Vignette problem

Craig Seeman · December 26th, 2007, 04:28 PM

I may have posted this before. Go to Page 14 of the manual and on the diagram you'll see

Cover of the Lens Control Block (See "Note" below.)
and the note says:
The lens is properly adjusted at the factory. Do not touch the controls of the lens control block.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Jansen

Steve,
The tech I spoke to had some trouble explaining the procedure in detail, but
he did say that the camera was not taken apart. A cover was removed and the adjustment was made via software control. Not sure if that control was hidden in a tech menu or it was done with software outside the camera.
Have you sent your camera back yet? Mine went to Sony San Jose, CA and they let me talk directly to the tech who worked on it. There was a minor English gap where I could not get complete detailed info but they were very helpful and got to my camera quickly.

Brent Ethington · December 26th, 2007, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Jansen

... Mine went to Sony San Jose, CA and they let me talk directly to the tech who worked on it. ...

Brian - Did they say anything about the battery life?

Brian Jansen · December 26th, 2007, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent Ethington

Brian - Did they say anything about the battery life?

Brent.... the tech said he was not aware of the battery problem but suggested that I call Sony Pro tech and report the issue. I tried but there is a recorded message stating they are close until after Jan 1st.

Brent Ethington · December 27th, 2007, 09:59 AM

thanks Brian

Bill Spence · December 27th, 2007, 03:51 PM

Brian, how did it turn out? Are you happy with the results, is the vignette completely gone? Don't leave us hanging :)

Paul Joy · December 28th, 2007, 12:29 PM

I got a new EX1 today and I'm pleased to say that so far it seems a lot better than the last one. At this point I haven't tested for the problem in so much as shooting a wall etc, but I couldn't see solid black corners on the LCD which was quite easy to do with the first camera.

My hunch is that the problem still exists to a degree, although nowhere near as bad as before, I was seeing some darkening in the corners with OIS on, but not the cropped corner effect the last camera exhibited.

When I've had chance to review some footage I'll post more but so far it looks good! I'm really pleased to get my hands on another camera!

Paul.

Paul Joy · December 28th, 2007, 12:58 PM

Having just tested for the problem and capturing the footage I can confirm that my new camera is fine. There is a tiny amount of graduated darkening top right at 15mm, but I would never have noticed it had I not been trying to find a problem and I doubt I'll ever notice it again.

Very happy!

Paul.

Steven Thomas · December 28th, 2007, 01:00 PM

Glad to here it Paul!

Brian Jansen · December 28th, 2007, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Spence

Brian, how did it turn out? Are you happy with the results, is the vignette completely gone? Don't leave us hanging :)

Yes Bill, camera is fine now. I ran some tests last night and its gone.

Has anyone else sent their camera back?
I know that there were a few others here that had the problem as well.

Charles Dasher · December 31st, 2007, 02:37 PM

Paul

I am curious how tiny the amount of graduated darkening you are seeing with your fixed camera. I just received my FEXEX slip so I can send my camera in.
The vignette problem on my out of the box EX sounds like your fixed model.

80% of my work is done shooting kitesurfing, surfing and other outdoor action sports. Quite often the upper 1/3 of my frame is clear blue skies which is how I noticed the vignette in the first place.

My concern is that even after re alignment my EX will still have the occasional vignette issue.

Thanks
Dasher

Paul Joy · January 1st, 2008, 09:25 PM

Hi Charles.

It's extremely difficult to spot, I managed to see it when I was hunting for it with IOS on, but I really cannot see any problem at all in normal use now. If you can see the effect on the LCD I'd suggest getting it looked at as Sony can make it better.

I've uploaded a small clip I just grabbed by pointing the camera at my screens, this would have definitely shown up the issue present in my last camera.

http://www.olikai.com/ex1/no-vignette.mov (6.6Mb)

regards

Paul.

Pedro Martins · January 2nd, 2008, 05:31 AM

hi Paul

I've just downloaded your clip, watched several times and i couldn't spoted any vignetting. Could you explain me what you see

Thanks

Paul Joy · January 2nd, 2008, 05:41 AM

That's what I'm showing, you cant see any vignetting now. If the image / data is studied there is some very slight drop off in the top right corner, but under normal use it's not visible - job done!

regards

Paul.

Spencer Dickson · January 2nd, 2008, 06:48 PM

Does anyone own an ex1 that DOESN'T show ANY hint of vignetting?

Vince Gaffney · January 2nd, 2008, 08:53 PM

I received mine last week and have done two separate tests; one against white and one against a pure blue sky. Perfect in both cases.

Vince

December 28th, 2007, 12:29 PM	#411
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	I got a new EX1 today and I'm pleased to say that so far it seems a lot better than the last one. At this point I haven't tested for the problem in so much as shooting a wall etc, but I couldn't see solid black corners on the LCD which was quite easy to do with the first camera. My hunch is that the problem still exists to a degree, although nowhere near as bad as before, I was seeing some darkening in the corners with OIS on, but not the cropped corner effect the last camera exhibited. When I've had chance to review some footage I'll post more but so far it looks good! I'm really pleased to get my hands on another camera! Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

December 28th, 2007, 12:58 PM	#412
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Having just tested for the problem and capturing the footage I can confirm that my new camera is fine. There is a tiny amount of graduated darkening top right at 15mm, but I would never have noticed it had I not been trying to find a problem and I doubt I'll ever notice it again. Very happy! Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

December 31st, 2007, 02:37 PM	#415
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	Slight vignette Paul I am curious how tiny the amount of graduated darkening you are seeing with your fixed camera. I just received my FEXEX slip so I can send my camera in. The vignette problem on my out of the box EX sounds like your fixed model. 80% of my work is done shooting kitesurfing, surfing and other outdoor action sports. Quite often the upper 1/3 of my frame is clear blue skies which is how I noticed the vignette in the first place. My concern is that even after re alignment my EX will still have the occasional vignette issue. Thanks Dasher

January 1st, 2008, 09:25 PM	#416
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	Hi Charles. It's extremely difficult to spot, I managed to see it when I was hunting for it with IOS on, but I really cannot see any problem at all in normal use now. If you can see the effect on the LCD I'd suggest getting it looked at as Sony can make it better. I've uploaded a small clip I just grabbed by pointing the camera at my screens, this would have definitely shown up the issue present in my last camera. http://www.olikai.com/ex1/no-vignette.mov (6.6Mb) regards Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk Last edited by Paul Joy; January 1st, 2008 at 10:57 PM.

January 2nd, 2008, 05:41 AM	#418
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	That's what I'm showing, you cant see any vignetting now. If the image / data is studied there is some very slight drop off in the top right corner, but under normal use it's not visible - job done! regards Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

December 27th, 2007, 09:59 AM	#409
Brent Ethington Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: WA Posts: 180	thanks Brian

December 27th, 2007, 03:51 PM	#410
Bill Spence Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 29	Brian, how did it turn out? Are you happy with the results, is the vignette completely gone? Don't leave us hanging :)

December 28th, 2007, 01:00 PM	#413
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	Glad to here it Paul!

January 2nd, 2008, 05:31 AM	#417
Pedro Martins Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lisbon-Portugal Posts: 35	hi Paul I've just downloaded your clip, watched several times and i couldn't spoted any vignetting. Could you explain me what you see Thanks

January 2nd, 2008, 06:48 PM	#419
Spencer Dickson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 141	Does anyone own an ex1 that DOESN'T show ANY hint of vignetting?

January 2nd, 2008, 08:53 PM	#420
Vince Gaffney Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 146	I received mine last week and have done two separate tests; one against white and one against a pure blue sky. Perfect in both cases. Vince