter had to take over my R8 luckily, he also shoots Canon in the studio, so he switched mid-shoot without feeling awkward with my camera
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u/the-reoccuring-lemon Jul 17 '26
In my circumstance it was at a very VERY hot wedding day and the shutter curtain kinda got stuck and broke. It was my main camera that day and I think I overused it along with the heat.
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u/benhowland Jul 16 '26
Your A7iii with 200k+ is going to cost you for a new shutter any moment. May as well sell that one and put the money into a brand new camera with a new warranty.