Horrible EX1 problems / bugs -help! at DVinfo.net

Luke Flegg · February 11th, 2010, 01:12 PM

Hello
I used to love my EX1 and now feel a little bit less ecstatic...

If anyone can shed any light/suggestions on the following it'd be great:

MEDIA / BATTERY NEAR FULL BUG
This is surely a bug;
When there's less than 6 mins media or less than 31(?) mins battery, the scroll wheel and joystick stop working so I can't change the shutter speed/gain/etc via menu

FOCUS
I cannot focus anywhere close to infinity when I'm zoomed in..
When fully zoomed in (particularly on f1.9) it's almost a joke; the background is like soup while objects 50ft away are perfectly sharp. Macro is off.
It also occasionally drifts visibly out when zoomed in and wide open (DOF indicator noticably slips)

Help! I'm really relying on it at the moment to shoot a huge documentary project in across england on young people and the education system.

Thanks : )

Brett Sherman · February 11th, 2010, 01:35 PM

For focusing it sounds like your back focus is out which needs a service center to fix. It also sounds like you have Focus Assist on. Turn that sucker off!

As for the end of card problem are you using SDHC cards? If so, some of the cheaper ones (read Transcend) do not accurately report space available. When you get near the end of these cards weird things can happen. I've had good luck recording to capacity with ATP and Hoodman, you could try one of these to see if the same thing happens. I don't know about the battery.

Paul Kellett · February 11th, 2010, 02:17 PM

Luke, with the battery trime remaining, YOU decide what is low and empty, you set it in the menu, when the battery gets to YOUR low setting the joystick becomes inactive, probably to piss you off so that you change the battery. I think this setting is in the "others" menu, you can pick the "percentage" of the battery left before the camera warnings kick in.

As for the focus issue, it could be back focus.
Do you mean when you zoom in and focus ok, then zoom out focus at infinity is gone ? This is a back focus issue, easily correctable by yourself, see my demo here

Alternatively the lens ring could be loose, take the lens hood off, and try to turn the ring which is front of the glass, do it with your thumbs, don't use a tool of any kind, just incase you slip.

Paul.

Luke Flegg · February 11th, 2010, 03:19 PM

Cheers Brett.
Don't THINK I have focus assist on.. where was it again? (I certainly hadn't pressed PUSH AF..)

Nope, I'm using Sony SxS Pro.. 8gb abd 16gb. The cards aren't doing anything weird, it's the camera, the warning message at the top that we're all familiar with "Media nearly full" renders the menu navigation controls redundant. Is that only my camera?!

Brett Sherman · February 11th, 2010, 03:53 PM

Focus Assist is actually called MF Assist and it is a menu item. It's in the camera set menu. It works when the ring is in the MF/AF position when you are using Manual Focus. Basically it tries to refine your focus a little. But I find it makes a lot of errors. To disable it you can push the ring into full manual or just turn off MF Assist in the Menu. That's what I did so I could still push the AF button when I want to. Since it sounds like your back focus is out, it's probably continually trying to get better focus. I didn't realize you could do the back focus adjustment yourself. Good to know, thanks. Paul.

Luke Flegg · February 11th, 2010, 04:23 PM

Hi Paul,

5% is the lowest charge you can set the battery alarm message which is still pretty crap considering that it renders the camera a complete bastard to use.

5% on the U60s is about 20 minutes! I can see the bloody battery meter! Might as well just shut the camera off completely, what's the point of disabling controls?..

About the focus;
No- I meant literally, I cannot ever get the focus to infinity when I'm wide open and zoomed in. And I don't mean it's not very sharp, I mean the focus is miles off.
Tried absolute and free focus. Not sure where focus assist option is unless you mean PUSH AF?
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ers2/del-1.jpg

hopefully that will embed..

Luke Flegg · February 11th, 2010, 06:24 PM

my god.. not sure how I missed that menu option. Thanks,
though I'm still a little skeptical as I THINK I tried absolute focus too.. but I will try.

Unfortunately my biggest issue is the warning dialogs..
It basically means I have to just get used to having 5min less media and 20min less battery..

Marty Welk · February 11th, 2010, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Flegg

Hi Paul,

5% is the lowest charge you can set the battery alarm message which is still pretty crap considering that it renders the camera a complete bastard to use.

5% on the U60s is about 20 minutes! I can see the bloody battery meter! Might as well just shut the camera off completely, what's the point of disabling controls?..

..

sounds like fun, thanks for discussing this, i will need to check that.
I cant think of anything that would Improve the situation OF running out of battery at a critical moment, than for the camera to ALSO decide that it wont be adjusted.

Andrew Stone · February 11th, 2010, 11:33 PM

Luke,

How old is your camera/battery? 2 years is considered the useful lifespan of batteries in the field. My camera is about a year and a half old. The batteries are showing signs of age. A U-60 is too small for almost every kind of gig I do. The U-90's add a bit of weight but it is not that bad.

And yes pull that focus ring towards you and get all the auto settings turned off. People screaming from the rafters is quite common when they get an EX and haven't turned off all the "auto everything". Back focus is easily setup up as Paul says. The manual spells it out clearly. Takes 10 minutes if you are being a nervous nelly.

Vincent Oliver · February 12th, 2010, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Kellett

As for the focus issue, it could be back focus.
Do you mean when you zoom in and focus ok, then zoom out focus at infinity is gone ? This is a back focus issue, easily correctable by yourself, see my demo here

EX1 back focus demo on Vimeo

Paul.

Set the aperture as wide as possible otherwise focus could be thrown by an increase in depth of field. Make sure that auto iris is turned off when doing the Back Focus procedure, you may notice in Paul’s video that the iris ring moves as it zooms.

Mark Sudfeldt · February 12th, 2010, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke Flegg

Hello

MEDIA / BATTERY NEAR FULL BUG
This is surely a bug;
When there's less than 6 mins media or less than 31(?) mins battery, the scroll wheel and joystick stop working so I can't change the shutter speed/gain/etc via menu

Thanks : )

You aren't imagining it Luke. Well the Media Near Full situation anyway as that happens with me too. I thought it was 4 minutes record time left but same thing happens. . . can't change the gain/white balance etc. Very annoying and unnecessary I would have thought. . . .just give me a warning and I can decide what to do next! This must be built into the camcorder but I have wondered why no one else ever complained about it . . . . are we the only ones with an EX1 that this happens to?

Rupert Smith · February 12th, 2010, 07:08 AM

The media end/low battery problem also affects the EX3 ! Which really annoying when using canon stills lens as adjusting the gain/shutter is the only way controlling exposure on the fly.

Luke Flegg · February 12th, 2010, 08:48 PM

-Ah yes U-90 is what I meant, not U-60

What does the firmware upgrade do? Surely sorts out this warning thing?..

Luke Flegg · February 18th, 2010, 06:23 PM

actually no it wasn't u-60 are the big batteries. What's a u-90...?

February 11th, 2010, 01:12 PM	#1
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	Horrible EX1 problems / bugs -help! Hello I used to love my EX1 and now feel a little bit less ecstatic... If anyone can shed any light/suggestions on the following it'd be great: MEDIA / BATTERY NEAR FULL BUG This is surely a bug; When there's less than 6 mins media or less than 31(?) mins battery, the scroll wheel and joystick stop working so I can't change the shutter speed/gain/etc via menu FOCUS I cannot focus anywhere close to infinity when I'm zoomed in.. When fully zoomed in (particularly on f1.9) it's almost a joke; the background is like soup while objects 50ft away are perfectly sharp. Macro is off. It also occasionally drifts visibly out when zoomed in and wide open (DOF indicator noticably slips) Help! I'm really relying on it at the moment to shoot a huge documentary project in across england on young people and the education system. Thanks : )

February 11th, 2010, 02:17 PM	#3
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Luke, with the battery trime remaining, YOU decide what is low and empty, you set it in the menu, when the battery gets to YOUR low setting the joystick becomes inactive, probably to piss you off so that you change the battery. I think this setting is in the "others" menu, you can pick the "percentage" of the battery left before the camera warnings kick in. As for the focus issue, it could be back focus. Do you mean when you zoom in and focus ok, then zoom out focus at infinity is gone ? This is a back focus issue, easily correctable by yourself, see my demo here EX1 back focus demo on Vimeo Alternatively the lens ring could be loose, take the lens hood off, and try to turn the ring which is front of the glass, do it with your thumbs, don't use a tool of any kind, just incase you slip. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

February 11th, 2010, 01:35 PM	#2
Brett Sherman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mount Rainier, MD Posts: 428	For focusing it sounds like your back focus is out which needs a service center to fix. It also sounds like you have Focus Assist on. Turn that sucker off! As for the end of card problem are you using SDHC cards? If so, some of the cheaper ones (read Transcend) do not accurately report space available. When you get near the end of these cards weird things can happen. I've had good luck recording to capacity with ATP and Hoodman, you could try one of these to see if the same thing happens. I don't know about the battery.

February 11th, 2010, 03:19 PM	#4
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	Cheers Brett. Don't THINK I have focus assist on.. where was it again? (I certainly hadn't pressed PUSH AF..) Nope, I'm using Sony SxS Pro.. 8gb abd 16gb. The cards aren't doing anything weird, it's the camera, the warning message at the top that we're all familiar with "Media nearly full" renders the menu navigation controls redundant. Is that only my camera?!

February 11th, 2010, 03:53 PM	#5
Brett Sherman Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mount Rainier, MD Posts: 428	Focus Assist is actually called MF Assist and it is a menu item. It's in the camera set menu. It works when the ring is in the MF/AF position when you are using Manual Focus. Basically it tries to refine your focus a little. But I find it makes a lot of errors. To disable it you can push the ring into full manual or just turn off MF Assist in the Menu. That's what I did so I could still push the AF button when I want to. Since it sounds like your back focus is out, it's probably continually trying to get better focus. I didn't realize you could do the back focus adjustment yourself. Good to know, thanks. Paul.

February 11th, 2010, 04:23 PM	#6
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	Hi Paul, 5% is the lowest charge you can set the battery alarm message which is still pretty crap considering that it renders the camera a complete bastard to use. 5% on the U60s is about 20 minutes! I can see the bloody battery meter! Might as well just shut the camera off completely, what's the point of disabling controls?.. About the focus; No- I meant literally, I cannot ever get the focus to infinity when I'm wide open and zoomed in. And I don't mean it's not very sharp, I mean the focus is miles off. Tried absolute and free focus. Not sure where focus assist option is unless you mean PUSH AF? http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ers2/del-1.jpg hopefully that will embed..

February 11th, 2010, 06:24 PM	#7
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	my god.. not sure how I missed that menu option. Thanks, though I'm still a little skeptical as I THINK I tried absolute focus too.. but I will try. Unfortunately my biggest issue is the warning dialogs.. It basically means I have to just get used to having 5min less media and 20min less battery..

February 11th, 2010, 11:33 PM	#9
Andrew Stone Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 975	Luke, How old is your camera/battery? 2 years is considered the useful lifespan of batteries in the field. My camera is about a year and a half old. The batteries are showing signs of age. A U-60 is too small for almost every kind of gig I do. The U-90's add a bit of weight but it is not that bad. And yes pull that focus ring towards you and get all the auto settings turned off. People screaming from the rafters is quite common when they get an EX and haven't turned off all the "auto everything". Back focus is easily setup up as Paul says. The manual spells it out clearly. Takes 10 minutes if you are being a nervous nelly.

February 12th, 2010, 07:08 AM	#12
Rupert Smith New Boot Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6	The media end/low battery problem also affects the EX3 ! Which really annoying when using canon stills lens as adjusting the gain/shutter is the only way controlling exposure on the fly.

February 12th, 2010, 08:48 PM	#13
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	-Ah yes U-90 is what I meant, not U-60 What does the firmware upgrade do? Surely sorts out this warning thing?..

February 18th, 2010, 06:23 PM	#14
Luke Flegg New Boot Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Posts: 7	actually no it wasn't u-60 are the big batteries. What's a u-90...?