Soft Images???

[Lou Bruno]

Also a possibility of a poor back focus factory adjustment.

QUOTE=Jordan Berry;1492026]In the comparison the footage from the Sony looks out of focus. Obviously, the camera was in focus. Maybe you just have a bad camera?[/QUOTE]

[Khoi Pham]

Originally Posted by Cristian Adrian Olariu

Mark, as you see here Sony NX5 & EX-1 comparison on Vimeo the NX5 is not as good in low light and in details compared to EX1, but it's not too bad either.
It will be helpful if you can upload a side by side test with NX5 and HMC150.
From what I can see here nx5u.com the quality looks very good in my subjective point of view.

This is how NX5 should look, there is something not right with Mark's NX5 footage.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Khoi,

Thanks for the input. Do you have the NX5U? If so, do you know where to select 1920 versus 1440?

In the Recording Format Menu I selected the third one from the top which is 1080/30p FX, which is the highest quality of 30p. Maybe it's 1440 and not 1920? Maybe the top two choices, 1080/60i, HQ and LP are 1920? I don't know, just guessing and hoping someone has the answer.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Lou,

Yes I turned off the steady shot on both cameras. I used class 6 cards in both cameras and just in case I had a bad SDHC card, I grabbed footage from the Flash Memory drive, but it looked just like the footage from the SDHC card.

Thanks for your suggestions and if you have any more, keep them coming.

[Khoi Pham]

Originally Posted by Mark Von Lanken

Hi Khoi,

Thanks for the input. Do you have the NX5U? If so, do you know where to select 1920 versus 1440?

In the Recording Format Menu I selected the third one from the top which is 1080/30p FX, which is the highest quality of 30p. Maybe it's 1440 and not 1920? Maybe the top two choices, 1080/60i, HQ and LP are 1920? I don't know, just guessing and hoping someone has the answer.

No I don't have one and don't plan to get one anytime soon, but make sure that you recorded it in FX or FH mode, if you recorded it in HQ or LP mode then it will auto go to 1440X1080. Look at Cristian footage, it is nothing like yours, there is something wrong with the camera or your project timeline, but do like I ask? pause between the two camera, there is NO WAY perspective can be that different when both camera are side by side, your footage was stretch.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Khoi,

Now that I scroll up I see there are 4 1080i choices. I'll do the top 1080i and the top 1080p. It would be really helpful if it listed 1920 or 1440, assuming not all are 1920.

[Khoi Pham]

Do 1080 30p at "FX" quality, this will make it 1920X1080 at the highest bitrate, if you do HQ or LP it will be 1440X1080 and at very low bitrate and that could contribute to the softness.
Or you can right mouse click on your clip in Edius and chose property and see what size it is that your recorded those clip at before.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Khoi,

1080/30p only has FX and FH mode. 1080/60i has LP, HQ, FH and FX. Thanks for the explantion of LP and HQ being 1440.

I checked on the Edius timeline and the clips are 1920x1080, which I guess makes sense because 1920 is the only mode for 1080/30p.

[Khoi Pham]

Oh well that was my guess as to why your clips look so soft, I guess I'm wrong, maybe you have a defective camera for real.

[Mark Von Lanken]

I think I may have just discovered the problem. Lou mentioned a back focus issue. I am encoding the clip now, but when I zoom in for focus and then zoom back out and reframe the shot it looks really soft. Then when I hit infinity, it becomes really sharp. Zoom in and it is really out of focus.

I will post the clip as soon as it comes on line. If it is a back focus issue, is there anything I can do to correct it, or does it need to be sent back to Sony? I only have the camera on loan for the weekend and I was going to go to a wedding tonight to get some footage. It's not a wedding gig, just a vendor that said we could show up and shoot some test footage with the camera.

[Cristian Adrian Olariu]

You must send it back to Sony. On the Z5 topic (in this forum i think) you can read about the back focus problem.
If I remember correctly when you'll leave it in auto focus, the problem will not appear.

[Mark Von Lanken]

I have never experienced a backfocus problem, but this sure looks like what I have seen others describe. Take a look and see what you think.

This camera is just on loan for the weekend, but if I would have just put out $9000 plus on a couple of these, I would be very upset and disappointed.

I am going to shoot some footage tonight at a wedding reception and I guess I will have to use auto focus. I have never shot a reception in all auto focus, so we will see how it goes.

Sony NX5U Back Focus Issue on Vimeo

[Lou Bruno]

If I am not mistaken, one must turn MACRO FOCUS>OFF


I am having reservations about upgrading from the Z5U right now. I really like the appearance of my HDv picture. Shot shot a train show and I used tape as a backup to the SONY FLASH DRIVE unit with the CF CARD-best of both worlds. Considering both the current camera and the future NXCAM have the same chip etc., I will have to give much thought about upgrading especially since I prefer the rapid rendering of HDV over my AVCHD camera. But that is my opinion as of now.

ALSO......you can use the camera in AUTO-FOCUS and at the same time, overide the focus manually. This is great feature found on the CANON cameras such as the XH-A1S

BTW: MARK- Nice meeting you at LIVA last time. Hope you enjoyed my video lecture as I did your outstanding seminar.


The Panasonic looks awesome!!

[Ron Evans]

Mark that doesn't just look soft it doesn't look in focus. My comments between the XR500 and NX5U are miniscule in comparison. On the vectorscope the XR500 image was right up on the targets whereas the NX5U was only about 80% of the way. That's the correction I made to give the images the same punch. In full auto the Sony consumer cams have very saturated colour so as with the comparison to the FX1 the more pro cameras in the Sony range always look a little dull until they are tweeked a little. However the XR500 is a very good camera and produces very clean sharp video without the edge enhancement I see in the Canon's for example.
You should maybe shoot both NX5U and the 150 in 720P60 and see how they compare so that the 150 would not have to be enhanced as much.
Just noted the backfocus comments while I was writing this. That could be the issue . I haven't checked mine for back focus since i always use push to focus( spot focus on the XR500) at the zoom I intend to use so I never do the zoom in focus and then frame. Comes from working with consumer cams for a long time that ALL have backfocus problems!!!!!
Ron Evans

[Ron Evans]

Did a quick check of my NX5U backfocus and it seems OK. Will do more tomorrow in better light. Peaking stays locked all the way through the zoom range in either direction. Will post again after more tests tomorrow.

Ron Evans