Vignette problem

[Serena Steuart]

Thank you Adam. In my case the corner darkening is 1 stop (RHS) and is outside the safe area. In these days of LCD displays the concept of safe area is maybe an anachronism. Have also observed that it is difficult to see in real scenes.

[Serena Steuart]

Originally Posted by Bob Grant

I'm all for making measurements but how to do this?
Perhaps capturing a frame and analysing that with PS would be better?

Yes the waveform shows the effect quite well (and it's variation with zoom) but you need to grab a frame and use PS to actually measure the fall off in each corner. Using the waveform monitor you can locate the worse frame and capture that for analysis.

To record the clip I wound down the projection screen and used only daylight entering the room. Wasn't even, but no steep gradients. You need only to measure relative to an unaffected region, so evenness isn't really required (just slow gradient).

My corners are 1 stop down and all outside the safe area.

Using the blue shy? The sky is not uniformly bright and you do want to expose at f/1.9 . Why do we want to measure? Interest. And to check whether the sky is really falling. Adam's comments are appropriate here.

[Carroll Lam]

I called Sony tech support again today to check on the status of the vignetting problem and got the following info:

-I was sent the attached pdf memo from Sony discussing the problem.

-I was told that Sony support is expecting pre-paid shipping labels that will be sent to owners of cameras exhibiting the problem. These labels will ship the camera off to Sony for re-alignment of the lens. The person I spoke to said they were expecting the labels this week and would overnight them to owners.

-He took my name, address, email address, and s/n. I received the attached memo a few minutes later.

So...if one has a camera with the vignetting problem I would make sure Sony tech support knows about it so they can send you the shipping label.

Carroll Lam

[Chris Hurd]

Thanks Carroll -- your post has been copied and stickied at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=110466 for greater visibility.

Contents of PDF linked in previous post:

To our loyal Sony PMW-EX1 Customers:

Since the launch in November, the PMW-EX1 has been received extremely well within the
market with a huge level of order commitments and very positive feedback from customers
using the product.

Sony regrets to inform you that there have been a small number of reports of a specific lens issue
with the camera, which upon further investigation by our engineering team, has been identified
as ‘unbalanced light falloff’ at the edge of the picture. The cause of this has been identified as
being a result of a mis-alignment of the center of the lens and the light axis. Sony takes such
technical matters very seriously and although this issue has only been seen on a very small
percentage of the units supplied worldwide, Sony has implemented a full review and
modification of the manufacturing process in order to alleviate any re-occurrence of this issue.
Sony will re-align any camera exhibiting the symptom described above at no charge to you at
the highest priority. If your camcorder exhibits the symptom described please call our Product
Operational Support Center at 1-800-883-6817, option 2-5-2 for advice on how to proceed.
When calling, please be prepared to supply your camcorder’s serial number, as well as place of
purchase.

Sony would like to thank you for your continued trust in our commitment to you as your vendor of
choice when investing in high quality professional video tools, and for your patience regarding
this matter.

Thank you.

Mel Medina
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Professional Video Products
Broadcast and Production Systems Division

[Graeme Fullick]

And to all Australian owners I received the same story this morning. A lens alignment jig (or several jigs) is/are being sent to Australia to fix the problem ASAP. So a good response from Sony, and a reassuarance that it was a very minor problem that could be very rapidly fixed.

Thanks to Chris for re-opening the thread as I am sure that it has facilitated the rapid resolution of this issue, with a very positive response from Sony.

[Graeme Fullick]

An even better response from Sony - I have been offered a new replacement camera. Can't beat that for service.

Sony have done well here.

[Christopher Barry]

Graeme, do you get to keep using your current EX1 camera, pending replacement?

[Graeme Fullick]

That is a definite yes Christopher, but I wont have to wait long - Sony ordered the camera from Japan as soon as they heard of my problem, and it is waiting to clear customs as I speak. I am told that I will have it in 1 -2 days. That is service!

My Dealer has been really excellent in getting all this done - Macrays in Sydney. Chris if this is against Forum rules please delete this statement - but I don't think there are any DV info sponsors in Australia.

[Chris Hurd]

It's all good. Thanks for the updates Graeme,

[Christopher Barry]

Thanks Graeme. I have two EX1's waiting to ship from Tasman AV, and will try this approach for them to be replaced by Sony straight up, since Serena and John's appear to have the vignette issue from the same batch. Thank you for the heads up.

[Chuck Wall]

Sony contacted me yesterday, I was told they are sending out shipping labels and that the EX1 wil need to be shipped to a service center. I was told the turn around is 5 business days..

No exchange was offered.

Chuck

[Juan Martinez]

Hello, I am Juan Martinez, a Senior Manager of Sony Electronics. I just want to point out that a very small percentage of cameras exhibit this condition.

Sony takes quality issues very seriously, so we set optical bench at several locations that can realign the lens in about ten minutes. Any person that suspects that their camera is affected should contact our Product Operational Support Center hotline at 1-800-883-6817, option 2-5-2, for advice on how to proceed. When calling, customers should be prepared to supply their camcorder’s serial number.

I would like to put the Ex1 lens in perspective.

It is the first hand-held camera to offer full manual or automatic control. The lens has absolute markings for the iris zoom and focus. There is a mark for the focal plane on the right side of the camera.

From the optical perspective the lens is very notable:
1- Widest and lens for any hand-held camera.
2- Chromatic aberration compensation, not only for the lens but also when the wide angle adapter is utilized.
3- Virtually no ramping (does not lose stops as you go telephoto)
4- Virtually no breathing (image does not change dimension when focusing)


Juan Martinez

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Mr. Martinez,

Thank you very much for your personal reassurance given to the EX1 early adopters in the USA. I'm located in Europe, and have been waiting for the delivery of my pre-ordered EX1 for over 2 months now. Can you tell us the European customers, whether new cameras will already be free from the vignetting problem - or is there a number of units on the way to European dealers that will need re-alignment?

With Regards, and Best Christmas Wishes from Poland!

Piotr Wozniacki

[Paul Joy]

Hi Juan

Firstly I'd like to thank you for taking the time to respond on this forum, it is very much appreciated by myself and I'm sure by other forum members too.

I'm sure that most of those who have been lucky enough to try the EX1 will agree that the lens is a wonderful advancement over previous lenses on this type of camera and that the positives you list are a great benefit.

In terms of the issue that has effected some of us, can you confirm that the ten minute procedure you describe removes the visible corner cropping in the lower/mid range completely?

Thanks again for responding here, I hope you are not too overloaded with questions.

Best regards

Paul.

[Steven Thomas]

Mr. Martinez,
Thank you for taking the time and sharing this information with dvinfo.
The PMW-EX1 has really brought pro camera quality to the hand-held market.
I am very impressed on fast Sony has addressed this issue. This quick response really shows how professional and dedicated Sony is to their pro CineAlta Division.

Thank you,
Steve Thomas