what watching the 50" HDTV at 1m distance taught me

[Piotr Wozniacki]

How do you mean - anything we should know?

Please don't make me waiting :)

[Paul Kellett]

I just googled it,
It's got automatic backfocus adjustment !!

Maybe the same as firmware V1.05 for the EX1,ie automatically compensating for switching between ND filters.

Paul.

[Germaine Baron]

I too had back focus issues with the EX1. I performed the in-camera back focus routines (using single / multiple charts). I also did Gerald's excellent sounding procedure (adjust using each ND setting). I even tried adjusting using a high contrast brick wall (suggested elsewhere).

All to no avail.

I observed sharp focus at full tele - NOT at the wide setting (very soft). Also, it seemed that sharp focus would remain only for the last adjusted ND setting. It would loose some focus when switching modes - right after performing adjustment on the other setting! Also, the cam exhibited discernible lens vignetting (didn't exist prior to back focus adj).

So after being on the fence since getting cam in January (sn#102019 w/firmware 1.03), I frustratingly sent it back to Sony. I wrote a detailed letter highlighting these issues with this cam. Along with other notable issues I'd been dealing with, including:

-Iris ring locked on me twice in full manual (had to restart cam)
-Battery (BP-U30) draining when not in use (battery left on/cam is OFF)
-Faded lettering near the SEL/SET dial
-SEL/SET dial knob frequently not moving in expected direction
-Audio issues when using my Sennheisser K6 shotgun mic

After 1 1/2 wks - I have spoken to the engineer working on my cam. I thought I'd share some feedback with the community.

1. vignetting/back focus issue -> SONY needed to "re-align" the lens.

2. Battery drainage -> SONY has replaced a circuit board to fix this.

3. SEL/SET dial knob not working as expected - SONY updated firmware (1.05) fixes this.

4. Fading letters -> SONY is replacing the back panel. This incidentally is delaying the return of the cam. They are currently waiting for parts (eg. panel, buttons).

5. Audio issues -> SONY performed diagnostics and report no audio issues (hmnn!)


I hope this is helpful to anyone who is contemplating returning there unit to Sony. I will update once it has been returned to me.

-B

[Dave Morrison]

That scares me. My EX1 should be arriving in San Jose today or tomorrow and I have the same v1.03 as you. I also need the back panel replaced and if they hold up my repairs waiting for THAT stupid part, I'm gonna be pi**ed. And, I'm not sure if they are going to have to replace my lens or not, but I found crud inside the lens and you can see it here:

http://www.vimeo.com/1007825

[Germaine Baron]

Yes . . . bummer on the delay. I will be in Africa next week and hope to use the EX1. However, after expressing my concern, Sony has promised to get it back to me before then.

-B

[Germaine Baron]

Here's an interesting excerpt (post #33) from Diego Marcone discussing firmware 1.05

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...=121280&page=3


"Release of PMW-EX1 V1.05

Reaso/Purpose
Function improvment and bug fixes

Function added:
1) Improved operability of jog Dial
When operating the Jog dial, the cursor moves in the unintended direction on the menu.
The operability of Jog dial has been improved
2) Countermeasure against the flange-back shift when turning on the ND filter.
The accuracy of flange-back when turning on the ND has been enhanced.
3) Change of i.LINK Enable menu selection
To save the power, the i.LINK Enable can be salected in the HQ mode so that the HD-SDI can be turned off
When set to i.LINK in the HQ mode, the i. LINK output is not output while the SDI output is turned off."


-B

[George Kroonder]

Originally Posted by Piotr Wozniacki

Please don't make me wait :)

The Z7U has a similar Auto FB Ajust function to the EX1 and the procedure for doing a backfocus ajustment is clearly explained in the manual (pg 11).
It stands to reason that the procedure for the EX1 is very similar if not the same (I would have guessed ND Off, but Z7 FB auto adjust is ND1 on).

The Z7 routine also has a manual mode and it's not 'hidden' as you would expect to adjust BF with every lens change at least (more likely every location change).

My opinion is that Sony dropped the ball on the bacfocus adjustment on the EX1 and should update the firmware to move the FB Adjust out of the service menu. When you move the camera from (airconditioned) inside, to baking in the sun outside or if take it to the arctic or anything in between the lens will physically change and require (BF) adjustment.

The 1.05 FW fixes the correction for the ND filters. I am sure the firmware has only 1 lookup table (LUT) for the backfocus, so performing the adjustment for all three ND variants will likely result in inacurate values. As the firmware corrects for ND, doing the adustments with the ND switch in the wrong position will most likely result in worse backfocus.

I am not sure if the EX1 needs to be adjusted with ND Off or ND1 (as with the Z7). But this is easy to test.

If you have firmware before 1.05 my advice is to do an adjustment on location at the ND you're shooting at. This obviously limits you in changing ND between shots.

The FW 1.05 Technical Bulletin specifically states the fix for the backfocus from whch I deduce that every camera with lower FW has this problem to some extend.

George/