So I kept having problems with one of my favorite lenses, the Sony 35mm 1.4 OSS E-Mount lens for my A6500. I use the lens a lot for close-ups and portraits. It started happening around Christmas. The lens just wouldn’t mount properly. It would just show “F - - -”. I wasn’t able to control the aperture at all. We were back home in MD visiting family and I wasn’t able to take the more intimate photos like I wanted. I used my 18-105mm and 10-18mm instead, but it just wasn’t the same. I was missing out on the low-light capabilities and all the bokeh! I searched online, fired off an email to B+H (where I purchased it from) and sent another letter to Sony describing my issue.

Through my research, I found that it happens to a lot of people. As (the total opposite of) luck would have it, my warranty had already run out. It ran out right around Christmas time. I had an important shoot coming up and rely on my Sony lenses and the auto-focus to shoot on my gimbal, the Moza Air. So instead of waiting to hear back from anyone, I decided to try and fix it myself. I gathered my little screwdriver set and other tools and took my lens apart.

I was nervous but I really believed I could fix it and the screws made it look really easy being right there. The screws came out fairly easy and I made sure I was really careful not to strip them, while also keeping track of them in the rear lens cap. Once I took the back off, I noticed inside that the ribbon connecting the contacts to the board had somehow gotten loose. On a Monday at the Sony factory somewhere, somebody probably was still hungover from the weekend and didn’t snap it in properly. Maybe the robot at the factory isn’t applying enough pressure when pushing the clamp down.

Connecting the ribbon back was cumbersome, but you can do it yourself. There is a small clip that holds the ribbon in. This issue is definitely a quality control issue. The only way that clip could have come undone is that not enough pressure was placed upon it. I honestly feel bad for all the people that had this same problem and gave up on the lens, threw it in the trash, or paid a ridiculous amount of money to get it fixed. That’s why I wrote this.

This fix might not work for everyone. Of course some people might have dropped their lenses or there may be water damages, but if you get the “F - - -” notification, this might work for you. I have read a ridiculous amount of information about this online and there weren’t any other ideas that seemed to fix the issue. If someone you know has this problem, please share this.

FIx the robot Sony. You’re welcome.

- Digital Ninja®