A580 Strange Behaviour

Let's do some basic trouble shooting:
Try another lens. Clean lens and camera contacts.
Remove battery for some time.
Try another battery.
Try another memory card.

I noticed you cannot set between release and focus priority with the A580.

If you set the camera to "release without lens" and take the lens off , will the shutter fire every time the button is pressed , instead of locking up ?

Is it possible that the AF sensor in the base of the camera needs cleaning?

could be some issue with the shutter button. Do you have a cable release you could try it with?

was that a comment on using a cable release?

If so likely that the shutter release has got gummed up with dust and grime.
Might try blowing it with compressed air, hold camera upside down and spray button with electrical contact cleaner and leave that way for a couple of hours.
Neither guaranteed cures.
Otherwise talk to a camera repair centre likley just needs a clean.

Well if nothing else you can use it on a cable release or something more sophisticated.

Just be careful anything you squirt/spray at it doesn't get too deep inside.

It has had an effect, in that the shutter release has become much more reliable. However, what now happens is that the the camera goes into "continuous auto focus" when the camera is moved, without the button being pressed at all, and the lens hunts continually until first pressure on the button, at which time it behaves normally. So the camera is useable, but the wear on the mechanisms of camera and lens is a worry.

I think there must be a bit of foreign matter which intermittently bridges the focus contacts and needs to be moved away. I don't even know whether the contacts are sealed into a sub-assembly, which would need to be replaced (but Sony tells me spares are no longer available), or open to access to allow cleaning. I've searched for images showing that detail, without success so far, but I haven't given up hope. If I could get an A560 or A580 cheaply for parts, I'd have a go at it myself.

UPDATE: I have downloaded (free!) the A580 Repair Manual. It is heavy on illustrations but light on descriptive matter. It looks like there are three parts of interest:

CT RELEASE BUTTON (M) ASSY, which looks like the silver button and maybe the on/off switch "handle". The (M) could mean mechanical, i.e. no electrical contacts.

CT POWER LEVER CLICK PLATE, which fits below the button, and presumably provides detents to retain the on/off switch position.

SWITCH BLOCK, CONTROL (TK86500), which looks like an agglomeration of bits which are stimulated by the buttons, etc on the RHS of the top plate, plus a ribbon connector to take the signals away. My thought is that this contains the actual switches, probably separated from the buttons by rubber diaphragms. The absence of disassembly instructions for the part suggests that repair is by replacement of the assembly, but it could perhaps be opened up for cleaning - there's just no hint of that in the manual.

Added to that, when I asked Sony if they could repair (having described the problem) they just said that the parts were no longer available. I've since found it listed on the Sony US site for "professionals" at $82.12 but "on back order".

The manual gives good information on what to remove to gain access, showing all screws and their sizes, and what order to it in, so, if I had the spare part, I could probably pull it off. It's the sort of job that would probably cost more than the camera is worth to get done commercially, so more of a challenge and for the satisfaction.

Edited by IanL - 22 December 2021 at 14:40