Please use this thread for before and after pics of backfocus adjustment.
Along with your pics please can you supply the following information,
Camera firmware,
Serial number,
Type of chart used,ie siemens,
Number of charts used,
Distance of charts from the cam,
Which ND was used with the adjustment,ie ND0 or ND1 or ND2,
If detail was used when adjustment was made,
If detail is on or off in the pics/screengrabs,PP in the pics.
Format used,ie,1080 or 720,progressive or interlaced.
For anyone who's interested,i've done a backfocus demo on Vimeo,link below,

http://www.vimeo.com/819802


To Chris Hurd,any chance of making this thread a sticky please ?
I think most EX users will appreciate it.

Thanks,Paul.

Chris, this would make a great sticky!

I have uploaded screenshots from my testfiles.

First one shows the backfocus with ND on after I took it out of the box

Second one shows the backfocus when it came back from Sony after the first repair

Third one shows the backfocus after FB adjustment with one chart. Also looked exactly like this after the second and third repair attempt from Sony

Fourth one shows how I fixed the camera with the FB adjustment and multiple focus charts.

The fifth image shows all ND settings after the successful adjustment as split screen.

Here is what I did to fix my issues:
o.k. try at your own risk. Thats how it worked for me for 2 cameras Sony could not fix - your experience could be different..

Camera was set to 1080 25p
PP1 with detail off
I used 12 focus charts (Siemens Star) - I think a few less would not make a difference... 4 columns 3 rows
Camera was 3 meters away from a white wall outside my house
Aperture always f1.9 fully open at stop (use shutter to adjust brightness)
Focus full manual
Zoom servo on
Macro set to off

Set to ND off - zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

When finished - leave menu - do not turn the camera off
Turn on ND1 - adjust brightness with shutter
zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

When finished - leave menu - do not turn the camera off
Turn on ND2 - adjust brightness with shutter
zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

no need to turn off the camera in-between adjustments.

Good luck - its pretty easy to perform - I hope this will solve your backfocus problems as well.

Here's some pics after my recent last back focus adjustment.
Camera firmware...V1.02-337
Serial number.......0400594
9 siemens charts used,3 rows x 3 columns,spaced out about 1 ft between each chart.
3 metres from cam.
Made with ND off,ND1,and ND2.
No PP used in adjust.
Detail on with screen grabs.

On the top left picture i focused on the trailer before going wide.
On the others i focused on the house in the very far distance before pulling back.

Opinions please !!!

Paul,
looks good to me - perfectly useable.
The last one seems to be slightly softer compared to the other ones, but still o.k.
I think we already got extremely sensitive over this issue ;-)

regards,
Gerald

I reckon the 1080/25p looks slightly sharper.
Also the day was very overcast as you can see from the pics,a bright day seems to give better results. It's sunny here today so i'm gonna take the same pics from the same spot and then post then,,,re backfocus loosing adjustment after cam being powered off,re another thread on here.

Paul.

http://www.mdma.tv/ex1/fb.html - roll mouse over image to swap

EX1 s/n 0401953, Firmware 1.03
Siemens star chart and patio door (! seems to work)
Distance of about 5 meters
Tests at 720p25
Detail off

Same pics,same PP,after switching off cam,(been on a shoot in between aswell.)

Paul.

Matt.
Yours looks better.
What about from a distance though ? Can you focus on something far away then zoom out,then post a screengrab of that.

Thanks,Paul.

Some footage i shot last night from about 40 metres away.
I'm quite happy with my backfocus now.

Paul

Some footage i shot last night from about 40 metres away.
I'm quite happy with my backfocus now.

Paul

Looks great. What camera settings were you on? shutter, gain, fps?

1080/50i-SQ,shutter off,+3db of gain.
The EX could've shot most of the scenes with no gain but some of the scenes were really dark so going with +3db gave me enough room to play with with the iris. Most scenes were around f4.

I was using Bill PP which was good for most scenes but when people were under spotlights some of the white clothes were really blowing out,( i had 65% and 100% zebras),so i went with Bills PP but with cine 2 which is supposed to limit whites,and it did help.

Paul.

1080/50i,shutter off,+3db of gain.
The EX could've shot most of the scenes with no gain but some of the scenes were really dark so going with +3db gave me enough room to play with with the iris. Most scenes were around f4.

I was using Bill PP which was good for most scenes but when people were under spotlights some of the white clothes were really blowing out,( i had 65% and 100% zebras),so i went with Bills PP but with cine 2 which is supposed to limit whites,and it did help.

Paul.

Looked great! Is there any difference if I were to try the backfocus check in 24p, 30p and 60i? Do you think that that at 30p or 60i the picture would appear more sharp? I have not tried the backfocus test in any other format besides 24p .

If you go a few posts up,on this thread,one of my pics of the houses is 1080/25p,i feel that it's slightly sharper then 1080/50i.

Paul.

If you go a few posts up,on this thread,one of my pics of the houses is 1080/25p,i feel that it's slightly sharper then 1080/50i.

Paul.

hmm...I wonder if it really does make a difference to switch formats. If anyone has any facts and figures please do tell.

On a few of my old/original EX clips before backfocus was fixed and before i noticed,i've noticed,after looking at them in the last few days that the 720/50p stills were even more out of focus.
I'm sticking with 1080/50i from now on,it's good for all round shooting,unless the 25p film look is needed or asked for,in which case i'll shoot 1080/25p.
Or obviously 720 for slo-mo or fast-mo.

Paul.

What about from a distance though ? Can you focus on something far away then zoom out,then post a screengrab of that.

http://www.mdma.tv/ex1/fb2.html - same again, roll over to switch.

This one was at 1080i SQ whilst I was testing the Z1 and EX1 side by side. Note these are square pixel images so it looks squashed, which it isn't. This is what's being recorded.

That's the last time I'm using 1080i50 at SQ!

Distance is about 15 meters to the office then it's to infinity and beyond.

As I did Flange Back adjustments on Sunday, I didn't think there'd be much to show, but there is a little more 'oomph' in the detail.

BTW, didn't use a chart this time. just used the edges of the office door.

PS: FWIW, the Z1 images looked coarse by comparison, thereby cheering me up no end.

hmm...I wonder if it really does make a difference to switch formats. If anyone has any facts and figures please do tell.

Interlaced is a funny Frankenstein format for HD. It was a brilliant cheat for sluggish phosphors on CRT screens over half a century ago. There is no such thing as an interlaced LCD or Plasma. What you're getting for the extra motion costs you a 25% reduction in resolution at best - worst case, a halving of resolution as the display reconstitutes the video to its own needs.

The very reason for going with the EX was that I've had it with interlacing and tape. Progressive from beginning to end from now on. 720p50 looks to be a stunning web/data format for the next few years. It will be 1080p50 in the future, so my long term EX1 footage will be 1080p25.

But no interlacing.

[url]720p50 looks to be a stunning web/data format for the next few years. It will be 1080p50 in the future, so my long term EX1 footage will be 1080p25.

But no interlacing.

I completely agree!

I used this test chart setup yesterday to do the flange back routine. Positioned the camera 10 feet away from the wall, zoomed in 14x and then let 'r rip. The result was an improvement for ND Clear setting. ND1 and 2 are better but not as good as I'd like to see. The camera is still going to Sony next week to fix other issues but I'll still get them to look at the back focus thing at the same time.

Serial# 0100569
FW - v.1.02_0337

Camera showed up in the middle of December.

- Don

Don,which order did you perform the test,ie did you do ND off then ND1 then ND 2 ? Because if you did then ND 2 should've been the best IF the cam only remembers the last adjustment !!
Can you post some screen grabs ?

Paul.

I will later. But I don't have any before pics. Just after the fact. I started the routine using ND2 and worked my way back to ND Clear.

- Don

Don,which order did you perform the test,ie did you do ND off then ND1 then ND 2 ? Because if you did then ND 2 should've been the best IF the cam only remembers the last adjustment !!
Can you post some screen grabs ?

Paul.


Paul,
There's been no real documented proof how the EX1 sets its ND settings.
It may only use one calibration setting, or it may use individual, or maybe two (with ND, or without).

I realize you may of been told one setting from a Sony service tech, but I would not believe that until we see some sort of documented proof.

There have been several reports from some who stated ND off is sharp and ND 1, or 2 are soft. But, after they tried it using what Gerald suggested, all three settings were good.

Also, like you mentioned, Adam Wilt originally reported it appears to save the last calibration. But, Adam is now reporting all three ND settings are now good.

Since there ARE cameras that do not have BF problem regardless on ND setting, I own one, I believe there is a correct calibration procedure.
I realize this latest procedure has not worked for all, but it sure has for some.

I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm hoping Sony will help us understand this issue. I realize that this adjustment is normally done in house, but just to relieve this large burden, Sony should release customer field notes offering the correct Back Focus adjustment direct from Sony Japan. Sony Japan could provide this information with a disclaimer to perform this adjustment at you own risk.