Rolling Shutter: Is it less of an issue than with the V1? at DVinfo.net

Barlow Elton · September 23rd, 2007, 12:06 PM

Alister, or anyone else who's spent some time with the EX-1: Have you shot any shaky handheld stuff that might induce rolling shutter artifacts, otherwise known as "the wobbles"? Have you seen this problem at all?

Sony's promo literature claims that the new Exmor CMOS has faster readout capability, which I would presume to mean that the camera is less prone to the skews and wobbles that can be apparent in handheld footage from lower cost CMOS camcorders.

I'm not asking for absolute perfection in this area, but if it's basically the same as a V1, then that's a real concern.

Randy Thompson · September 23rd, 2007, 01:14 PM

barlow,

according to D.W. Leitner at Digital Content Producer:

"Sony’s Exmor sensors introduce a new A/D strategy too, with pixel charges sent on a column basis to built-in A/D converters, akin to CCD shift registers."

so I am assuming that it acts more like a ccd imager rather than the typical
CMOS rolling shutter imager. But, I could be wrong.

rand

Alister Chapman · September 23rd, 2007, 01:39 PM

I spoke to one of the EX engineers at IBC about this. His english wasn't great but from what I could gather there will be some skew artifacts. He said that the Exmore chips have a very fast readout and that any skew would be minimal, but as with all CMOS sensors the chip is read line by line.

I shot some footage out of the window of a moving train. When played back I certainly didn't notice anything odd. We were passing trees and telephone poles and I can't say that I saw any skewing of the poles. I have watched this footage over and over editing it for various demo reels and I have not seen anything obvious. There are whip pans and fast zooms and it all looks OK to me. When I get a moment I will pull some frame grabs from the moving train shots.

Barlow Elton · September 23rd, 2007, 02:29 PM

Thank you for the feedback. That's definitely encouraging. :)

Like I stated, I don't expect 100% freedom from the issue, but I certainly would hope for signifigantly less vulnerability to rolling shutter problems given the camera's pricepoint and lineage.

It sounds like Sony has at least taken the issue seriously and managed to lessen its impact.

Jack Zhang · September 25th, 2007, 10:37 PM

Now, has anyone tracked with this camera? 3D or 2D is fine.

September 23rd, 2007, 12:06 PM	#1
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	Rolling Shutter: Is it less of an issue than with the V1? Alister, or anyone else who's spent some time with the EX-1: Have you shot any shaky handheld stuff that might induce rolling shutter artifacts, otherwise known as "the wobbles"? Have you seen this problem at all? Sony's promo literature claims that the new Exmor CMOS has faster readout capability, which I would presume to mean that the camera is less prone to the skews and wobbles that can be apparent in handheld footage from lower cost CMOS camcorders. I'm not asking for absolute perfection in this area, but if it's basically the same as a V1, then that's a real concern. Last edited by Barlow Elton; September 23rd, 2007 at 02:09 PM.

September 23rd, 2007, 01:39 PM	#3
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	I spoke to one of the EX engineers at IBC about this. His english wasn't great but from what I could gather there will be some skew artifacts. He said that the Exmore chips have a very fast readout and that any skew would be minimal, but as with all CMOS sensors the chip is read line by line. I shot some footage out of the window of a moving train. When played back I certainly didn't notice anything odd. We were passing trees and telephone poles and I can't say that I saw any skewing of the poles. I have watched this footage over and over editing it for various demo reels and I have not seen anything obvious. There are whip pans and fast zooms and it all looks OK to me. When I get a moment I will pull some frame grabs from the moving train shots. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

September 23rd, 2007, 01:14 PM	#2
Randy Thompson New Boot Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Meridian, Mississippi Posts: 22	barlow, according to D.W. Leitner at Digital Content Producer: "Sony’s Exmor sensors introduce a new A/D strategy too, with pixel charges sent on a column basis to built-in A/D converters, akin to CCD shift registers." so I am assuming that it acts more like a ccd imager rather than the typical CMOS rolling shutter imager. But, I could be wrong. rand

September 23rd, 2007, 02:29 PM	#4
Barlow Elton Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UT Posts: 945	Thank you for the feedback. That's definitely encouraging. :) Like I stated, I don't expect 100% freedom from the issue, but I certainly would hope for signifigantly less vulnerability to rolling shutter problems given the camera's pricepoint and lineage. It sounds like Sony has at least taken the issue seriously and managed to lessen its impact.

September 25th, 2007, 10:37 PM	#5
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Now, has anyone tracked with this camera? 3D or 2D is fine.