Image not from centre of lens

Chris Hurd · February 6th, 2003, 08:37 AM

Actually, 30 repair items for a manufacturer's factory service center is practically nothing. That's good news!

Andre De Clercq · February 6th, 2003, 09:00 AM

Off axis regitration which originates from the plan-parallelism tolerances in the flex prism used for OIS (activated or not) are in general not a problem. If hoods are generating (asymmetric) vignetting and/or one wants to use some spatial filters for "artistic" effects then you are in trouble...it's within the cam specs...because it's not specified.
I tried to get in touch with Sony on this item about 7 years ago...never got an answer. B.t.w. rubber hoods are not good for testing these effects because they too show non concentricities.

Steven Khong · February 7th, 2003, 08:47 AM

Thanks for your answer, Andre De Clercq

Yes, hoods can be out of shape... but now I'm trying with 43mm HOYA filters which YowCH just bought for me. Remember, HOYA is being quite boastful of their filter technology... how precise it is, etc. etc.

=====
Hi, YowCH!

After you left my place, I shot some more video with one, two, three 43mm filters, with and without the original MX300 lens hoods on.

My MX300 does show some off axis, vignetting more to the right by about 1mm (negligible), though it wasn't as bad as your MX350 which was definitely noticably off axis.

Like you mentioned, and I reiterate here for everyone's benefit:

MX300 with lens hood on + 2 Hoya filters (UV + ND4) = no vignetting on TV, but shows 4 dark corners when viewed on Premiere through preview window on computer monitor. The dark corners are the filters "peeping" into view - but it's neglibile, about 2 mm can be seen.

MX300 with lens hood on + 3 Hoya filters (UV + ND4 + slightly thicker Circular Polarizer) = some vignetting shows up in the corners on TV, dark corners about 4mm when viewed on Premiere through preview window on computer monitor.

MX300 WITHOUT lens hood + 2 Hoya filters (UV + ND4) = no vignetting on TV or Premiere.

MX300 WITHOUT lens hood + 3 Hoya filters (UV + ND4 + Circular Polarizer) = no vignetting on TV, about 2mm dark corners on Premiere.

Moral of story: don't use hoods if you plan to stack more than 2 filters.

Another bit of advise for YowCH: I don't know about Panasonic Singapore, but for Panasonic Malaysia, what I do is just go to the repair center, wait for my turn, explain to the person typing in the complaint into the computer a bit, then attach a piece of detailed instructions & perhaps a picture - could be on your SD / MMC card - tell them to look at it, and say "please fix this for me, let the techie read the instructions & he will know what to do..".

Then wait, wait... wait... Once they have your cam in custody, they HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT... even if it takes a LOOOONG TIME... Be prepared for seperation axiety.. :( :( BUT you have a tracking number which you can pester them about.

All the best to you!

Yow Cheong Hoe · February 7th, 2003, 07:39 PM

Great to hear that the MX300 is only very slightly off axis.

As for repairs, when I went over to Panasonic Singapore, I talked in techie terms and jargon so much that the counter girl gave up and called the tech down!

When the tech came down, I told her that I must show her something on a PC screen, so she brought me up to the repairs level. That's where I saw the number of units in need of repair.

Actually, I can pester them real bad - I live opposite their head office/showroom/repair centre, and my work place is also in the neighbourhood :)

Seems like I'm the only 350 user out here.

Jing Hong, any such problems with your 500?

Frank Granovski · February 7th, 2003, 08:02 PM

"Actually, I can pester them real bad - I live opposite their head office/showroom/repair centre, and my work place is also in the neighbourhood :)"

You are a very lucky guy! I've got to swim the Pacific to the other side/bottom side of the world to get mine serviced! The good news..., I live just 3 short blocks from the Pacific and the Pana service center for my cam is in Sydney AU---also beside the Pacific! You can't beat that!

February 6th, 2003, 08:37 AM	#16
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Actually, 30 repair items for a manufacturer's factory service center is practically nothing. That's good news! __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

February 7th, 2003, 07:39 PM	#19
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	Great to hear that the MX300 is only very slightly off axis. As for repairs, when I went over to Panasonic Singapore, I talked in techie terms and jargon so much that the counter girl gave up and called the tech down! When the tech came down, I told her that I must show her something on a PC screen, so she brought me up to the repairs level. That's where I saw the number of units in need of repair. Actually, I can pester them real bad - I live opposite their head office/showroom/repair centre, and my work place is also in the neighbourhood :) Seems like I'm the only 350 user out here. Jing Hong, any such problems with your 500? __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

February 6th, 2003, 09:00 AM	#17
Andre De Clercq Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Belgium Posts: 804	Off axis regitration which originates from the plan-parallelism tolerances in the flex prism used for OIS (activated or not) are in general not a problem. If hoods are generating (asymmetric) vignetting and/or one wants to use some spatial filters for "artistic" effects then you are in trouble...it's within the cam specs...because it's not specified. I tried to get in touch with Sony on this item about 7 years ago...never got an answer. B.t.w. rubber hoods are not good for testing these effects because they too show non concentricities.

February 7th, 2003, 08:47 AM	#18
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Thanks for your answer, Andre De Clercq Yes, hoods can be out of shape... but now I'm trying with 43mm HOYA filters which YowCH just bought for me. Remember, HOYA is being quite boastful of their filter technology... how precise it is, etc. etc. ===== Hi, YowCH! After you left my place, I shot some more video with one, two, three 43mm filters, with and without the original MX300 lens hoods on. My MX300 does show some off axis, vignetting more to the right by about 1mm (negligible), though it wasn't as bad as your MX350 which was definitely noticably off axis. Like you mentioned, and I reiterate here for everyone's benefit: MX300 with lens hood on + 2 Hoya filters (UV + ND4) = no vignetting on TV, but shows 4 dark corners when viewed on Premiere through preview window on computer monitor. The dark corners are the filters "peeping" into view - but it's neglibile, about 2 mm can be seen. MX300 with lens hood on + 3 Hoya filters (UV + ND4 + slightly thicker Circular Polarizer) = some vignetting shows up in the corners on TV, dark corners about 4mm when viewed on Premiere through preview window on computer monitor. MX300 WITHOUT lens hood + 2 Hoya filters (UV + ND4) = no vignetting on TV or Premiere. MX300 WITHOUT lens hood + 3 Hoya filters (UV + ND4 + Circular Polarizer) = no vignetting on TV, about 2mm dark corners on Premiere. Moral of story: don't use hoods if you plan to stack more than 2 filters. Another bit of advise for YowCH: I don't know about Panasonic Singapore, but for Panasonic Malaysia, what I do is just go to the repair center, wait for my turn, explain to the person typing in the complaint into the computer a bit, then attach a piece of detailed instructions & perhaps a picture - could be on your SD / MMC card - tell them to look at it, and say "please fix this for me, let the techie read the instructions & he will know what to do..". Then wait, wait... wait... Once they have your cam in custody, they HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT... even if it takes a LOOOONG TIME... Be prepared for seperation axiety.. :( :( BUT you have a tracking number which you can pester them about. All the best to you!

February 7th, 2003, 08:02 PM	#20
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	"Actually, I can pester them real bad - I live opposite their head office/showroom/repair centre, and my work place is also in the neighbourhood :)" You are a very lucky guy! I've got to swim the Pacific to the other side/bottom side of the world to get mine serviced! The good news..., I live just 3 short blocks from the Pacific and the Pana service center for my cam is in Sydney AU---also beside the Pacific! You can't beat that!