Vignette & Backfocus Issues at DVinfo.net

Joel Brooks · January 26th, 2008, 09:42 PM

Is this really a ligit problem with this camera, or is this a downplay from some other manufacture. I sometimes wonder. There has been so much talk about these 2 issues, I am almost afraid to purchase this camera for fear of having to return the unit the day I recieve it. Are there any particular serial numbers I should watch for IF or when I ever purchase this cam. Maybe I should wait a year or two so the bad batch can get out of circulation. I love the possibilities with this camera, it's just that I don't think an $7,000 camera should have these kinds of problems IF they are truly problems.

Joel

Charles Dasher · January 26th, 2008, 10:13 PM

I bought an EX! and it had the vignette issue. I sent it in for re alignment and it came back doing the same thing. My camera displays the problem at the very end of the tele zoom. I have been trying to work with my dealer to figure out what to do.

Check out this clip I shot a couple of days ago

http://blip.tv/file/619918?filename=...estClip536.mov

I am trying to find out if people have EX1s that show absolutely no signs of vignetting through out the zoom range but I have not heard back from anyone confirming this.

Steven Thomas · January 26th, 2008, 10:20 PM

Charles, did you get a chance to look at my video I sent you earlier?
Also, would that example be as bad with the OIS OFF. I realize the
OIS makes it move around, but I'm wondering if it would be OK with the
OIS OFF?

Bill Heslip · January 26th, 2008, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joel Brooks

Is this really a ligit problem with this camera, or is this a downplay from some other manufacture. I sometimes wonder. There has been so much talk about these 2 issues, I am almost afraid to purchase this camera for fear of having to return the unit the day I recieve it. Are there any particular serial numbers I should watch for IF or when I ever purchase this cam. Maybe I should wait a year or two so the bad batch can get out of circulation. I love the possibilities with this camera, it's just that I don't think an $7,000 camera should have these kinds of problems IF they are truly problems.

Joel

Joel, so far, my camera is the only one to exhibit a focus-tracking problem that cannot be resolved by executing the backfocus routine. Either that, or I'm just being too critical (which I don't believe to the the case). Hopefully, someone will test their EX1 under the conditions I posted on page 3 of the "Backfocus problems" thread and let me know if this is inherent or an anomaly. It should only take 5 minutes to verify.

Daniel Alexander · January 27th, 2008, 08:28 AM

I've been reading around abit and obvioulsy many are using the EX1 now, but am i to understand noone has a camera that is free from 'faults' ? If so this is terrible, I now have the money to buy one but i feel like i'd almost be certain that i'd have to send it back which according to many other users wont do much if not make it worse. Is there really no EX1 cams that work as they should?

Mark David Williams · January 27th, 2008, 12:01 PM

I decided to do a test for the vignetting issue today. I filmed a white wall and stepped through the zoom. When I saw the footage on my Vegas timeline I could see vignetting at most of the range to some degree. Although most noticeable between Ten and Fifteen. Pretty scary as I had vignetting on all corners. When I rendered some footage I noticed the vignetting was only a small amount now in one corner. And at between 10 and fifteen. Im wondering if this is because in Vegas Im seeing all the area and when rendered only the safe area is visible? Is the picture being cropped?

http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.as...140&CID=160646

Also I made a short film using my zeiss 16mm mark1 superspeed 50mm with the PL Mount adapter. Although I have to zoom in more I like the look of the zeiss lens! Although this has been heavily colour corrected. But the picture uncorrected seems much better than my 35mm pentax 1.7 50mm lens at least

http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.as...727&CID=160620

EDIT
I should have mentioned the film was made using the Letus extreme!

Paul Cronin · January 27th, 2008, 01:04 PM

Charles I have not found any problem yet with one month of shooting. Ordering a second EX1 tomorrow and hope it works out as well.

Shooting water skiing looks fun.

Steven Thomas · January 27th, 2008, 01:18 PM

Mark your links are no good.

The EX1 has vingnetting issues... That's all there is to it.

I have only heard of one poster that did not see anything between 8-25mm. Make that two..LOL, Paul Cronin ;)

Also, if using the OIS, on some cameras at full zoom, the vignette tends to spread out on the corners. It's not as obvious, but with OIS you can see it move around.

Some cameras are better than others. My first camera was bad, and Sony's adjustment did not help much. I believe the specs are just to tight for this lens. Some EX1 lenses are better than others when it comes to this adjustment. It makes me wonder if the quality control for specs need to be tighter when Sony receive's these lenses. I don't believe it's an adjustment issue, although it's possible. I believe the margin between the Sony's sensors and lense optical axis are just to tight.

My current camera has less than half the perceived vignette (8-25mm) and is only concentrated in the top two corners (greatest on my cam at 15mm). At full zoom, IMO it looks OK. I'm actually happy with it! It's not all that noticeable.

All in all, I think this is one heck of a camera! I think Sony did a great job overall. If this possible issue scares you, I can understand. I would try to work something out with your dealer beforehand.

Vince Gaffney · January 27th, 2008, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Thomas

I have only heard of one poster that did not see anything between 8-25mm. Make that two..LOL, Paul Cronin ;)

Make that three.

vince

Charles Dasher · January 27th, 2008, 08:19 PM

Hi Steve

I just finished shooting the Kitesurfing event and just tried to look at the Ex1-A1 comparison. I got a big ? mark over the Q for QT so I have not been able to view.

My vignette seems to only appear at the tele end of the zoom, at least that is where it is most obvious. It is definitely way worse with OIS. I actually use OIS when shooting on sticks sometimes. When shooting in 20=30 knots of wind it seems to help some of the subtle vibration I have do deal with.

Paul glad to hear it is possible for the lens to work as it should.

Graeme Fullick · January 27th, 2008, 09:04 PM

Make that 4!

Charles Dasher · January 28th, 2008, 12:02 AM

Graeme

So that 4 is a confirmation that you have no vignette issues at any point in the zoom?

This would be great news!

Erwin van Dijck · January 28th, 2008, 12:09 AM

Make it 5 :-)

regards,
Erwin

Graeme Fullick · January 28th, 2008, 12:17 AM

Yes Charles - no problems at all. Just shot some full telephoto blue sky and can't see it. Likewise, the 10 -25 region is now perfect on my camera. I am very happy. The footage looks absolutely stunning on HDTV.

Paul Kellett · January 28th, 2008, 01:51 AM

Make that 6 !!

January 26th, 2008, 09:42 PM	#1
Joel Brooks Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Weatherford, Texas Posts: 79	Vignette & Backfocus Issues Is this really a ligit problem with this camera, or is this a downplay from some other manufacture. I sometimes wonder. There has been so much talk about these 2 issues, I am almost afraid to purchase this camera for fear of having to return the unit the day I recieve it. Are there any particular serial numbers I should watch for IF or when I ever purchase this cam. Maybe I should wait a year or two so the bad batch can get out of circulation. I love the possibilities with this camera, it's just that I don't think an $7,000 camera should have these kinds of problems IF they are truly problems. Joel

January 27th, 2008, 12:01 PM	#6
Mark David Williams Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Hertfordshire UK Posts: 414	I decided to do a test for the vignetting issue today. I filmed a white wall and stepped through the zoom. When I saw the footage on my Vegas timeline I could see vignetting at most of the range to some degree. Although most noticeable between Ten and Fifteen. Pretty scary as I had vignetting on all corners. When I rendered some footage I noticed the vignetting was only a small amount now in one corner. And at between 10 and fifteen. Im wondering if this is because in Vegas Im seeing all the area and when rendered only the safe area is visible? Is the picture being cropped? http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.as...140&CID=160646 Also I made a short film using my zeiss 16mm mark1 superspeed 50mm with the PL Mount adapter. Although I have to zoom in more I like the look of the zeiss lens! Although this has been heavily colour corrected. But the picture uncorrected seems much better than my 35mm pentax 1.7 50mm lens at least http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.as...727&CID=160620 EDIT I should have mentioned the film was made using the Letus extreme! Last edited by Mark David Williams; January 27th, 2008 at 02:48 PM.

January 27th, 2008, 01:04 PM	#7
Paul Cronin Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 4,048	Charles I have not found any problem yet with one month of shooting. Ordering a second EX1 tomorrow and hope it works out as well. Shooting water skiing looks fun. __________________ Paul Cronin www.paulcroninstudios.com

January 27th, 2008, 09:04 PM	#11
Graeme Fullick Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 337	Make that 4! __________________ Graeme

January 28th, 2008, 12:17 AM	#14
Graeme Fullick Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle, Australia Posts: 337	Yes Charles - no problems at all. Just shot some full telephoto blue sky and can't see it. Likewise, the 10 -25 region is now perfect on my camera. I am very happy. The footage looks absolutely stunning on HDTV. __________________ Graeme

January 26th, 2008, 10:13 PM	#2
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	I bought an EX! and it had the vignette issue. I sent it in for re alignment and it came back doing the same thing. My camera displays the problem at the very end of the tele zoom. I have been trying to work with my dealer to figure out what to do. Check out this clip I shot a couple of days ago http://blip.tv/file/619918?filename=...estClip536.mov I am trying to find out if people have EX1s that show absolutely no signs of vignetting through out the zoom range but I have not heard back from anyone confirming this.

January 26th, 2008, 10:20 PM	#3
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	Charles, did you get a chance to look at my video I sent you earlier? Also, would that example be as bad with the OIS OFF. I realize the OIS makes it move around, but I'm wondering if it would be OK with the OIS OFF?

January 27th, 2008, 08:28 AM	#5
Daniel Alexander Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: West Midlands, UK Posts: 320	I've been reading around abit and obvioulsy many are using the EX1 now, but am i to understand noone has a camera that is free from 'faults' ? If so this is terrible, I now have the money to buy one but i feel like i'd almost be certain that i'd have to send it back which according to many other users wont do much if not make it worse. Is there really no EX1 cams that work as they should?

January 27th, 2008, 01:18 PM	#8
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	Mark your links are no good. The EX1 has vingnetting issues... That's all there is to it. I have only heard of one poster that did not see anything between 8-25mm. Make that two..LOL, Paul Cronin ;) Also, if using the OIS, on some cameras at full zoom, the vignette tends to spread out on the corners. It's not as obvious, but with OIS you can see it move around. Some cameras are better than others. My first camera was bad, and Sony's adjustment did not help much. I believe the specs are just to tight for this lens. Some EX1 lenses are better than others when it comes to this adjustment. It makes me wonder if the quality control for specs need to be tighter when Sony receive's these lenses. I don't believe it's an adjustment issue, although it's possible. I believe the margin between the Sony's sensors and lense optical axis are just to tight. My current camera has less than half the perceived vignette (8-25mm) and is only concentrated in the top two corners (greatest on my cam at 15mm). At full zoom, IMO it looks OK. I'm actually happy with it! It's not all that noticeable. All in all, I think this is one heck of a camera! I think Sony did a great job overall. If this possible issue scares you, I can understand. I would try to work something out with your dealer beforehand.

January 27th, 2008, 08:19 PM	#10
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	Hi Steve I just finished shooting the Kitesurfing event and just tried to look at the Ex1-A1 comparison. I got a big ? mark over the Q for QT so I have not been able to view. My vignette seems to only appear at the tele end of the zoom, at least that is where it is most obvious. It is definitely way worse with OIS. I actually use OIS when shooting on sticks sometimes. When shooting in 20=30 knots of wind it seems to help some of the subtle vibration I have do deal with. Paul glad to hear it is possible for the lens to work as it should.

January 28th, 2008, 12:02 AM	#12
Charles Dasher Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Juno Beach FL Posts: 169	Graeme So that 4 is a confirmation that you have no vignette issues at any point in the zoom? This would be great news!

January 28th, 2008, 12:09 AM	#13
Erwin van Dijck Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hoofddorp, The Netherlands Posts: 75	Make it 5 :-) regards, Erwin

January 28th, 2008, 01:51 AM	#15
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Make that 6 !! __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000