Sony DSR-390 Help!!!
 

I recently got a Sony DSR-390 and am in need of some answers. If any one out there can help me i would greatly appreciate it. I am running Sony Mini DV tapes (60 min sony dvm60 Premium)) and I am only getting 40 minutes of record time on a tape. I am also getting blow out colors when shooting in moderate light (today was overcast and 54 degrees), I tried no nd filter, and then the other two ND filters and its either to dark or too light and blow out. I am wondering if maybe I am missing a record setting or something and maybe my two problems have something to do with one another. If I am shooting inside a hunting blind the colors are rich and vibrant but when I shoot across a bean field or out through the timber it appears to get real light and washed out. Any ideas? I am using Auto White Balance, auto iris (fujinon s20x6 lens). I even tried to white balance the camera and have also set the black balance. I have read the manual ten or fifteen times and cannot see anything I missed. I am entering hunting season and would really like to either figure this camera out or sell it and get something else. God bless you if you can help me, i am at witts end!!! BTW, i am running the footage back through the s video jack into my sd tv. I tried a dvcam-30 deck and get the same results...

the Sony 300 and 500 series of cameras record in DVCam only, not DV.That's why you are only getting 40 minutes out of a 60 minute tape. To get more record time get full size tapes. They come in 124 and 184 minute.

As for color being washed out/blown out is the lens set to manual or auto iris? It maybe set to manual which could explain why the colors are blown out when in a brightly lit area. Check the switch on the top of the lens handle and make sure of where its set, auto or manual.

Don, thanks for the response... I am running it in auto and manual and get the same results.

I do notice that the iris either stays "open" or around f2/8

could the iris sensitivity be off a little?? Or maybe something wrong with the video heads?

OK if manual is giving you the same exposure as auto then I have to ask (sorry for asking such a question) are you adjusting the iris in manual to open or close as needed?

As I remember that lens has a pretty accurate and quick auto iris which might be the better way to go than manual in this case.

Can't give a specific exposure of course but when I ran DSR cameras I generally ran manual WB, only used the ND when called for, auto iris if runnin' and gunnin' but could handle manual iris and focus with my left hand while right hand handled zoom.

Try this. Take a typical scene you might shoot (something like the scene where the color was blown out) use manual WB, shutter at 1/60 and auto iris. Then set the iris switch to manual, see what the iris setting is and compare the 2 clips side by side. The auto iris may not be working and you think it is. Don't use any NDs keep it simple and see what happens.

the DSR390 is a great camera sounds like it could be a small thing with the lense.

Let me know what you get.

I find that most Sony cameras overexpose by at least half a stop when used in auto iris mode, from BetaSP/SX/DigiBeta down to the DSR3xx series. I would NEVER think of using a 390 in auto iris, nor depending on the "one touch" auto iris feature under your pinky.

Don, the auto iris is working as far as it tells me in the viewfinder anyways, it goes from open and fluctuates up and down. I have in manual tried different aperature settings and can see the light fluctuating (SP?). Also the camera does not give me a ND warning, should it? And 1/100 is as low as my shutter speed goes, wish it had 1/60th but it doesn't. I will try what you recommend tomorrow and let you know what I find out. It is so hard to judge exposure with the black and white viewfinder, I do use the zebra stipes but do not fully understand them and trust my judgement.

Turn the shutter control off and it defaults to 1/60th.

the switch on the front of the camera? then it goes into auto shutter? Thanks,

So what is the best way to truly guage your exposure? Run in manual iris the run zebra stripes? I noticed that things really vary just by adjusting the contrast and brightness of my viewfinder, so is there a specific way to handle that? I appreciate all of the help, i truly do!!!

Not auto shutter, default shutter. Unlike the palmcorder style cameras, the shoulder mount Sony's work differently: default shutter for NTSC is 1/60. If you want to change from 1/60, engage the shutter switch.

Brightness and contrast should be set up properly using the colour bar generator, specifically the grey banding area at the lower right of the bars pattern called the pluge. Do a Google search on setting up a B&W viewfinder.

And I personally set up my viewfinder so I can trust it and then use zebra at 75IRE to gauge highlights on skin tone.

Here's a good start:
Color Bars and How To Use ‘em Video University

Wow, I went to bed, woke up and found 4 news posts here. Everything Shaun said except for me I never had a problem using certain lenses on auto iris and using the "pinky button".
Personal choice but anyway, once you set the shutter to 1/60 run some tests I think you'll find a nice difference. As for the VF, I always set it as Shaun suggested but would adjust the brightness a bit brighter, I mean just a tiny touch. It was a safety precaution to me and a bit more comfortable for my eye. I also used an I-Cuff on my VF. Again, just personal comfort.
The DSR390 is still a great camera-you should be able to produce a rich looking quality image with it.

Don, I do too, JUST to see what's going on in my DEEP greys AND to give myself a bit of "visual headroom" with blown out whites. I thought that was MY little secret. Again though, this is something one should only attempt on a CRT viewfinder. Other than the inevitable fatigue of having a high contrast black and white TV 2" from your eye (who thought THAT was a good idea?!?!?), I sure miss CRT 'finders for just plain old KNOWING what my exposure was. LCDs give long runtimes but they pale in comparison to the usefulness of a good CRT 'finder.

Not to get redundant here but I want to make sure I am doing this right.. When you say set the shutter to 1/60th all i have to do is to turn the shutter switch on the front of the camera under the lens "Off"? and that will default my camera to 1/60th? Also, adjusting the zebra stripes, i just do that in the menu?

Yep.

The menu on zebra will set at what level zebra begins to appear: in IRE - 70 - 75, is highlight on caucasian skin tone, 100 is absolute white. People use zebra differently, depending on their comfort level/work flow.

The actual exposure using zebra is controlled by opening or closing the iris to ensure that the zebra pattern is appearing ONLY at the appropriate places, given your zebra setting (again, highlights on skin IF zebra is set around 70 or 75, brightest white in the scene if zebra is set to 100).

Shaun, when you say appropriate places what do you mean? Also, I hooked this bad boy up to a monitor just now, shot indoors and it was perfect - vibrant, rich and the perfect exposure, it recorded to the tape just like it looked on the monitor. The viewfinder instruction was awesome, thanks... but it is still blowing out the colors when I shoot outside. Overcast day, I tried manual white balance at 7000 degrees, iris I shot on manual and went up from the recommended iris and down and it still looks like crap, colors are not there, building about 80 yards away from me is white with a red sign and it looks soft and out of focus and slightly overexposed. I am ready to put this thing on ebay and go back to HD...

First check your backfocus. If the building is out that's the problem there. As for colors being washed out outdoors, that could be 1)the iris is opened up to much 2) the WB is whacky 3) a combination of 1&2 OR there's something in the menu that's causing that. I don't remember all that's in the menu(s) but IIRC you can set up some color and WB settings there but again it's been many years since I used a 300 series camera so I might be wrong on that.
Since you're getting the right stuff indoors on the monitor you SHOULD be getting good stuff outdoors so it really sound more like a WB thing than anything else.

We will see, i just took it to the wild outdoors, sunny outside and shot many terrain features and landscapes using all manual settings. I am going to hook her up here in a minute and if you see that there is a new classified ad in the private classified sections you know what happened... Don, not sure if I meant out of focus or just complete lack of detail from being overexposed!

OK, no new posts on the classifieds yet, looks like full manual is the way to go, just have to learn to fine focus better when I zoomed into a shooting target at 56 yards the target was not real clear, had the peaking turned up and it looked in focus but when I played it back it looked out a little bit. Maybe I am too used to the clarity and sharpness of HD and can't get it out of my head and have too high of expectations for the 390. Thanks for everyone's help!

THAT is indicative of a back focus issue. I'm hesitant to TALK anyone through the back focus procedure as it is easy to make things worse. Anyone braver than I want to explain the procedure or is there a good link on here that explains how to do it on a MANUAL lens?

There should be a section in the manual for that, I think it's called focal flange correction..
It shows how to set backfocus if I remember correctly..

not me. I have always had a hard enough time getting my own lenses backfocused correctly. Such a fine adjustment, I love tightening up the locking screw and the damn thing goes out just as you get it tight. Blah!

I did my focal flange corrections when I first got the lens, maybe I need to try it again and see if it moved. Thanks

Ok, the ABSOLUTE KEY to doing a flange focal distance correction is to ensure the iris is as wide open as absolutely possible. Use Neutral Density and/or shutter speed to get the lens WIDE open, giving you the shallowest possible depth of field. Setting FF distance with an aperture of f8 is like spitting in a rainstorm.

IMO it is something that needs to be check frequently. Those little thumb screws that are used to lock the BF in place have a habit of either coming loose or coming loose. ;-)
Especially with a lens that's a bit older sometimes the threads wear just enough to warrant check BF often, like everytime you pull the camera out to use it. Sometimes it's out just enough that you really can't see it in the VF but when you put the footage on a monitor, you go Ooops! Damn, I thought it was in focus. Been there said that!

I followed the directions in the manual to do my Focal Flange Corrections (back focus) and it told me to hold the chart 10 feet from camera so that is what I did, but now I read on video university that the chart needs to be a minimum or 75 feet from the camera, could this be part of my problem? It is too dark outside to try it now that is why I am asking instead of trying.

The difficulty is that the chart needs to be far enough away so that you can set up flange focal BUT close enough so that you can tell if the lines are in focus. I probably use my chart at between 15 & 20 feet because any further away, I just can't see the detail enough in wide angle. (My chart is the one that came with my lens so it's only letter sized - I haven't sprung for a large one yet as with my 1/3" chips in MY camera, getting it close enough, really is good enough).

That is why you need to feed the S-signal television and use that display to set back focus. I couldn't see well enough to use the viewfinder on my DSR-300 either.