Vignette problem

Tom Roper · December 14th, 2007, 09:15 AM

That's outstanding! When I had a problem with the viewfinder going dead on my Z1U (which happens to be your Z1U Chris ;), Sony was prompt in taking care of it.

Steven Thomas · December 14th, 2007, 09:51 AM

That's good news.

What surprises me was the statement "very small percentage".
Having read that, It seems odd most of us who received their cameras and are members of this forum have the vignette problem.

Based on this fact, the percentage is a LOT higher than stated. Either that or we all are very unlucky ;)

Richard Alvarez · December 14th, 2007, 09:57 AM

I think the forum is a 'self selecting sampling' as they say in statistical analysis. Probably not indicative of the 'general' overall market. Having said that, I suspect the choice not to use an actual number concerning the percentage of faulty lenses is also telling.

Good on Sony for owning up and offering a solution.

Craig Seeman · December 14th, 2007, 09:57 AM

And even one (or more) of those who don't have the camera but checked their dealer's camera saw the issue too.

I think there's a fine line between managing Public Relations and Credibility but I'll make no further comment on that.

One doesn't know how such "percentage" is being measured though. No sense in speculating there either.

One can say the issue stretched across shipments to several countries/continents.

Brent Ethington · December 14th, 2007, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Witzke

... If your camcorder exhibits the symptom described please call our Product

Operational Support Center at 1-800-883-6817, option 2-5-2 for advice on how to proceed."

I just called to check on the procedure to get the camera repaired and was told they were still awaiting official word on the issue and the actual procedure to get the camera to their facility for the repair. Should be a couple of days before this happens...

Eric Pascarelli · December 14th, 2007, 12:32 PM

I started another thread about a fix that a dealer told me. I'm not sure it will work, but I will give it a try. It might be that this fix, using the hidden Maintenance menu, is the "10 minute adjustment" mentioned in this thread. Then again, it might not.

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...473#post792473

Kyle Self · December 14th, 2007, 12:59 PM

Good grief people. Who cares how many it is. Is there a reason Sony needs to tell you how many units?

The important part is they are aware, they have a fix, and are getting set up to perform the work on the cameras.

Problem found, problem recognized, problem solved

Isn't that all that really matters?

K

Steven Thomas · December 14th, 2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle Self

Good grief people. Who cares how many it is.

LOL...
Spoken from someone who does not own one. ;)

Hmmm...
Who cares, let's see.....
Anyone who owns one and has the problem. Sony WANTS to know how many have the issue. They need to determine if it's a broken or defective unit opposed to being a problem across all current initial released units.

According to the person I spoke to at Sony, they're hearing it's world wide.
Take a look at how many who have read this thread alone. Something over 23,000. There might be some interest.

Richard Alvarez · December 14th, 2007, 01:21 PM

The reason to care how many are affected, and whether or not Sony is being upfront with that, is to determine the business model that Sony operates under. And yes, that is important to many people.

There is a difference between the following scenarios.

A problem is discovered, and a company hides/denies it
A problem is discovered, and company only admits it to those who discover it.
A problem is discovered, the company downplays it in the press, in order to supress the number of people LOOKING for the problem, and therefore limit their liability.
A problem is discovered, and the company moves agressively to recall the product and offers to fix it for free.
A problem is discovered BY THE COMPANY immediately after shipping, and all deliveries are halted untill such time as all products may be recalled for testing.

And any number of variations on the above scenarios. Each of these represents a different cost/benefit in terms of capital and REPUTATION. How a company handles these sorts of develpments means a lot to those who intend to do business with that company in the future. This is true of cameras, cars, toys... whatever.

So yes, people really do care what the actual extent of the issue is, VS how Sony characterizes it and deals with it.

I'd say they are doing a pretty good job. Not A+ mind you... but pretty good.

Chris Hurd · December 14th, 2007, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Alvarez

I think the forum is a 'self selecting sampling' as they say in statistical analysis. Probably not indicative of the 'general' overall market.

Absolutely right, and often overlooked among forum "regulars," especially those who post on numerous sites. DV Info Net is indeed the home of the single largest XDCAM EX community on the web, but only a very small percentage of XDCAM EX owners bother to look up anything about the camera online (and that's true for *any* camcorder make and model). And then out of the small slice of owners who are looking up this camera online, only a small number of them are actually posting about it... hence this forum is, as Richard correctly points out, not at all indicative of the general overall market. It's the best on the web, of course. But definitely *not* an indication of the overall market.

Now that Sony is responding to this issue, expect to see this thread wind down.

John Hewat · December 15th, 2007, 01:16 AM

So I asked Danny what our chances were in this country of getting a model that had the vignetting problem and he said that it wouldn't happen.

I felt even more confident, given that my box had been "opened for inspection by product testing."

However, when I finally got around to testing the issue (four times), I clearly get the vignetting.

It is quite obvious on the top and bottom right hand corners. This is just one of many screenshots where it is obvious. There were other frames where it was worse than this.

It seems to be happening at the same range of zoom (from about 10 - 15) as everyone else.

Now in America it sounds like they have a number to call if they have the problem... what do we do over here?

Chris Soucy · December 15th, 2007, 01:41 AM

Take it back and reject it as "of not mechantable quality". Nothing else you can do.

CS

John Hewat · December 15th, 2007, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Soucy

Take it back and reject it as "of not mechantable quality". Nothing else you can do.

CS

But everyone's been saying that there is a quick fix - they take it back and fiddle with it for a while and fix it - isn't that the case? I don't want to lose it!!

Do you say that based on my screenshot? In your opinion is that vignetting unacceptable? Or am I being overly critical??

Serena Steuart · December 15th, 2007, 04:13 AM

John, you go back to Danny. If it is the misalignment issue it will have to visit Sony. You may be able to transport it yourself. The reliable authorised service guys are Pro Hi-Tech, in South Melbourne, whom I presume will be the people involved. Sony does use other people as well.

John Hewat · December 15th, 2007, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Serena Steuart

John, you go back to Danny. If it is the misalignment issue it will have to visit Sony. You may be able to transport it yourself. The reliable authorised service guys are Pro Hi-Tech, in South Melbourne, whom I presume will be the people involved. Sony does use other people as well.

Thanks Serena,

Yours doesn't have the problem?

December 14th, 2007, 12:59 PM	#307
Kyle Self Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 59	Good grief people. Who cares how many it is. Is there a reason Sony needs to tell you how many units? The important part is they are aware, they have a fix, and are getting set up to perform the work on the cameras. Problem found, problem recognized, problem solved Isn't that all that really matters? K Last edited by Kyle Self; December 14th, 2007 at 01:00 PM. Reason: lol, I can't type

December 15th, 2007, 01:16 AM	#311
John Hewat Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Posts: 735	The dreaded vignette... So I asked Danny what our chances were in this country of getting a model that had the vignetting problem and he said that it wouldn't happen. I felt even more confident, given that my box had been "opened for inspection by product testing." However, when I finally got around to testing the issue (four times), I clearly get the vignetting. It is quite obvious on the top and bottom right hand corners. This is just one of many screenshots where it is obvious. There were other frames where it was worse than this. It seems to be happening at the same range of zoom (from about 10 - 15) as everyone else. Now in America it sounds like they have a number to call if they have the problem... what do we do over here? Attached Thumbnails __________________ John Hewat Mammoth Media Productions

December 15th, 2007, 01:41 AM	#312
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi John... Take it back and reject it as "of not mechantable quality". Nothing else you can do. CS

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December 14th, 2007, 09:15 AM	#301
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	That's outstanding! When I had a problem with the viewfinder going dead on my Z1U (which happens to be your Z1U Chris ;), Sony was prompt in taking care of it.

December 14th, 2007, 09:51 AM	#302
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	That's good news. What surprises me was the statement "very small percentage". Having read that, It seems odd most of us who received their cameras and are members of this forum have the vignette problem. Based on this fact, the percentage is a LOT higher than stated. Either that or we all are very unlucky ;)

December 14th, 2007, 09:57 AM	#303
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	I think the forum is a 'self selecting sampling' as they say in statistical analysis. Probably not indicative of the 'general' overall market. Having said that, I suspect the choice not to use an actual number concerning the percentage of faulty lenses is also telling. Good on Sony for owning up and offering a solution.

December 14th, 2007, 09:57 AM	#304
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	And even one (or more) of those who don't have the camera but checked their dealer's camera saw the issue too. I think there's a fine line between managing Public Relations and Credibility but I'll make no further comment on that. One doesn't know how such "percentage" is being measured though. No sense in speculating there either. One can say the issue stretched across shipments to several countries/continents.

December 14th, 2007, 12:32 PM	#306
Eric Pascarelli Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 498	I started another thread about a fix that a dealer told me. I'm not sure it will work, but I will give it a try. It might be that this fix, using the hidden Maintenance menu, is the "10 minute adjustment" mentioned in this thread. Then again, it might not. http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...473#post792473

December 14th, 2007, 01:21 PM	#309
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	The reason to care how many are affected, and whether or not Sony is being upfront with that, is to determine the business model that Sony operates under. And yes, that is important to many people. There is a difference between the following scenarios. A problem is discovered, and a company hides/denies it A problem is discovered, and company only admits it to those who discover it. A problem is discovered, the company downplays it in the press, in order to supress the number of people LOOKING for the problem, and therefore limit their liability. A problem is discovered, and the company moves agressively to recall the product and offers to fix it for free. A problem is discovered BY THE COMPANY immediately after shipping, and all deliveries are halted untill such time as all products may be recalled for testing. And any number of variations on the above scenarios. Each of these represents a different cost/benefit in terms of capital and REPUTATION. How a company handles these sorts of develpments means a lot to those who intend to do business with that company in the future. This is true of cameras, cars, toys... whatever. So yes, people really do care what the actual extent of the issue is, VS how Sony characterizes it and deals with it. I'd say they are doing a pretty good job. Not A+ mind you... but pretty good.

December 15th, 2007, 04:13 AM	#314
Serena Steuart Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Studio Alnitak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 640 Images: 3	John, you go back to Danny. If it is the misalignment issue it will have to visit Sony. You may be able to transport it yourself. The reliable authorised service guys are Pro Hi-Tech, in South Melbourne, whom I presume will be the people involved. Sony does use other people as well.