Hours meter error?
 

Has anyone checked the hours on their Z7U?

I just checked mine & it is as follows:

OPERATION 0x10H
DRUM RUN 0x10H
TAPE RUN 0x10H
THREADING 12x10

This doesn't seem right to me. I feel that I have checked the hours in the past, I can't remember when, but I know if I saw a bunch of 0s it would have caught my eye.

I also noticed a Z7U on ebay with the following hours:
OPERATION 4x10H
DRUM RUN 3x10H
TAPE RUN 2x10H
THREADING 37x10

This seems wrong to me too. 370 tapes in 40 hours?!?

Anyone else having a similar problem?

My S270 shows similar results but I havent used it very much:
Camera hours are:
OPERATION: 0X10
DRUM RUN 0X10
TAPE RUN 0X10
THREADING 14X10

My S270 also shows:

OPERATION: 0X10
DRUM RUN 0X10
TAPE RUN 0X10
THREADING 18X10

Was about to exchange it in a deal with a second hand XDCAM camcorder but the seller found the hours also very change and I didn't have an explanation for it.

the Threading operation is *not* multiplied by 10. All others are but not that.

As to why the other numbers are not showing it would seem that Sony might have to look into that. I have never seen any Sony camera that needs those #s turned on/off.

Hrs. meter firmware fix available . . .
 

Check out this Sony link:

Sony | Micro Site - HDV

For almost a year, this firmware fix has been available to correct the hrs. meter problem. Sadly, the camera needs to be returned to Sony to correct the issue. The problem only affects models of both the Z7 and S270 within a certain range of posted serial numbers. I had my two Z7U's done last January, and I believe they both are now working okay.

Now I hope that Sony will get around to a much needed lens / focus firmware update fix, if they can figure out how to do it.

Ian

Thanks Ian! Looks like you solved it. I think Sony might be getting a few cameras soon from this board.

Was this on the board before? I'm kind of annoyed that Sony didn't contact me directly, would have been nice if they did. I'm sure they have all my info from when I did the 2008 NAB rebate.

How long was the turn around time? This might be asking too much, but did they pay for to & from shipping?


The THREADING is the only one which is "x10" all the others are "x10H" for x10 Hours.

PS Thanks Gary & Gabor for checking & posting your hours.

[QUOTE=Zach Love;1323919]Thanks Ian! Looks like you solved it. I think Sony might be getting a few cameras soon from this board.

Was this on the board before? I'm kind of annoyed that Sony didn't contact me directly, would have been nice if they did. I'm sure they have all my info from when I did the 2008 NAB rebate.

How long was the turn around time? This might be asking too much, but did they pay for to & from shipping?



Hi, Zach . . .

I haven't seen the "fix" on the boards . . . I found out about it last Dec. from someone at a shoot who also owns a Z7U. Like you, I DIDN'T hear about it from Sony.

In my case, I didn't need to pay for shipping / handling, etc., since I'm only a few miles away from Sony of Canada headquarters in Toronto, where they were brought in. The cameras were updated when they were in MANY TIMES for a difficult back focus problem.

Sony staff has admitted that there is a design flaw with the focus / back focus of the Z7U. In fact, the whole back flange adjustment doesn't really work like it should. I would like to buy the wide angle accessory lens . . . BUT . . . when BOTH my cameras were tested with one, it didn't work well (bad focus). A tech at Sony said a firmware fix (if possible) might fix the issue. I sure hope they are working on it.

Sooooooooooo, I completely understand how you feel that Sony's customer commitment is a letdown. If a customer purchase is in their database, a Sony owner should be notified about a real problem like a non-working hrs. meter. Sony sure knows how to market a product . . . but sadly it seems the company is resting on their reputation ... not building on it. I only say this because of my personal experience of two years of BAD repair service and equally BAD customer service. As an example of this, one of my cameras came back badly scratched (bottom of unit) after the firmware update was applied to one of the cameras.

Good luck with the firmware update. I would be interested to know how it all works out for you.

Ian

PS: When one of my cameras was in with a tech, he mentioned that there was a second firmware update applied to the camera. I have no idea what it was for. So, when you send in your camera, I would request that they check to see what else (not listed on the Sony site) is currently being updated by firmware. You might as well get the whole "firmware enchilada" taken care of at the same time.