:( dropped and now the bottom 5mm from the viewfinder isn't captured

[steviem]

Somebody dropped my Sony a300 a couple of weeks ago - I won't name names because I let them use it so it was my fault - but now the bottom few mm in the viewfinder gets cut off when taking a photo.

Is there anything I can try to fix this?

 

[oblomow]

Somebody dropped my Sony a300 a couple of weeks ago - I won't name names because I let them use it so it was my fault - but now the bottom few mm in the viewfinder gets cut off when taking a photo.

Is there anything I can try to fix this?

Not that I know how to fix a camera, but I don't understand what you mean.
Do you see more in the viewfinder than appear in the actual photo or
do see less in the viewfinder than in the actual photo? (or: is the viewfinder damaged of something inside the camera such as the sensor)

 

[steviem]

i see detail in the viewfinder at the bottom, but when the photo is taken, that detail isn't there.

 

[davegregory]

Try taking off the lens and go to the sensor cleaning mode, I don't know how to do that on a Sony, sorry, if you don't know, it's in the manual. Does the mirror rotate all the way up? If so, do you notice anything in front of the sensor? That's somewhere to start, although, I suspect it will need to go for repairs. Sorry for your luck.

 

[oblomow]

i see detail in the viewfinder at the bottom, but when the photo is taken, that detail isn't there.

Sounds bad. Either the sensor is dislocated or broken, or something is blocking the sensor. The idea of looking sounds like a good plan. Perhaps time to tell the people that dropped it to dig up their insurance papers.

 

[gnd]

Maybe just the mirror assembly moved. Try comparing what you see in live view, what you see through the viewfinder and the resulting photo.
There are many different things that might be broken. There could be something wrong with the mirror assembly. Maybe the drop moved the mirror out of alignment or something. The second option is the IS system. Sony has image stabilization in the body, so it's moving the sensor around. There might be something broken with the IS system and the sensor is "jammed" in one position.
All of this is bad enough that you can't fix it yourself, you need to have the camera examined by an expert.
Hope this helps.

 

[leighonigar]

Do you get more captured at the top, that you can't see? Could the viewfinder be skewed? Either way sounds like a servicing job.

Edit: I see someone suggested this already.

 

[steviem]

Ah dang it, I guess I'll have to take it to get serviced then!