cant tell by the clip. Your're zooming all the way out. You have to make sure your cam is in full manual. Zoom in, focus, zoom out about 25%. a good marker is to see as you are zooming out is that your iris should automatically go to 1.8. If it stays at 2.0 when zooming out then make sure you are fully open to 1.6 at wide before you zoom in.

Go to the camera menu then to the display menu then to Zoom display and change the setting from bar to number. Now your zoom will say 99 if you are zoomed all the way in, so now when you zoom out and your iris limit changes to 1.8 your zoom should be around Z75-80 which is at the 75-80% zoomed in position.

Bruce,

I was thinking about this last night. It seems to me that one of the elements in your lens might be out of alignment, maybe because of mishandling during shipment. No reason why the body would exhibit this problem and the scenario you described, this seems to be a likely explanation. Also, it doesn't seem that anybody else seems to be having this problem. Re-reading your post with the garage grab reinforces this.

To be honest, all of the footage you posted looks soft to me, not the case with other z7u footage I've seen posted here. I'd really get a replacement unit, seems to be your only solution here.

Bruce, have you done the same test on another camera like a Z1?

I have 3 Z1u and 3 FX1 cams and have shot over 1,000 full tapes and I bet at least 40% of the footage on those tapes are 75-100% tele 1.8-2.8 and never had an image like this. One of them did have back focus issues where when you zoomed in for focus and went medium the image would go soft and you couldn't really detect it on the LCD when the light was low.

Greg it is exactly the same on the TWO Z7's I have and on every one of the ones that I have heard from people who know how to manipulate their cameras in manual. I have a sneaking suspicion that most people who have bought this camera don't move their switch off of the auto position. I have not see one person post a test image at these settings. Do you have a Z7?

It would be interesting for someone with a Z7 afflicted with this problem to swap out the lens and shoot the test again. That way, you could at least isolate the problem to the lens or the camera body.

Any of you guys know someone with a JVC HD110 or HD200? That lens should work.

I'll check with the local rental house

I am deciding between the Z7 and EX1. Yesterday, I ran both the Z7U and the EX1 through their paces for about an hour at NAB. Some observations:

I could not replicate Bruce's left side blur on the stock lens of the Z7U demo unit at open aperatures. (the sony demo lens may be a different than the production lens?). My biggest frustration is that when snapping the lens ring from auto-focus to manual focus- you loose focus. The auto focus did leave much to be desired as I pointed the cam away from the well lit model display and trained the camera on attendees in the dark exhibition room. Some of the new zoom and prime lenses soon to be released for the Z7U look like very attractive, but perhaps expensive alternatives to the problematic stock lens.

The EX1 was lighter than I had expected, and in my opinion very useable for handheld work. The picture head to head in the Sony HD monitors in the demo booth confirms initial tests done by David Perry and others that the EX1 picture is a noticeable improvement on the Z7U. Is it worth $2-3,000 more by the time you're done? Yes, if it is within your budget. EX1 auto focus was outstanding, although the manual overide in the auto mode was a bit awkward. I didn't like having to search for a button below the lens barrel to get back to auto. The introduction of the new Sony PHU-60K 60GB HD (over 200 minutes at 25MB/s) in July as an alternative to expensive cards may tip the scale for me in favor of the EX1. Now to figure out archiving:)

Mike Jensen
Jensen Wedding Films
www.jensenvideo.com

Hi!
Look at those nice stills from my Z7!

www.keil.fr/Z7/

I bought my Z7 3 weeks ago.
After a few shots I observed a back focus issue.
I tried to adjust it all the possible ways, manualy, automaticaly, from 3 to 10 feet... without being able to adjust it, even if the camera considered the procedure as "completed".
I sent my camera back to for repair via the PrimeSupport.
The Z7 came back yesterday, nothing has been done on it!
I use the camera professionally and I can't work no more with it.
What to do now? Calling a lawyer?

Greg it is exactly the same on the TWO Z7's I have and on every one of the ones that I have heard from people who know how to manipulate their cameras in manual. I have a sneaking suspicion that most people who have bought this camera dont move their switch off of the auto position. I have not see one person post a test image at these settings. Do you have a Z7?


I have tried to recreate the problem multiple times with no such luck. Or perhaps better put, with luck... Your suspicion that "most people who have bought this camera dont (sic) move their switch off of the auto position" is insulting.

I see some blur with your test picture posts but in my opinion they are not very good or controlled tests (and every other test image posted seems to be inconclusive at best).

I am not saying that you are wrong about this issue but I do not have much confidence in your ability to analyze the problem. I will have to defer to other's for their experience before I make judgment on the camera. So far I have only seem some anecdotal evidence.

kdbf

I am deciding between the Z7 and EX1. Yesterday, I ran both the Z7U and the EX1 through their paces for about an hour at NAB. Some observations:

I could not replicate Bruce's left side blur on the stock lens of the Z7U demo unit at open aperatures. (the sony demo lens may be a different than the production lens?). My biggest frustration is that when snapping the lens ring from auto-focus to manual focus- you loose focus. The auto focus did leave much to be desired as I pointed the cam away from the well lit model display and trained the camera on attendees in the dark exhibition room. Some of the new zoom and prime lenses soon to be released for the Z7U look like very attractive, but perhaps expensive alternatives to the problematic stock lens.

The EX1 was lighter than I had expected, and in my opinion very useable for handheld work. The picture head to head in the Sony HD monitors in the demo booth confirms initial tests done by David Perry and others that the EX1 picture is a noticeable improvement on the Z7U. Is it worth $2-3,000 more by the time you're done? Yes, if it is within your budget. EX1 auto focus was outstanding, although the manual overide in the auto mode was a bit awkward. I didn't like having to search for a button below the lens barrel to get back to auto. The introduction of the new Sony PHU-60K 60GB HD (over 200 minutes at 25MB/s) in July as an alternative to expensive cards may tip the scale for me in favor of the EX1. Now to figure out archiving:)

Mike Jensen
Jensen Wedding Films
www.jensenvideo.com


Mike were you at 1.8-2.0 60-80% tele viewing on a full rez monitor? Even with peaking on it is very hard to notice if at all in the LCD

It would be interesting for someone with a Z7 afflicted with this problem to swap out the lens and shoot the test again. That way, you could at least isolate the problem to the lens or the camera body.

Any of you guys know someone with a JVC HD110 or HD200? That lens should work.

I went down to the rental house and met the service technician. We put a Fujinon off of a JVC HD250 on the Z7. Did the backfocus adjustment on the lens body and then did the same settings and saw a consistent frame, so basic troubleshooting skills would say that the lens is the cuprit.

He said he felt it was definitely a lens defect even before we did the test because he says he could see a curvature in the blur.

Well, that would seem to narrow the problem down, anyway. I know the Z7 and the S70 share the same basic lens, but with a different mount. I wonder if anyone with the shoulder-mount camera is reporting the same problem?

Like I said... the conversation is over. I will defer to others that have technical knowledge of optics.

Hey folks, keep your attitudes in check when posting to this site. I've already made some edits to this thread and am thinking about closing it. Remember this is a community of professionals, and nothing less than professional business-level communication is expected from everyone here.

Thread stays open for now... please keep it courteous, polite and amiable.

When testing my two HVR-Z7U's I do see a general softness to the image (manual focus) when pulling out after focusing in tele for max sharpness. This isn't normal. In fact, when doing a similar test with the Sony (first gen) HDR-HC1 handycam I get MUCH better focus -- which stays this way throughout the zoom from tele to wide.

Something is wrong here. I would only hope that Juan (Sony) will soon follow through with some additional info. I wrote to him about a week ago with this issue, but haven't heard back.

This problem has been an issue for other recent Sony cameras . . . and these issues NEED to be addressed. Although these aren't $100, 00.00 broadcast cameras -- they are still high end. And any camera with a lens (or design) issue needs quick attention.

If someone from Sony can CONFIRM that there is a problem . . . then they need to fix or replace ASAP. I wish Juan would get back to us to let us know what the scopes at any good Sony service suggest when checking camera / lens focus. It isn’t brain surgery to check a cameras lens system to find that it is or isn’t performing. Sadly we keep waiting for this to be checked.

I have asked folks at Sony Service in Canada to check this forum. Let's hope there are answers soon.

Ian

If someone from Sony can CONFIRM that there is a problem . . . then they need to fix or replace ASAP. I wish Juan would get back to us to let us know what the scopes at any good Sony service suggest when checking camera / lens focus. It isn’t brain surgery to check a cameras lens system to find that it is or isn’t performing. Sadly we keep waiting for this to be checked.

I have asked folks at Sony Service in Canada to check this forum. Let's hope there are answers soon.

Ian

Someone form Sony called me several times on Fri & Sat. They were at NAB and I am sure they are busy at the booth. Seems like they might be on top of it, but my last conversation with im i told him that a few people on several forums were chiming in that they had the same or similar issues and he said thanks for making them aware of it, but this is the 2nd business day they have had to look at it and call and they haven't so maybe they didn't like the fact that I am searching the forums for confirmations or maybe they're just busy at NAB and don't care about my shoots this weekend that I could shoot with FX1/Z! or even the HC7 cams I have and get a sharper pic than the 2 cams I paid 12grr for :-)

Don't get me wrong, other than this and the CF m2t corrupt files issue, which are MAJOR I do love these cams.

I'm sitting on a brand new Z7 right now and I can replicate the problem, although it doesn't seem to be quite as soft as what Bruce has provided.

I have two choices ... number one, I keep the camera and live with the results.

The second is to return the camera ... but if I do that ... then what? I've already promised my PD-150 to a church ... they put the funds together and there's no way I'm going to tell them, "Sorry ... changed my mind."

I don't want a Z1 and have no interest in Canon.

I really like this camera and the features it offers. It would be great if Sony owned up to the problem and fixed the problem. I don't know if that means sending in a lens to be re-calibrated ... much the same you would a lens for an SLR ... or some other remedy ... like a great deal on a trade-in for a 17x lens. :-)

I need to try and shoot a little more "real life" situations over the next week, but I have to watch just how much in case I were inclined to send it back.

Is anyone near Jacksonville Florida? I will come test your lens for you.

When testing my two HVR-Z7U's I do see a general softness to the image (manual focus) when pulling out after focusing in tele for max sharpness. This isn't normal. In fact, when doing a similar test with the Sony (first gen) HDR-HC1 handycam I get MUCH better focus -- which stays this way throughout the zoom from tele to wide.

Ian

Please check my Z7 stills, is it the same issue?

WWw.keil.fr/Z7

Please check my Z7 stills, is it the same issue?

WWw.keil.fr/Z7

Arnaud,

All your shots look nice and sharp to my eyes. Good shots with nice textures for the most part. I don't see an issue based on the stills you've posted. If there is group of users that have an issue such as mentioned by Bruce, it's likely a bad manufacturing run or do to damage during shipment or such (As Chris Hurd mentioned). Since Bruce concluded that the lens is the issue, and since lenses are physical devices, then it's likely a damaged or improperly manufactured lens. I've never heard of a lens give such an issue as Ian alluded to earlier.

Arnaud,

All your shots look nice and sharp to my eyes. Good shots with nice textures for the most part. I don't see an issue based on the stills you've posted. If there is group of users that have an issue such as mentioned by Bruce, it's likely a bad manufacturing run or do to damage during shipment or such (As Chris Hurd mentioned). Since Bruce concluded that the lens is the issue, and since lenses are physical devices, then it's likely a damaged or improperly manufactured lens. I've never heard of a lens give such an issue as Ian alluded to earlier.

Greg you just saved me a lot of writing... I completely agree with your assessment of both Arnaud's shots and the lens issue.

kdbf

I'm back again!

So, here's the story....

The camera records great footage, but the current issue is a concern. I've seen it on all of my cameras and I have four of them.

Zoom in on objects that have a similar focal distance with regards to where they are....makes sense....focus on the center object at full telephoto and zoom out. The left-most area will appear blurred. Zoom back in and pan to any of these objects and they are in focus.

The concept is simple and if you don't understand, think of it this way - if you film a wedding and zoom into a bride/groom in the center aisle, then zoom out, the left side will be out of focus whereas the center and right will be in focus. But, if you zoom back in, the focus is intact. That's a serious problem.

Here's a link for the non-believers or whatever....

http://rapidshare.com/files/108111585/test002.wmv.html - I am not leaving this link up for too long.
http://www.vimeo.com/908039

It's 89 seconds long. Can't be more obvious. Consistent on ALL cameras.

Here's the story....

The camera records great footage, but the current issue is a concern. I've seen it on all of my cameras and I have four of them.

Zoom in on objects that have a similar focal distance with regards to where they are....makes sense....focus on the center object at full telephoto and zoom out. The leftmost area will appear blurred. Zoom back in and pan to any of these objects and they are in focus.

Here's a link for the non-believers or whatever....

http://www.therealmav.com/sony/test002.wmv - I am not leaving this link up for too long.

It's 89 seconds long. Can't be more obvious. Consistent on ALL cameras.

I would also say that even the focus subject goes soft, which is a backfocus problem and then add on the left side blur vignette and it makes it a terrible problem. This is an HD camera. If I wanted blurry footage like this on my monitor on my HDTV I'd shoot it with an XL1S, a nice SD widescreen cam.

Thanks so much Marshall for posting the video. This is an excellent example of what we're seeing.

I think our objective at this point is getting Sony to comment. How can anyone say this is a) normal or b) acceptable? Also, to my eye even the most focused areas in wide are out of focus. It's just worse on the L. side of frame.

I will contact Sony of Canada to have my contacts there have a look. If others can have Sony US, etc. look then maybe they will comment and offer explanation and solution.

I agree the camera is great . . . but it isn't in its current state.

Thanks again for posting.

Ian

I followed the instructions given within this thread...ran a test...here it is.

http://www.vimeo.com/907763

What do you see?

I followed the instructions given within this thread...ran a test...here it is.

http://www.vimeo.com/907763

What do you see?
It says it's protected.

Just tried viewing clip - says it's protected. I even registered with this thing and still can't view it.

Just tried viewing clip - says it's protected. I even registered with this thing and still can't view it.

oops..fixed it. sorry.

Maybe a little soft, but it's hard to see.

Has anyone done a test with three people? LOL I've been squinting at the computer so danged long that my eyes are shot and nothing looks in focus anymore. ;-)

(Actually I did see Bruce's trees.)

I'll be doing this on Saturday with several people.

I've secured 18 people that I am going to have line up and run through the whole thing, yet again.

I've also emailed Sony, and others, about this nonsense.

Yes, I concur, I am having the same problem. After seeing Marshall's video, I also remember noticing this issue on a wedding I recently shot. I saw it during editing. It was on a medium shot of the wedding eremony. The left side (where Maid of Honor was standing) was a bit softer than either the center (Bridal couple) or the right side (Best Man). I didn't notice it anywhere else in my footage so I forgot about it, till I started reading all these comments. It's not horrible, but it's definitely a problem. I don't have time to post a sample right now, perhaps by this weekend. I will do more testing now, on both of my cameras. Thanks for bringing this issue to everyone's attention.

Arnaud,

All your shots look nice and sharp to my eyes. Good shots with nice textures for the most part. I don't see an issue based on the stills you've posted. If there is group of users that have an issue such as mentioned by Bruce, it's likely a bad manufacturing run or do to damage during shipment or such (As Chris Hurd mentioned). Since Bruce concluded that the lens is the issue, and since lenses are physical devices, then it's likely a damaged or improperly manufactured lens. I've never heard of a lens give such an issue as Ian alluded to earlier.

@ Greg & Keith
The issue on my lens is maybe not the same than Bruce's, but it's an issue, indeed.
Don't you see that the focus is going to the background when zooming out.
I've observed that it occurs between 15mm and 10mm focals.
According to the stills made with the Z7, I do not see the sharpness on the center subjects on the wide shots.
Please someone tell me that I'm not alone to see that back focus issue. ;)

@ Greg & Keith
The issue on my lens is maybe not the same than Bruce's, but it's an issue, indeed.
Don't you see that the focus is going to the background when zooming out.
I've observed that it occurs between 15mm and 10mm focals.
According to the stills made with the Z7, I do not see the sharpness on the center subjects on the wide shots.
Please someone tell me that I'm not alone to see that back focus issue. ;)

Yes, I do see that now that I understand the context of the pictures you posted. But that might be a different issue altogether (though they are both back focus problems). In my tests with my camera, I don't have these problems. It does sound like there is a quality control issue with the lenses.

Keith

I'm wondering if there is a correlation with the serial numbers and the back focus issue? It does seem that there are quite a few people with the problem, but then there are others saying that they don't have the issues so apparently it is not present across the board. I really want to buy this camera but I'm just afraid.

1 > If you are having focusing issues pertaining to the manual focus as I had written about in the previous post, YOU MUST LET ME KNOW ASAP. If you are having this problem, reply with information on what setup you used and/or samples. If not, post as well.

2 > Bruce and I are overnighting our cameras to Sony and they are having a tech from Japan fly in to examine these issues.

3 > I will update everyone as applicable but probably not until the middle of next week.

PLEASE ONLY POST IF YOU ARE AN OWNER OF THIS CAMERA AND HAVE RESULTS REGARDING THE ISSUE AT HAND. I NEED TO CREATE A LIST OF WHO HAS THE PROBLEM AND WHO DOES NOT AS PER SONY'S REQUEST. IF THIS DOES NOT GET DONE IT WILL NOT GET RECTIFIED.

====== Info regarding issue:::

Zoom in on objects that have a similar focal distance with regards to where they are....makes sense....focus on the center object at full telephoto and zoom out. The left-most area will appear blurred. Zoom back in and pan to any of these objects and they are in focus. The concept is simple and if you don't understand, think of it this way - if you film a wedding and zoom into a bride/groom in the center aisle, the zoom out, the left side will be out of focus whereas the center and right will be in focus. But, if you zoom back in, the focus is intact. That's a serious problem.

Here's a link for the non-believers or whatever....

http://rapidshare.com/files/108111585/test002.wmv.html - I am not leaving this link up for too long.
http://www.vimeo.com/908039
It's 89 seconds long. Can't be more obvious. Consistent on ALL cameras. (ref:glimmer)

Dont forget you have to open your iris all the way to 1.8-2.0 when you are at telephoto 75-80%. If you get way overexposed just turn your ND filters on an if that is not enough then start raising your shutter speed. If you have plenty of light your auto controls will never reach these settings. If you hav elow light like a reception then your camera will get to these settings, which is why it is important to resolve these issues because low light footage is tough enough to deal with blurring it makes it look crappier. For any film look folk this is critical because this is where you live in your camera when generating shallow DOF (ref:bruceo)


======



Call / PM / email / Post with questions.


mll

Hi
I just joined. What a great forum.

I have a Z7; I'm from the UK so it's a Z7E. I had exactly the problem you're talking about.

When I got the camera it seemed fine... I took the lens off and fitted an adapter (Les Bosher) for my Nikon lenses, had a play, then replaced the Zeiss and did some test shooting. I got the 'blur problem' and pretty much freaked out. (What have I bought!?) It's not a slight degradation... it's immediately obvious on a larger screen. (Left side blur and general lack of sharpness.) I did some tests at different apertures, and did reference shots with my matching length Nikons. The aperture made little difference to the effect, in my judgment.

The point is, after taking the zoom off and putting it back on, the problem went away. Indeed, I've tried to replicate it (using the method outlined here) and I can't. My Zeiss lens is now sharp edge to edge.

I'm no expert, but I feel there may be a way to fix this lens to the body that means it looks and feels right, but it's a bit skewed. That would match the problems of side focus. I've looked and can't see how that could happen...

There is a problem here that needs some attention from Sony. Thanks for raising this. However, it might be worth having a try with removing and replacing the lens. I know that I need to fiddle it into position with a final fraction of an inch at the end. (Not trying to teach anyone how to fix a lens, just suggesting something...)

PS. I won't post my shots as they are just the same as the others here. I've got test frames showing a comparison of the Zeiss against my matching length Nikon. I'll put that in another thread to keep this clear. (BTW the Zeiss wins!)


www.henrypeplow.com
http://web.mac.com/hpeplow

berkshireav.com/test.wmv

Here's just a short quick test. Aperture full open. Focused and then zoomed out to 80%.

kdbf

berkshireav.com/test.wmv

Here's just a short quick test. Aperture full open. Focused and then zoomed out to 80%.

kdbf


You need to zoom in and properly manual focus and then zoom out, so the initial focal point is consistent. What you showed really doesn't illustrate the issue......

You need to zoom in and properly manual focus and then zoom out, so the initial focal point is consistent. What you showed really doesn't illustrate the issue......

I zoomed in and focused before the beginning of the clip. Everything was manual. The reason you don't see the issue is because it does not happen with my lens.

I zoomed in and focused before the beginning of the clip. Everything was manual. The reason you don't see the issue is because it does not happen with my lens.

Perhaps, but for the purpose of finding out if your camera is affected or not, you need to have a more controlled setup.

If you're going to focus on your vehicle as you did in the sample clip, use a tripod to get a more solid shot, zoom in and focus, having the iris yield a 2.0 F-stop...zoom out, and check focus. Try to get enough immediate objects on the same focal plane. If you're using the car mfg. emblem, there's not too much for the sake of this test to determine the results by, based on the car curviture and red brake lights.

The only thing I would add is that if someone has no issues with their lens ... great for them. But I'm assuming that at this point with cameras being sent in it's more important for those of us who actually DO have a problem to make it known ... and mine most certainly does.

The only thing I would add is that if someone has no issues with their lens ... great for them. But I'm assuming that at this point with cameras being sent in it's more important for those of us who actually DO have a problem to make it known ... and mine most certainly does.


True....we've been trying to figure out, at least for now, if it's based on certain runs, batches, resellers, or whatever else, but it's very sporadic at this point for both the Z7U and Z7E as well as place of and time of purchase. I'll know more Wed/Thurs of next week. As of this particular post, I've got about 25 with the problem and two without...I question the two without.

I've been working with Dominic at Sony in New Jersery since the 2nd week in march, I got one of the 1st cameras and my friend got 2 and we both have trouble with CF card glitzes and auto focus, SN on my camera 100110 his was close to this, Sony asked me to send my camera in so I did--here's my post --Marshall keep up the good work and maybe we can get this fixed
Sony finally had me send them my Z7U

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After posting video from my CF card for Sony to see and also sending m2t clips to Dominic he had me ship my camera to him on thursday. They tried with their cameras to duplicate my CF card promblem---on short clips digital glitzes in the last of a clip or the 1st of a clip -- but theirs worked fine, which is a good thing, at least I know recording short clips does work-- and also the auto focus promblem. I went outside and recorded a lot of short clips--35of which 23 were bad ones, and also I recorded the auto focus promblem all on the CF card and sent camera, CF unit to them to test. When I find something out I will post it on this forum.

I'm back again!

So, here's the story....

The camera records great footage, but the current issue is a concern. I've seen it on all of my cameras and I have four of them.

Zoom in on objects that have a similar focal distance with regards to where they are....makes sense....focus on the center object at full telephoto and zoom out. The left-most area will appear blurred. Zoom back in and pan to any of these objects and they are in focus.

The concept is simple and if you don't understand, think of it this way - if you film a wedding and zoom into a bride/groom in the center aisle, then zoom out, the left side will be out of focus whereas the center and right will be in focus. But, if you zoom back in, the focus is intact. That's a serious problem.

Here's a link for the non-believers or whatever....

http://rapidshare.com/files/108111585/test002.wmv.html - I am not leaving this link up for too long.
http://www.vimeo.com/908039

It's 89 seconds long. Can't be more obvious. Consistent on ALL cameras.

April 19th and I can't see footage from either of these links. The Vimeo is protected and the rapidshare won't let me enter all the digits to the access codes.

try the vimeo link again. by default they're protected....

What if I hosted the video. Then we won't have these access problems. Marshall, I'm sending you an email with our FTP upload account info now. The address I have for you is at comcast dot net. If that's not the right one then please contact me, chris at dvinfo dot net.

1. Download the file www.dvinfo.net/media/sony/test002.wmx

2. Re-name the file extension from .wmx to .wmv

3. Open locally with any .wmv-capable media player.

New test:

First, I wonder how well the Z7U does its back flange set up. I've tried to get good focus AFTER repeatedly doing the back flange setup - both manually and in auto. What is the best way to do the black flange setup?

The problem I'm finding is the camera (I have two of them) can't hold the focus from telephoto to wide without going soft. Even though the cam has back focus adjustment -- it still seems to have back focus problems.

Once I finish testing, I will throw some pics up if they prove to be conclusive. But what I'm finding is that if I focus on a small object (approx. 8 ft. from camera) and use expanded focus to get a really sharp image at tele, it looks quite soft when zooming out. Note: I set my camera’s distance read out to feel instead of metres.

Try this to check your Z7's: Shoot object 8' from camera. I shot with iris open at 2.0 (tele). MANUAL focus on object at telephoto and then zoom out. After going wide (either all the way or at least past half way out) change the focus in 1/2 foot increments starting at 2.5' then 3.0', 3.5' etc. Upon playback you might find that an object located 8' from camera MIGHT look better focused when the camera focus is set to 13' or 22' for example. This is what I'm finding. I've found this to be the case with the V1U camcorder -- but it was a fixed lens camera. Why is this happening with the HVR-Z7U's?

Another way to show this problem is to zoom out from tele about 1/3 to ½ way toward wide. At this point try to obtain the BEST focus you can (you might need a good monitor to do this effectively) and then zoom back to tele. If you cameras are like my two you will see that the image is soft.

Any feedback would be helpful to me and others with this issue (and Sony I hope).

Ian

Ian,

I don't own the camera, but at NAB I was doing this exact same test and finding the same issue on the demo camera there. I asked asked about it until they got an "engineer" who did a few back focus tests only to continue to have the problem. He finally took the lens off and reset it. He said the the lens had not been tightened down completely and that at times he has seen them come just a bit loose and not completely tight all the way. It never appeared to be loose to me, but this fixed the problem completely. I dont think this is related to the other lens issues, but perhaps this might be of help for yours.
Andy

Ian I have the same issue, please post stills from the memorystick to show your issue.

In my case, I sent the camera back to a Sony tech. He said all was ok.

Sony don't want to accept that issue for the moment.

Yesterday I installed a Fujinon 17x5.5 on my Z7 and all was ok after having set the real back focus ring on the Fujinon lens.

macro shifts the lens groups in lens and may interfere with proper back-focus adjustment