Alpha A700 Hard LCD Protection [ACMAXX]

Click on pics for larger versions. I will update to report long term use of the ACMAXX cover.








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OK so here's the story, the extra short version. I cracked the glass LCD cover of my Alpha A700. For those that don't know, no I didn't crack the actual screen. The glass cover is an add-on to protect my LCD from the scratches the screen will suffer no matter how careful one might be.

So when this happened, it of course damaged the LCD's protective (polycarbonate?) screen. I have supplied pics. I think it goes without saying that I was furious. I was furious at myself, I was furious with every company that makes dSLRs and I was furious with Carl's Jr. Why? Because they stopped selling their sweet baked potato.

What does that have to do with my camera? Nothing, it's just that in times of great stress, the pebbles in my shoe become boulders. Back to the glass cover that I loved so much. I love glass because the clarity can't be touched. Better yet, it's damn near impossible during most regular use to scratch the surface. Yes glass can be fragile, but it's incredibly hard. How hard? Hard enough that I had to use a diamond wheel (attached to a dremel) to cut the glass that made up my screen cover.

So now what? Until someone makes the ultimate LCD protector (glass on the outside, polycarbonate backing) I can only make due with what's available to me. So while I'm intrigued by InvisibleSHIELD, I need something hard to actually protect the LCD from a hard knock.






The web site ACMAXX.net never makes it 100% clear just how this polycarbonate device attaches to the Alpha. That is until you dig around to the help section for applying and remvoing the cover. I was disappointed to find that the ACMAXX cover works like a lot of other covers out there. It's got a very thin border (chrome not black) with a sticky back. OK right there I'm not happy. That means once you've applied your cover, you'd better make sure it's lined up the way you want. You also better make sure not one spec of dust is on the back side.

So the cover has to thin pieces of film protecting it. On the side that will face the world, a static cling type piece of plastic with a tab (thank you) for easy grabbing keeps scratches and smudges at bay. On the sticky side a similar piece keeps the sticky side, well, sticky and away from everything until you are ready to apply the cover.

Sounds easy enough right? Wrong. What went wrong? OK, so I clean my LCD screen with a microfiber cloth. Next I remove the plastic covering the sticky back. I try to align the cover with my LCD. First problem, I left the static cling plastic covering the other side in place. It was interfering with my ability to align the cover. I remove it.

Now I can see things better. I line it up and gently let the cover rest on the LCD. Umm... not happy, I see I've lined it up a bit too much to the left and I'm a little too close for comfort to the buttons on that side. Very carefully I pull the cover back off. It comes off without much of a fuss. Pro Tip: It's natural to line the right side up so that you can see just a sliver of the camera's frame. Cheat a hair or two over to the right over the right side rim, and it will be just right. The top and bottom alignment seems to be easy to nail.

OK so it's on, lined up about as square as one can expect. I check in good light. Not happy. What happened? OK, here's the sad news folks. When you remove the plastic covering on the sticky side, that plastic leaves a strange almost milky residue on the LCD side. Yes the part you never want to touch, you now have to touch so that you can remove this. When the camera's LCD is on, you can't really see it. When it's off, it looks like you've got dove liquid dish detergent between the cover and the camera LCD. I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the idea.

Now I'm pissed. I remove the cover once again and with a micro fiber cloth, I begin to buff. The 'stuff' isn't easy to remove. I finally remove most of it. Everything is fine right? Wrong. The sticky side, the side I didn't want to touch is now covered in micro fibers. So now I'm trying to remove this knowing that I'm going to either scratch, smudge, leave dust and or fibers on what should be the 'clean' side.

So doing all this, I give up on getting it perfect. I just want to get it on the Alpha. So I get it on, and of course I can see a couple of specs of dust in between the cover and the LCD. Yes it drives me crazy. I can be a picky nerd most of the time. This is why I hate Sony, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Olympus. Why won't they make a camera that's made to accept a cover of some sort? It should be done properly so that half-ass shit like this isn't being made, sold, and ultimately used to shave off precious time from my life span.



So after all this, and claims from ACMAXX about anti-scratch coatings, I now have micro swirl type scratches on the outside of the cover and possibly on the sticky side. OK, so those are a lot of cons, what are the pros? Believe it or not, there are some.

Pros: The material is very clear, so clear in fact that it rivals glass. It's hard so it will take an actual knock (unlike glass and those clingy sheets). The border and sticky border on the back is so thin that it doesn't cover the Sony logo and it doesn't make your LCD look smaller. If anything the opposite might be true. I also have to admit that it looks damn good once it's attached.

So what did this 25 cent piece of plastic cost me? 20 bucks. In the end, does it work? Yes. Would I recommend it to a fellow Alpha user? Probably not.