Fs-4 hd and Sony FX1 problem. at DVinfo.net

Bruce S. Yarock · May 6th, 2006, 06:22 PM

I recently bought two fs-4's, upgraded to hd, from the classified section. last night I used them on a 2 cam shoot. One on my Canon XL2 , and the other on a new Sony FX1 , shooting in hdv (fs4 also set to hd).The one on the Canon worked fine all night, but the one on the FX1, stopped working after 35 minutes.
I powered down the fX1 to change tape between band sets, and figured I sould also shut down the fs4. When I powered everything up, I set up the fs 4 as it should be, and put it in "synchro-slave". But when I hit record on the FX1, the fs 4 wouldn't budge. I tried changing cables, shutting down, praying...nothing worked (thank god for good old tape).
Before I start trouble shooting the unit (on both cameras, in sd rather than hd, cables,etc.), I wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem, or has any advice.
Thanks
Bruce Yarock

Dan Euritt · May 6th, 2006, 06:57 PM

what did the camera viewfinder say when you hit the record button?

Bruce S. Yarock · May 6th, 2006, 09:01 PM

Dan,
I don't think the cam viewfinder displyed anything different,and the camera kept recording for the rest of the night.I just couldn't get the fs4 to start again. When I troubleshoot it tommorrow, I'll try it in free record (as opposed to synchro slave) and see if that works. But there's still a problem aomewhere.
Bruce S. Yarock

Rob Mitchell · May 18th, 2006, 02:20 PM

Small point, but is there a chance you powered up the camera before powering up the FS4?

Bruce S. Yarock · May 18th, 2006, 08:49 PM

Rob,
I think I powered up the fs 4 first, but I don't think it should matter. The problem was in the firewire port of theFX1, and after one week of use, the cam is now at Sony repair.
Bruce Yarock

Rob Mitchell · May 19th, 2006, 07:32 AM

Hope that solves your problem. The only reason I mentioned starting up the FS4 first, is that I had the problem of hit and miss recording until I finally started powering up the FS4 before the camera. Since I've done that, touch wood, I've never head a problem. Anyway, hope you've worked things out.
Rob

Bruce S. Yarock · May 19th, 2006, 08:19 PM

Rob,
by trial and error,I figured out that I had to power up my FS4 BEFORe powering my Canon XL2. I'll do the same with the FX1 when I get it back.
thanks
Bruce S. Yarock

Matt McEwen · May 20th, 2006, 10:49 AM

Hi Bruce,

Sometimes, you may need to remove and reinsert the FireWire cable into FS-4. On some occasions, the camera does not hand shake with the camera. Also, is there a possibility that the camera FS-4 was switched to DV mode? IF the cam is in HD mode and FS in SD, it will not record.

Did you also contact Focus tech support support at focusinfo.com?

Hope that helps,

Matt McEwen

Bruce S. Yarock · May 20th, 2006, 03:16 PM

Matt,
The problem wasn't in the FS4, but in the Sony FX1.the firewire port was not functioning, and I sent it off to Sony.
I've been using both of my fs4's with the Canon XL2 (always power up the FS4 first) in synchro slave mode with no trouble at all.
Bruce Yarock

Arnaldo Paixao · May 22nd, 2006, 02:42 AM

"Matt,
The problem wasn't in the FS4, but in the Sony FX1.the firewire port was not functioning, and I sent it off to Sony.
I've been using both of my fs4's with the Canon XL2 --> (always power up the FS4 first) <-- in synchro slave mode with no trouble at all.
Bruce Yarock"

From the FS4 manual:

"Step 3: Connect the other end of the FireWire cable to your video
camera.
Step 4: Turn on the video camera.
Step 5: Turn on the FS-4."

Question:

Wich one should be powered up first? The camera or the FS4?
Does it matter?

Best regards,
Arnaldo

Bruce S. Yarock · May 22nd, 2006, 06:20 AM

Arnaldo,
I found (by trial and error) that with my Canon XL2, I have to power up the FS4 first. I do the same thing on my Sony FX1.

Matt,
Last night I did a wedding, and the FS4 failed on me once.I think it was when I powered down to change lenses. To get it to work again, I had to power down everything twice, the second time unpluging both ends of the firewire cable first.
Is there any special proceedure when powering down the XL2? Sould I also power down the FS4? Is the order important?
Also, is there a short cut to make "synchro slave" a default? I hate having to go through the whole menu each time I power up the FS4.
Other than an occasional misscommunication with thecamera, I'm pretty happy with the FS4.
Bruce S. Yarock

Arnaldo Paixao · May 22nd, 2006, 06:30 AM

Hi Bruce.

I'm in the same boat. Very happy with the FS4 , except in those moments when the #$&# thing does'nt want to comunicate with the camera.

So, any procedure that can garantee us a trouble free power up, is more than welcome.

Best regards,
Arnaldo

Bruce S. Yarock · May 22nd, 2006, 06:39 AM

Arnaldo,
What camera are you using?
I think that firewire is a LAME technology. In addition to crashes, the plug can be touched and fall out without you realizing it. last night I lost 5 minutes on the FS4 that way!All I can say is "thank god for tape".
I have a mobile audio recording rig (Motu Traveller, lap top with Nuendo) that connects by firewire.If you don't power it up using a strict ritual, it won't work. 20 years from now they'll look back and think we were crazy...

Bruce Yarock

Arnaldo Paixao · May 22nd, 2006, 07:55 AM

Bruce.

Mine is a XL1-s. I'v devise a way for the firewire cable not to come lose from the camera, using cable ties.

Samsung is talking now of 1.8" flash drives with up to 32Gb, but I guess we still have to wait a couple of years before we can have cameras with solid state memory; no tape, onboard DTE, no transport mechanism to give you the sweats (and bills) and, above all, within a price point as the ones we have today.
Untill then, the FS4 (with all its shortcomings) its the best we'v got.

Best regards,
Arnaldo

Betsy Moore · June 23rd, 2006, 04:16 PM

If the firewire is broken on your FX1 how much does that cost to repair?

May 6th, 2006, 06:22 PM	#1
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Fs-4 hd and Sony FX1 problem. I recently bought two fs-4's, upgraded to hd, from the classified section. last night I used them on a 2 cam shoot. One on my Canon XL2 , and the other on a new Sony FX1 , shooting in hdv (fs4 also set to hd).The one on the Canon worked fine all night, but the one on the FX1, stopped working after 35 minutes. I powered down the fX1 to change tape between band sets, and figured I sould also shut down the fs4. When I powered everything up, I set up the fs 4 as it should be, and put it in "synchro-slave". But when I hit record on the FX1, the fs 4 wouldn't budge. I tried changing cables, shutting down, praying...nothing worked (thank god for good old tape). Before I start trouble shooting the unit (on both cameras, in sd rather than hd, cables,etc.), I wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem, or has any advice. Thanks Bruce Yarock

May 6th, 2006, 06:57 PM	#2
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	what did the camera viewfinder say when you hit the record button?

May 6th, 2006, 09:01 PM	#3
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Dan, I don't think the cam viewfinder displyed anything different,and the camera kept recording for the rest of the night.I just couldn't get the fs4 to start again. When I troubleshoot it tommorrow, I'll try it in free record (as opposed to synchro slave) and see if that works. But there's still a problem aomewhere. Bruce S. Yarock

May 18th, 2006, 02:20 PM	#4
Rob Mitchell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Miami Beach, FL Posts: 38	Small point, but is there a chance you powered up the camera before powering up the FS4?

May 18th, 2006, 08:49 PM	#5
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Rob, I think I powered up the fs 4 first, but I don't think it should matter. The problem was in the firewire port of theFX1, and after one week of use, the cam is now at Sony repair. Bruce Yarock

May 19th, 2006, 07:32 AM	#6
Rob Mitchell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Miami Beach, FL Posts: 38	Hope that solves your problem. The only reason I mentioned starting up the FS4 first, is that I had the problem of hit and miss recording until I finally started powering up the FS4 before the camera. Since I've done that, touch wood, I've never head a problem. Anyway, hope you've worked things out. Rob

May 19th, 2006, 08:19 PM	#7
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Rob, by trial and error,I figured out that I had to power up my FS4 BEFORe powering my Canon XL2. I'll do the same with the FX1 when I get it back. thanks Bruce S. Yarock

May 20th, 2006, 10:49 AM	#8
Matt McEwen Focus Enhancements Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Campbell, CA. Posts: 508	Hi Bruce, Sometimes, you may need to remove and reinsert the FireWire cable into FS-4. On some occasions, the camera does not hand shake with the camera. Also, is there a possibility that the camera FS-4 was switched to DV mode? IF the cam is in HD mode and FS in SD, it will not record. Did you also contact Focus tech support support at focusinfo.com? Hope that helps, Matt McEwen

May 20th, 2006, 03:16 PM	#9
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Matt, The problem wasn't in the FS4, but in the Sony FX1.the firewire port was not functioning, and I sent it off to Sony. I've been using both of my fs4's with the Canon XL2 (always power up the FS4 first) in synchro slave mode with no trouble at all. Bruce Yarock

May 22nd, 2006, 02:42 AM	#10
Arnaldo Paixao Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vimeiro - Portugal Posts: 255	"Matt, The problem wasn't in the FS4, but in the Sony FX1.the firewire port was not functioning, and I sent it off to Sony. I've been using both of my fs4's with the Canon XL2 --> (always power up the FS4 first) <-- in synchro slave mode with no trouble at all. Bruce Yarock" From the FS4 manual: "Step 3: Connect the other end of the FireWire cable to your video camera. Step 4: Turn on the video camera. Step 5: Turn on the FS-4." Question: Wich one should be powered up first? The camera or the FS4? Does it matter? Best regards, Arnaldo

May 22nd, 2006, 06:20 AM	#11
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Arnaldo, I found (by trial and error) that with my Canon XL2, I have to power up the FS4 first. I do the same thing on my Sony FX1. Matt, Last night I did a wedding, and the FS4 failed on me once.I think it was when I powered down to change lenses. To get it to work again, I had to power down everything twice, the second time unpluging both ends of the firewire cable first. Is there any special proceedure when powering down the XL2? Sould I also power down the FS4? Is the order important? Also, is there a short cut to make "synchro slave" a default? I hate having to go through the whole menu each time I power up the FS4. Other than an occasional misscommunication with thecamera, I'm pretty happy with the FS4. Bruce S. Yarock

May 22nd, 2006, 06:30 AM	#12
Arnaldo Paixao Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vimeiro - Portugal Posts: 255	Hi Bruce. I'm in the same boat. Very happy with the FS4 , except in those moments when the #$&# thing does'nt want to comunicate with the camera. So, any procedure that can garantee us a trouble free power up, is more than welcome. Best regards, Arnaldo

May 22nd, 2006, 06:39 AM	#13
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Arnaldo, What camera are you using? I think that firewire is a LAME technology. In addition to crashes, the plug can be touched and fall out without you realizing it. last night I lost 5 minutes on the FS4 that way!All I can say is "thank god for tape". I have a mobile audio recording rig (Motu Traveller, lap top with Nuendo) that connects by firewire.If you don't power it up using a strict ritual, it won't work. 20 years from now they'll look back and think we were crazy... Bruce Yarock

May 22nd, 2006, 07:55 AM	#14
Arnaldo Paixao Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Vimeiro - Portugal Posts: 255	Bruce. Mine is a XL1-s. I'v devise a way for the firewire cable not to come lose from the camera, using cable ties. Samsung is talking now of 1.8" flash drives with up to 32Gb, but I guess we still have to wait a couple of years before we can have cameras with solid state memory; no tape, onboard DTE, no transport mechanism to give you the sweats (and bills) and, above all, within a price point as the ones we have today. Untill then, the FS4 (with all its shortcomings) its the best we'v got. Best regards, Arnaldo

June 23rd, 2006, 04:16 PM	#15
Betsy Moore Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 444	If the firewire is broken on your FX1 how much does that cost to repair?