Alignment. My camera needs Alighnent. What is that?

Tyson Persall · May 12th, 2008, 11:23 AM

A partner of mine sent his camera to a shop to fix a problem with the firewire port.
They recorded some footage and said that it needs some alignment which would be $150.00. Alignment? Dont cars need alignment? Next thing they'll be telling him his camera needs its carburetor lubed. -just kidding, but I am always weary of anyone telling me something needs fixed that i dont know about - like with cars, Casue i have no idea if its really important or not or you could just make anything up and ill have to go on your word.

>So, is this a legitimate thing? I asume yes, but id like to know what alignment is.

Don Bloom · May 12th, 2008, 12:24 PM

the heads can and do go out of alignment which can cause all sorts of dropout problems. However it is not something that needs to be done on a regualr basis unless ther's something else going on inside. I've had the heads on both my 150 and 170 aligned-the 150 when the heads were replaced after about 1000 hours of tape thru them and the 170 when I had the chip replaced under the recall. I had to pay for the alignment as well as paying for the 150 to be R&Rd.
Again not something that usually needs to be done to soon but then it can and does happen.

Don

Tyson Persall · May 12th, 2008, 03:41 PM

Cool, Thanks. This particular DVX100 has a LOT of hours on it so i guess ill do it.

Ken Plotin · May 12th, 2008, 10:00 PM

He might be referring to a "software alignment" to bring the camera back up to spec. This can help anything from slight back focus issues to exposure variations. I was surprised at how extensively software controls many camera functions. The problem may not be completely mechanical in origin.
Hope this helps.
Ken

May 12th, 2008, 11:23 AM	#1
Tyson Persall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: North Hollywood, Atlanta Posts: 339	Alignment. My camera needs Alighnent. What is that? A partner of mine sent his camera to a shop to fix a problem with the firewire port. They recorded some footage and said that it needs some alignment which would be $150.00. Alignment? Dont cars need alignment? Next thing they'll be telling him his camera needs its carburetor lubed. -just kidding, but I am always weary of anyone telling me something needs fixed that i dont know about - like with cars, Casue i have no idea if its really important or not or you could just make anything up and ill have to go on your word. >So, is this a legitimate thing? I asume yes, but id like to know what alignment is. __________________ Tyson X

May 12th, 2008, 03:41 PM	#3
Tyson Persall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: North Hollywood, Atlanta Posts: 339	Cool, Thanks. This particular DVX100 has a LOT of hours on it so i guess ill do it. __________________ Tyson X

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May 12th, 2008, 12:24 PM	#2
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,699	the heads can and do go out of alignment which can cause all sorts of dropout problems. However it is not something that needs to be done on a regualr basis unless ther's something else going on inside. I've had the heads on both my 150 and 170 aligned-the 150 when the heads were replaced after about 1000 hours of tape thru them and the 170 when I had the chip replaced under the recall. I had to pay for the alignment as well as paying for the 150 to be R&Rd. Again not something that usually needs to be done to soon but then it can and does happen. Don

May 12th, 2008, 10:00 PM	#4
Ken Plotin Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 95	He might be referring to a "software alignment" to bring the camera back up to spec. This can help anything from slight back focus issues to exposure variations. I was surprised at how extensively software controls many camera functions. The problem may not be completely mechanical in origin. Hope this helps. Ken