FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue at DVinfo.net

Daniel Epstein · April 21st, 2015, 09:50 AM

Was working on a 2 camera shoot with the FS 7 and had a few gremlins during the day.

First: Has anyone experienced the SDI out on the FS7 Freezing while the camera is on? I was using a Clients FS7 yesterday and the the SDI out would freeze occasionally. The viewfinder was acting normally. A restart would clear it up. We were using both outputs to separate monitors. Both Froze. Happened about 10 times during the day. Running the Camera on Batteries and might be voltage related but we weren't completely at the end of the battery before it happened. Luckily the shoot we were doing didn't suffer too much over this but it did cause us to stop a few takes.

Second: The other FS7 we were using had a different issue. The viewfinder would go green at times. Seemed like a physical issue with the cable at the screen side. If we touched the cable where it attached at the screen the correct way the color would come back for a while.

Jack Zhang · April 24th, 2015, 07:45 PM

If you're using right angle cables, any movement can cause them to drop signal. If the cables aren't being moved, that's a different issue altogether.

3G-SDI modes run shorter than HD-SDI by sheer design. If your cable is too long, it might be losing signal over the distance.

Daniel Epstein · April 25th, 2015, 10:00 AM

Hey Jack,
I was using straight BNC's. Camera was on a jib so it was moving but freezing output seemed unrelated. Could have been a power drop. The real concern was it required a restart to clear. We were working too fast to take time to experiment to see if we could make it happen. It would often work for 15 to 30 minutes so maybe some sort of heat issue for that unit.

Jack Zhang · May 1st, 2015, 11:59 PM

Was the rig blocking the vents? Very likely that would be the issue if it was encased in a cage designed for a different camera.

Daniel Epstein · May 3rd, 2015, 07:47 AM

Sorry No rig blocking the vents. Camera was sitting on Sachtler head basically stock on jib arm. Same as a tripod set up but moveable.

Daniel Epstein · May 7th, 2015, 07:04 AM

Just a Follow up. Used the same monitors and cables with my New FS7 and another FS7 from the client and didn't have any issues with freezing so it does seem it was a problem with that specific camera body firmware combo.

April 21st, 2015, 09:50 AM	#1
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue Was working on a 2 camera shoot with the FS 7 and had a few gremlins during the day. First: Has anyone experienced the SDI out on the FS7 Freezing while the camera is on? I was using a Clients FS7 yesterday and the the SDI out would freeze occasionally. The viewfinder was acting normally. A restart would clear it up. We were using both outputs to separate monitors. Both Froze. Happened about 10 times during the day. Running the Camera on Batteries and might be voltage related but we weren't completely at the end of the battery before it happened. Luckily the shoot we were doing didn't suffer too much over this but it did cause us to stop a few takes. Second: The other FS7 we were using had a different issue. The viewfinder would go green at times. Seemed like a physical issue with the cable at the screen side. If we touched the cable where it attached at the screen the correct way the color would come back for a while.

April 24th, 2015, 07:45 PM	#2
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue If you're using right angle cables, any movement can cause them to drop signal. If the cables aren't being moved, that's a different issue altogether. 3G-SDI modes run shorter than HD-SDI by sheer design. If your cable is too long, it might be losing signal over the distance.

April 25th, 2015, 10:00 AM	#3
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Re: FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue Hey Jack, I was using straight BNC's. Camera was on a jib so it was moving but freezing output seemed unrelated. Could have been a power drop. The real concern was it required a restart to clear. We were working too fast to take time to experiment to see if we could make it happen. It would often work for 15 to 30 minutes so maybe some sort of heat issue for that unit.

May 1st, 2015, 11:59 PM	#4
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue Was the rig blocking the vents? Very likely that would be the issue if it was encased in a cage designed for a different camera.

May 3rd, 2015, 07:47 AM	#5
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Re: FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue Sorry No rig blocking the vents. Camera was sitting on Sachtler head basically stock on jib arm. Same as a tripod set up but moveable.

May 7th, 2015, 07:04 AM	#6
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Re: FS7 SDI Out Freezing Issue Just a Follow up. Used the same monitors and cables with my New FS7 and another FS7 from the client and didn't have any issues with freezing so it does seem it was a problem with that specific camera body firmware combo.