My Z150 just died

[Paul Anderegg]

I think this is a made in China problem, the Chinese must still be a bit angry at the Japanese from WWII and their revenge is to sabotage the stuff they build for Sony. :-)

Paul

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

It's not a Z150 issue, it is a Sony BRAND issue...........

I have had weird issues with the electronics on my rx10 and nex-ea50, never have been able to resolve it through my warranty as the problems went and came and each time I wanted to send the camera in it was working fine. :) My ax100 works fine though until now (knock on wood)

[Wacharapong Chiowanich]

I'm sure cost considerations must have been one of the main priorities for Sony in the design and manufacturing of this camcorder class (handled, AF, with 3 ring control with either pure servo or hybrid zoom mechanism) over the past 6-7 years as the cheaper alternative mirrorlesses and DSLRs were gaining ground. The last Sony camcorder and camcorder with this form factor I used was the EX1R which despite relatively trouble-free in the lens (BF problems a few times but could be reset without being sent in for repair) was clearly a step or two in terms of reliability below my FX1, VX2100, and all my compact Sony consumer camcorders.

The problems especially with the lens seem to have been more frequent and serious in the later generations so much so that the distributor in my market has now practically given up on this 4-5 pound fixed lens class and focused on selling the mirrorless lines, the FS lines and then jumping up to the broadcast shoulder mounted class of cameras.

[Ron Evans]

In my case the repaired units worked just fine. So the issue was the initial manufactured units in all three cases for me. Too coincidental to be anything other than quality control.

Ron Evans

[John Nantz]

Originally Posted by Jeff Anselmo

Sorry to hear that Paul. How long did you have the Z150 for?

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

I received my Z150 on 4/20...hehe, 420.....anyway, …..l

That was a good one! Got a real chuckle out of it.

Let’s face it, though, you probably pot, …. er, put, a lot of miles on your cams. So, just wondering, what about any correlation between cam hours and, uh, shall we say, lens problems?

For what it’s worth, both the consumer cams AX100 and the AX53 lenses are Zeiss if that makes any difference.

[Dan Gunn]

Re. "For what it’s worth, both the consumer cams AX100 and the AX53 lenses are Zeiss if that makes any difference."

As is the X70.

[Paul Anderegg]

I am not sure what the difference between the Zeiss and Sony G lens is.......Sony seems to push both as their premium options.....G to me reminds me of a Ford Taurus G sedan.......the base model no frills low end junk.

Paul

[John Nantz]

Sony does have different lens lines so I’m sure the consumer models don’t have the same lens specs as the pro models.

One thing I cannot stand is to pay good hard-earned money for something that is supposed to do what is advertised and then, even when well taken care of, it doesn’t hold up. Adding insult to injury is when the cheaper model doesn’t have so many problems.

Several months ago there were a number of manufacturers reps at Glazer’s Camera in Seattle and the Zeiss rep had some of their lenses on display including some that were cut in half in order to show the inner workings. If you’ve ever worked in a machine shop you can only wonder in awe at how close the tolerances must be and how complicated the mechanical lens workings must be. Just one little piece of grit could gum up, or throw a monkey wrench into, the whole works. Adding more complexity, of course, is the electronics and servo mechanisms.

With regard to Paul’s Ford Taurus example, though, just consider this, because there’s no frills there is less to break down! Well, …. at any rate, that should be the case.

And with that thought in mind, the Audi we used to have (same model that Princess Diana had although her’s was blue) was generally considered well built but when something did go awry it usually wasn’t a simple fix. Geez, just something simple like the power window switch cost a pretty penny to replace. The electrical manual was thicker than the mechanical manual. Speaking of which, it even had a warning indicator if your taillight bulb didn’t work, how neat is that? Unfortunately, even though it was a beautiful car, the electrical system, maybe akin to some lenses on camcorders, the Audi’s electrical system wasn’t it’s strongest suit.

Now if I could just find a simple and inexpensive 1936 Ford V8 convertible ….

Edit: P.S.
Paul - that has to be really, really frustrating as the cam is needed to make a living. It’s a good thing you still have the X70 to use as a backup.

As an after thought, just wondering, given all the close tolerances in the lens, maybe the lubricant they’re using is too viscus and that causes the servo mechanism to work harder. Way back in the days of 35mm (film) for the Leica cameras that went to Antarctica it was recommended to use a different lubricant (not a consumer job) so they would work in the colder temperatures while the Yashica SLR I had (this was a few years ago) worked fine.

[Mark Watson]

John,

Thanks for mentioning Glazer's Camera. I was not aware of any pro video stores in the Seattle area. I was just up there for a week and had I known of that store I'd have dropped in to get the FDR-AX53, the next toy on my shopping list, along with a Canon 24mm f/1.4 for astral photography. I am frequently on travel much of the year and don't like to mail order anything since it will then be forwarded here and there, chasing me around the Pacific rim. Do you know of any others in the area?

I bought a house up there on Whidbey Island a couple years ago and hope to be living there by 2018. I've been over here in Japan since 2005, going out on aircraft carriers with the US Navy every year and as great as this job is, I guess I'm getting a little burned out. Would be great to know of any good video/photo shops up that way for when I change careers.

Okay, back to the topic...

Mark

[John Nantz]

Mark - In Japan since 2005? Wow! Talk about a culture shock when you get back to conus again! The first part is for spending so much time in the far east and the second shock part is for going back to civilian life. Of course, the service has really changed since I was in so hopefully it won’t be quite so bad in that regard, It was really top-down management back then.

As for a “pro video store” in the Seattle area, or “good video/photo shops”, I’d say that Glazer’s is a good place for photo but for video, well …. that department is much smaller than the photo one. My impression is they seem to prefer Canon but with Sony and Panasonic the selection is more limited. They also have GoPro and the Sony equivalent, sliders, and other video accessories. On the photo side of the house they have a very good selection of all kinds of used equipment available. For the photographer they have a lot, for video, the selection is less extensive. They have a helpful and knowledgeable sales staff in both photo and video.

There are a few other stores that do video in the area but I haven’t been to any of them as the traffic is terrible and my time is very limited. Bellingham near Whidby may have something too. Somewhat outside our area is Professional Video in Portland (advertiser at bottom of page). Never been there and the traffic up and down Interstate 5 is terrible too and then one gets to Portland where the traffic is as bad as Seattle.

In any event, I’d recommend calling ahead to find out if they have what you’re looking for in stock. Going the Internet route would not be good if there is an “issue” due to resolution problems.

The AX53 is a very handy cam.

[Mark Watson]

John,

Nah, I'm a civilian contractor now. Did my time in the Corps long ago. Funny thing is I only spent about 10 days aboard ship in my 20 years of active duty. Now I've spent over 5 years aboard ship. But I gotta say, it's a heck of a lot better as a civilian.

I'm familiar with I-5 traffic and since I grew up in Marysville, I remember the good ole' days before all the Californian's started moving up there. I used to like going downtown Seattle for a walkabout, but nowadays there're so many bums laying around and the place is just getting a ghetto feel to it. The cops are lame, either they stand there and watch or they over-react.

Okay, so for pro video, like say a FS7 or XF305 I would need to go north or south a ways. No problem, got family in northern Oregon. Oregon - the state with weird laws, like you can't pump your own gas, but you can ride a bike or take a walk along I-5.

Not much happening on Whidbey Island, so not sure if I'll try to go pro with the video stuff or find another line of work, but I plan to be semi-retired either way. The property I bought up there includes a 2,000 sq.ft. shop with 16ft ceiling, so I can see some serious green screen work or making lots of sawdust in there.

Mark

[John Nantz]

Mark,

Originally Posted by Mark Watson

Okay, so for pro video, like say a FS7 or XF305 I would need to go north or south a ways.

Just checked Glazer’s web site Sony FDR-AX53 4K Ultra HD Camcorder and they have the AX53 in stock.

There has been some redevelopment in the south Lake Union area and their main store was renovated. Since then they have a lot more square footage and I would assume more inventory, at least it is more spread out now. The store is split with one part on one side of the street and the other part on the other side of the street so make sure you check out both places. An unusual feature for Seattle is they have a small amount of free customer parking on site.

Edit:
And now, ladies and gentlemen, we break from this infomercial and take you back to latest BREAKING NEWS (he, he) as it happens from our field reporter Paul Anderegg and his continuing coverage of the Sony Lensgate.

[Roland Schulz]

Ahh, I had several AX33/53 here and ALL had backfocus errors from time to time. My X70 seems not to have this issue, but "in this moment" I found that my "new" PZ 18-105 4.0 for my a6300 has a strong backfocus error :-(!

[Paul Anderegg]

Update on my problem........when I went to record the issue to send the camera in for repair, I could not get it to do it again. I put the camera back into service, and the issue crops up once or twice a week randomly. Since it is warrantied parts and labor for a year, i will just run it till it does it enough to ensure they can replicate at the Sony Service depot.

As for backfocus issues, the last two cameras I had to return for refund where an X180 and X200, and both of those suffered issues related to the backfocus. I guess that is what we get for demanding these silly parafocal lenses. :-)

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I was set up to make a new custom PP for my Z150, when the dreaded "Sony back-focus" issue began, and would not go away...so I rolled a clip of it for your viewing pleasure. It is loud. It is annoying. It is happening on a new camera under warranty. Ugh...

YouTube (Short URL)