Backfocus problems

Eric Pascarelli · January 22nd, 2008, 11:21 PM

I think Sony should provide a replacement immediately.

I think they will if you press them - but they probably won't until you do.

Bill Heslip · January 22nd, 2008, 11:49 PM

Thanks, Eric. I'll try to chase this down tomorrow.

Eric Pascarelli · January 23rd, 2008, 12:12 AM

And I think you should contact customer service types rather than the technicians - they'll see the big picture of the issue: That you bought a brand new camera that has never worked correctly for you and that you are a professional for whom every day without it costs you money.

Bill Heslip · January 26th, 2008, 05:40 PM

I just received my camera back from Sony repair for vignette adjustment and focus tracking.

Would someone humor me and perform the following focus test? Before exchanging for a new unit, I want to be very sure my symptoms are unique.

One important detail of the required set-up that I neglected to mention before is that the light level must low enough to indicate "low light" in the viewfinder for this symptom to reveal itself. Use ND filters if required.

Full manual iris/focus/gain/etc, iris wide open, 1080/30p, -3db gain, shutter off, low-light indicator in viewfinder, zoom to a very distant object (100 yards away or so), focus, zoom wide. Focal point still in focus? Anything still in focus? Not so here.

One other question, if I may. Using the above camera settings, is infinity truly in focus when the focus ring is resting against the ∞ stop? Not with mine.

Any feedback will be very much appreciated.

Michael H. Stevens · January 26th, 2008, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Heslip

Via another thread, I learned how to access the maintenance menu to set backfocus. Bill

LINK to this thread please

Bill Heslip · January 26th, 2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael H. Stevens

LINK to this thread please

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=110220

A ran the backfocus routine before returning for repair. Sony did same, but no improvement.

Charles Dasher · January 27th, 2008, 08:27 PM

Is there any chance that running the back focus adjustment will cause problems with my warranty. I am attempting to exchange my camera for another since it is still showing an obvious vignette issue even after I sent it to California.

Thanks

Graeme Fullick · January 27th, 2008, 09:08 PM

Charles - I doubt that it will cause a warranty problem, but I also doubt that it will fix your issue - but it is very painless and works perfectly. Certainly worth a try.

I did it on my first camera which had vignetting and it did nothing (except ensure that the back focus was correct). Having said that your vignetting seems different to most of the others that have been mentioned.

Luckily my second camera is perfect.

Charles Dasher · January 28th, 2008, 12:19 AM

Thanks Graeme

The back focus is correct the BF. I am not thinking it will help the vignetting.

The telephoto vignette has been confirmed by a couple of others but definitely different from the other reports.

I just want to be sure that there are EX1's that are working properly before I talk to my dealer again. So you EX shows now shadowing at all fully zoomed in? Mine looks like I have a tele extender on it with the zoom pulled back just enough to see a barrel shadow.

Bill Heslip · January 28th, 2008, 12:42 AM

I've posted a short example of the obvious focus-tracking issue. A low light reading on the camera doesn't appear to be necessary. Ignore the cadence mismatch that Vimeo encoding introduced.

http://www.vimeo.com/642741

For the last few frames, I rolled the focus all the way around to the 2.7ft/.8m range index. Notice how much sharper it gets at this strange focus setting.

So, can anyone tell me if you are able to reproduce this with the setup as described above? I'd like to know either way. The U.S. 90 day parts/labor warranty is a short fuse and it's difficult to believe mine is the only one.

January 26th, 2008, 05:40 PM	#34
Bill Heslip Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Southeast USA Posts: 129	I just received my camera back from Sony repair for vignette adjustment and focus tracking. Would someone humor me and perform the following focus test? Before exchanging for a new unit, I want to be very sure my symptoms are unique. One important detail of the required set-up that I neglected to mention before is that the light level must low enough to indicate "low light" in the viewfinder for this symptom to reveal itself. Use ND filters if required. Full manual iris/focus/gain/etc, iris wide open, 1080/30p, -3db gain, shutter off, low-light indicator in viewfinder, zoom to a very distant object (100 yards away or so), focus, zoom wide. Focal point still in focus? Anything still in focus? Not so here. One other question, if I may. Using the above camera settings, is infinity truly in focus when the focus ring is resting against the ∞ stop? Not with mine. Any feedback will be very much appreciated. Last edited by Bill Heslip; January 26th, 2008 at 08:57 PM.

January 27th, 2008, 09:08 PM	#38
Graeme Fullick Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 337	Charles - I doubt that it will cause a warranty problem, but I also doubt that it will fix your issue - but it is very painless and works perfectly. Certainly worth a try. I did it on my first camera which had vignetting and it did nothing (except ensure that the back focus was correct). Having said that your vignetting seems different to most of the others that have been mentioned. Luckily my second camera is perfect. __________________ Graeme Last edited by Graeme Fullick; January 28th, 2008 at 04:41 AM.

January 22nd, 2008, 11:21 PM	#31
Eric Pascarelli Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 498	I think Sony should provide a replacement immediately. I think they will if you press them - but they probably won't until you do.

January 22nd, 2008, 11:49 PM	#32
Bill Heslip Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Southeast USA Posts: 129	Thanks, Eric. I'll try to chase this down tomorrow.

January 23rd, 2008, 12:12 AM	#33
Eric Pascarelli Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 498	And I think you should contact customer service types rather than the technicians - they'll see the big picture of the issue: That you bought a brand new camera that has never worked correctly for you and that you are a professional for whom every day without it costs you money.

January 27th, 2008, 08:27 PM	#37
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	Is there any chance that running the back focus adjustment will cause problems with my warranty. I am attempting to exchange my camera for another since it is still showing an obvious vignette issue even after I sent it to California. Thanks

January 28th, 2008, 12:19 AM	#39
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	Thanks Graeme The back focus is correct the BF. I am not thinking it will help the vignetting. The telephoto vignette has been confirmed by a couple of others but definitely different from the other reports. I just want to be sure that there are EX1's that are working properly before I talk to my dealer again. So you EX shows now shadowing at all fully zoomed in? Mine looks like I have a tele extender on it with the zoom pulled back just enough to see a barrel shadow.

January 28th, 2008, 12:42 AM	#40
Bill Heslip Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Southeast USA Posts: 129	I've posted a short example of the obvious focus-tracking issue. A low light reading on the camera doesn't appear to be necessary. Ignore the cadence mismatch that Vimeo encoding introduced. http://www.vimeo.com/642741 For the last few frames, I rolled the focus all the way around to the 2.7ft/.8m range index. Notice how much sharper it gets at this strange focus setting. So, can anyone tell me if you are able to reproduce this with the setup as described above? I'd like to know either way. The U.S. 90 day parts/labor warranty is a short fuse and it's difficult to believe mine is the only one.