EX3: MF failout at DVinfo.net

Markus Bo · September 7th, 2008, 04:19 AM

Yesterday I had the oportunity to film during a couple of hours. And two times I wasn't able to focus manually - no reaction when moving the lens' wheel. I doublechecked all bottons but nothing strange. Push AF still worked. I turned the cam off and on and: MF worked again. any ideas?

Markus

Steve Phillipps · September 7th, 2008, 04:32 AM

You did push the foocus ring fully back into the manual position presumably? Just trying to rule things out!
Steve

Markus Bo · September 7th, 2008, 04:41 AM

Yes I also checked the ring in MF / AF but it neither worked in AF nor MF, just the Push AF button.

Markus

Steve Phillipps · September 7th, 2008, 04:55 AM

That does sound strange as when it's in MF mode as far as I know there are no elelctronics involved, it's a purely mechanical focus mechanism.
Steve

Todd Moore · September 7th, 2008, 05:10 AM

I had similar problem with my EX-1 1st week of ownership.
No Manual Focus. It then started alternating between Focus not working and the Zoom (not manual) not working (must be some electronics involved somewhere). They replaced it.

Very strange problem and never found out a reason why.

Good luck.

Ted OMalley · September 7th, 2008, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Phillipps

That does sound strange as when it's in MF mode as far as I know there are no elelctronics involved, it's a purely mechanical focus mechanism.
Steve

Doesn't appear to be a mechanical mechanism. With the lens removed from the camera, adjusting the focus ring (in the manual positiion) does not affect the elements in the lens - everything stays in place. It "feels" mechanical, but it seems that it is really electronic.

Alister Chapman · September 7th, 2008, 02:04 PM

It is electronic. There is no actual mechanical connection. If you turn the manual focus ring fast enough it is possible to see some lag.

Nick Wilson · September 7th, 2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Phillipps

That does sound strange as when it's in MF mode as far as I know there are no elelctronics involved, it's a purely mechanical focus mechanism.
Steve

Nope - the EX1/EX3 Fujinon lens is a servo controlled varifocal, with the focus always under electronic control (zoom and iris is mechanical). When in Full MF mode, the lens reports the absolute position of the focus scale and the electronics focus accordingly - the only reason that push AF and shot transition are disabled is that the camera has no way of moving the range scale. The Auto Flange Back procedure recalibrates the focus lookup table for each end of the zoom range, and affects back focus even on Full MF.

This (and electronic chromatic aberration correction) is why the EX1 and EX3 are available for much less than the price of a comparable broadcast zoom for an F335 or F355. It also means there is nothing special about Full MF; it is nice to have end stops but the lens works the same in MF with the ring forward.

Nick

Mike Chandler · September 8th, 2008, 12:22 PM

Had the exact same problem--turned off camera, turned on, able to focus in MF, went to AF, able to focus, back to MF, not able to focus. Ring just turned and turned. Thought it was having AF assist on, so turned it off, no difference. Unseated lens, re-did flange flocus adjust, now no problem, but I have no explanation why problem the arose and very scary if it will rear its ugly head in the middle of a shoot.

Tom Roper · September 8th, 2008, 01:30 PM

Amazing to learn this only now. Was I the only one who thought it was at least mostly mechanical?

I knew it couldn't be entirely mechanical due to the flangeback procedure, but I still thought there was a mechanical connection.

Steve Phillipps · September 8th, 2008, 01:38 PM

It is a surprise. But what's more surprising to me is how well it works and feels, it's really nice, that's why I assumed it wa mechanical. But sounds like it's a bit prone to problems.
Steve

Nick Wilson · September 8th, 2008, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

Had the exact same problem--turned off camera, turned on, able to focus in MF, went to AF, able to focus, back to MF, not able to focus. Ring just turned and turned. Thought it was having AF assist on, so turned it off, no difference. Unseated lens, re-did flange flocus adjust, now no problem, but I have no explanation why problem the arose and very scary if it will rear its ugly head in the middle of a shoot.

Given that removing and replacing the lens seemed to cure the problem, is it due to an iffy contact between the lens and body? If it happens again, it would be worth checking whether the lens is passing any data (eg, focus for the DOF scale, zoom and aperture settings) back to the camera.

Nick

Dave Morrison · September 8th, 2008, 06:15 PM

My EX1 lost the ability to focus to infinity in MF. They replaced the lens. This was my second lens with the first one being replaced because of foreign matter inside.

Bob Grant · September 9th, 2008, 06:15 AM

I've had one instance of something like this happening. as I zoomed the focus moved as well. Powering the camera off and on cleared the condition. I'll see how it goes once I get it back from Sony, 9 days so far, maybe they've found something major.

Markus Bo · September 9th, 2008, 12:36 PM

My EX3 will go back to Sony this week, next week I will tell you what they made....

September 7th, 2008, 04:19 AM	#1
Markus Bo Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ingelheim (Rheinland-Pfalz) Posts: 140	EX3: MF failout Yesterday I had the oportunity to film during a couple of hours. And two times I wasn't able to focus manually - no reaction when moving the lens' wheel. I doublechecked all bottons but nothing strange. Push AF still worked. I turned the cam off and on and: MF worked again. any ideas? Markus __________________ Freelance full service reporter www.boehnisch.de

September 7th, 2008, 04:41 AM	#3
Markus Bo Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ingelheim (Rheinland-Pfalz) Posts: 140	Yes I also checked the ring in MF / AF but it neither worked in AF nor MF, just the Push AF button. Markus __________________ Freelance full service reporter www.boehnisch.de

September 7th, 2008, 02:04 PM	#7
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	It is electronic. There is no actual mechanical connection. If you turn the manual focus ring fast enough it is possible to see some lag. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

September 8th, 2008, 06:15 PM	#13
Dave Morrison Major Player Join Date: May 2002 Location: West Central Florida Posts: 762	My EX1 lost the ability to focus to infinity in MF. They replaced the lens. This was my second lens with the first one being replaced because of foreign matter inside. __________________ EX1, Nikon D750 http://www.morrisonphotographics.com http://www.heritagefilm.com

September 9th, 2008, 12:36 PM	#15
Markus Bo Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Ingelheim (Rheinland-Pfalz) Posts: 140	My EX3 will go back to Sony this week, next week I will tell you what they made.... __________________ Freelance full service reporter www.boehnisch.de

September 7th, 2008, 04:32 AM	#2
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	You did push the foocus ring fully back into the manual position presumably? Just trying to rule things out! Steve

September 7th, 2008, 04:55 AM	#4
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	That does sound strange as when it's in MF mode as far as I know there are no elelctronics involved, it's a purely mechanical focus mechanism. Steve

September 7th, 2008, 05:10 AM	#5
Todd Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alstonville Australia Posts: 42	I had similar problem with my EX-1 1st week of ownership. No Manual Focus. It then started alternating between Focus not working and the Zoom (not manual) not working (must be some electronics involved somewhere). They replaced it. Very strange problem and never found out a reason why. Good luck.

September 8th, 2008, 12:22 PM	#9
Mike Chandler Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Moab, UT Posts: 264	Had the exact same problem--turned off camera, turned on, able to focus in MF, went to AF, able to focus, back to MF, not able to focus. Ring just turned and turned. Thought it was having AF assist on, so turned it off, no difference. Unseated lens, re-did flange flocus adjust, now no problem, but I have no explanation why problem the arose and very scary if it will rear its ugly head in the middle of a shoot.

September 8th, 2008, 01:30 PM	#10
Tom Roper Trustee Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 1,891	Amazing to learn this only now. Was I the only one who thought it was at least mostly mechanical? I knew it couldn't be entirely mechanical due to the flangeback procedure, but I still thought there was a mechanical connection.

September 8th, 2008, 01:38 PM	#11
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	It is a surprise. But what's more surprising to me is how well it works and feels, it's really nice, that's why I assumed it wa mechanical. But sounds like it's a bit prone to problems. Steve

September 9th, 2008, 06:15 AM	#14
Bob Grant Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 1,570	I've had one instance of something like this happening. as I zoomed the focus moved as well. Powering the camera off and on cleared the condition. I'll see how it goes once I get it back from Sony, 9 days so far, maybe they've found something major.