Gerald - I feel your pain.

But what I'm mentally wrangling is this:
With content being king, and more than 90% of the central viewing picture dropping jaws of would be onlookers, this camera is still pumping out an amazing picture. And if my competition is using it - the fact remains that layman (customers) are going to see a better vignetted/blurry EX1 image than a glitch free XLH1/XHA1 image...

Granted - at 7k, i want a camera with no problems. But, now I'm asking myself, should I get it before my competition does, and just learn to work around the camera's beta-release issues?

The ONLY reason I haven't taken the plunge is I live in Vegas and NAB is 2+ weeks away - and 7K is a lot for my budget, so I just want to make sure before I purchase a camera with known deficiencies, that Canon, Panasonic, nor Red is coming out with something just as good or better...

As agonizing as this is, this camera is still a milestone...

Lonnie

Fixed!
 

Today I fixed the backfocus problem for myself, just before I wanted to return my EX1 for another exchange.
I did the FB-adjustment procedure once again - but this time I used 12 backfocus charts side by side (actually 4 columns and 3 rows), which I attached to a white wall of my house.
I did the procedure for each ND - setting separately. Looks like only 1 backfocus chart was not enough to fix my problem. The camera was 3m away from the charts - aperture of course wide open.

Maybe this trick will work for others as well.
The sad thing is that Sony could not fix it in 3 repair attempts.
I hope it will stay like this now.

My camera has the new FW 1.05.

Maybe this technique will help others as well.

regards,
Gerald

Gerald,can you post some before and after pics,i want to compare them with my before and after pics where i used 1 chart for adjustment.

Thanks,Paul.

Paul, your result looks real sharp.

one shot was done a couple of weeks ago (the darker one) - second one 15 minutes ago with same settings. (light is very different though and its pretty hazy today)
Yours look sharp to me - I think you fixed it.

Here is a split screen image with ND off/ND1/ND2 after adjustment. Everything is in manual mode.
Focus is near infinity, f1,9 - shutter speed varies from 1/2000 to 1/50. Detail off.
It´s been a little too bright to match ND off correctly though:

Gerald,
That looks real sharp man!
You fixed it!

Dang, hmmmm... Maybe I should look closer at mine. Your wide shots may be even a tad sharper than mine. I'll need to check mine closer.

It's hard to believe that was with DETAIL OFF. This is the first camera i've seen in this price range still maintain so much detail with enhancement off.

Most, in this price range turn into mush.

yep - rechecked - I´ve really set "Detail off"

Which brings up my next question. What camera mode (PP) did you have the camera set when performing the BF calibration?
Also, was detail off during the BF calibration?

PP - Standard Setting 1 with Detail OFF
HQ - 1080 25p

Thanks.
I might break down and try it.

Gerald, just to confirm, you ran the BF calibration (FB) three times, right?
ND OFF
ND1
ND2

What did you do between each calibration? Did you power cycle?

I hate to say it, but could you provide a step by step procedure on how you made this adjustment?

I realize there would be a disclaimer to try at your own risk.

o.k. try at your own risk. Thats how it worked for me for 2 cameras Sony could not fix - your experience could be different..

Camera was set to 1080 25p
PP1 with detail off
I used 12 focus charts (Siemens Star) - I think a few less would not make a difference... 4 columns 3 rows
Camera was 3 meters away from a white wall outside my house
Aperture always f1.9 fully open at stop (use shutter to adjust brightness)
Focus full manual
Zoom servo on
Macro set to off

Set to ND off - zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

When finished - leave menu - do not turn the camera off
Turn on ND1 - adjust brightness with shutter
zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

When finished - leave menu - do not turn the camera off
Turn on ND2 - adjust brightness with shutter
zoom in fully - use expanded focus and sharpen
Use the maintenance menu - choose backfocus adjustment (FB)

no need to turn off the camera in-between adjustments.

Good luck - its pretty easy to perform - I hope this will solve your backfocus problems as well.

Thanks Gerald. Actually my camera's BF seems OK. It may be a tad softer wide, but not much.

I'm going to really test it well before trying this calibration.

Solved mine:

http://www.mdma.tv/ex1/fb.html

A crate of virtual beer to you. Sincere thanks.

Matt, that's impressive - however can you kindly tell me what is your firmware version of the camera? Is it 1.02 or 1.03 or 1.05? Thanks

It's 1.03.

FWIW, SN 0401953 purchased in the UK in March 2008.

A big thank you Gerald for your patience.

I thought I had a perfect camera but then I had niggling feeling that the B/F was a little off. Have just carried your remedy with 12 charts just like Matt has done {even the patio doors were the same} . The result is I now have spot on backfocus.

I am glad that things are sorting out the EX1 is one hell of a camera.

LOL!

As an addendum to this, note that I did the check on Clear, ND1 and ND2 at 720p25. Having spent so much time setting the hi tech chart up, I thought I'd just check the 1080i50. From a bit further back.

Hmmm. I think I just messed up the chance to spot something important. I thought it was off, so I've just gone through every mode at all ND settings and performed a FB.

It may be rather more tedious than we thought - it may be safer to open a bottle of something and do ALL modes at ALL ND settings.

Or maybe it's just the equivalent of washing your car to make it rain.

Matt and others,
I am a little lost fellows - see if I'm following this all...

You are adjusting BF within each camera setup, and within each camera setup - each possible ND setting. Now after setting new BF adjustments - is the camera electronics automatically adjusting the BackFocus according to which ND setting and which camera mode you are in...
Or will you need to physically adjust backfocus everytime you make an adjustment to ND or camera mode or change the battery?

Thanks for clearing things up,
Lonnie

Have carried out the auto procedure on each setting, clear,ND1,ND2. All done without switching off camera. When camera is powered down and the powered up again it remembers the new settings.

thanks Bruce...

Yes. I've done that, but it may have been unnecessary work over Gerald's advice. I neglected to take before and after shots from the other modes before opening a rather nice Shiraz and going through all permutations. Sorry.

From talk elsewhere, we're under the impression that the Back Focus adjustment is digital and uses a look-up table which may not have been calibrated to the lens or may not contain all permutations. It's all conjecture, so my initial FB cycle at all three ND settings appears to be a 'good thing'. The rest of my activity may only be the equivalent of waving a rubber chicken over the camera, but it passed a beautiful evening.

No - I am working under the assumption that you'd have to do a full hard reset to lose this information, certainly not a power cycle. I might re-check if I did a soft reset.

Another thought that passed my mind this evening is that Patio Doors may be the perfect answer, and the 9-12 star charts weren't strictly necessary. Just something with some contrasty lines both in close up (door handle) and wide (patio door). Just pontificating.

Thanks Matt - and long live a fine drink, lovely evenings, and British Humor...

The patio doors are essential. Its the ratio of backfocus charts to glass area that is the key.

Seriously though I suppose the auto back focus needs something bigger to work with. Whether the different settings are really needed is something that perhaps Sony could tell us. Having back focused Fujinon 2/3" lenses for years with just one chart the procedure now developed is intriguing.

Bruce

The key is 'auto' back focus. When you do your manual back focus, you know you want to focus on the chart. The camera's auto FB routine sets the zoom to wide and then focuses on the most contrasty thing in frame. If this happens to be a few feet further away than the now tiny backfocus chart, it is not surprising that the camera gets confused :-)

Nick