Hi Denny,

Three months after posting the video of the bad back focus, Sony still has not sent a properly working unit. THAT SAYS ALOT! Sony said they would send me a different demo unit after NAB. NAB was in mid April...

Granted, the bad back focus unit was a demo camera from the San Jose demo pool...you would have thought Sony would want their demo pool cameras to be working properly. If I experienced the back focus problem from a camera I bought, I would have sent it back right away. I don't know how wide spread the back focus problem is. A few people have contacted me with the same back focus problem, but it's hard to say how many cameras are faulty. I guess if you only use auto focus and not manual focus, you may not even know the NX5U has a back focus problem.

In addition to the back focus problem, just read this forum with the buffer overload issues. Any new camera can have bugs, but when Sony wanted the owners of the NX5U to send the cameras back to Sony and the NX5U owners had to pay shipping to Sony on a brand new camera...enough said.

Sony now has a downloadable fix, so you don't have to send the camera back to Sony and pay the shipping out of your own pocket. Time will tell if the new fix actually solves the problem. As I said earlier, any new camera can have bugs, but the way Sony has handled these problems says alot about Sony's lack of customer service.

Hi Denny,

In addition to the back focus problem, just read this forum with the buffer overload issues. Any new camera can have bugs, but when Sony wanted the owners of the NX5U to send the cameras back to Sony and the NX5U owners had to pay shipping to Sony on a brand new camera...enough said.

Sony now has a downloadable fix, so you don't have to send the camera back to Sony and pay the shipping out of your own pocket. Time will tell if the new fix actually solves the problem. As I said earlier, any new camera can have bugs, but the way Sony has handled these problems says alot about Sony's lack of customer service.

Sorry for the bad Sony CS, I know you use to be all Sony (from the DVD's I have) and I will not defend them. I will add that I had to pay shipping to and from Canon for many warranty items. Over the years they only paid shipping 1 time for a recall, the rest was on me.

I have been checking out all the cameras, and you know they all have pros and cons but as of right now, at the current pricing this seems to be the most bang for the buck if the firmware update has fixed the problem.

I wish I could just step up to the pump and buy a second ex1r, but its a lot of cash, and not a light camera either.

Hi Denny,

As I said earlier, any new camera can have bugs, but the way Sony has handled these problems says alot about Sony's lack of customer service.

I couldn't agree more Mark!!! If I had it to do over again, I would not purchase these cameras and that's primarily because of Sony's customer service. I'm pretty deeply financially invested in these cams now and if the firmware fix holds up to testing, I'll be keeping them. If it doesn't, I'll bite the bullet and move back to Canon or Panasonic.

Will be watching this week for information on the firmware fixes, I see where the Panasonic AG-HPX170 just dropped into this same price range. Not sure if thats comparable or not.

I hope the firmware update has fixed the issues, like the features and similarity it has to the ex1r.

The focus problem is still there. I wish I had not bought this Camera. It is a same that their consumer HD camcorder produces better results than this junk. I spoke to sony and they claim their is no problem.

The focus problem is still there. I wish I had not bought this Camera. It is a same that their consumer HD camcorder produces better results than this junk. I spoke to sony and they claim their is no problem.

Not what I wanted to hear, and I am sorry that you are having issues. I was in the same place with the Canon 1D Mark III at one point.

Thanks for informing us of the situation.

The firmware upgrade was easy to do. Sony Canada rang me to tell me about the download less than an hour after it was posted. I don't think that's too bad a service. I was ( and still am) a little unhappy about the autofocus on my camera. It is better after the firmware update but is poor compared to the Sony SR11 or XR500 that I also use. I do not believe I have a backfocus issue just that the autofocus is poor and will not repeatably set the same focus point. Checking with the expanded focus it is NEVER sharp focus. Once set in manual the autofocus will not change the position if activated. I have come to the conclusion that if its in the reasonable depth of field the autofocus is happy. This could lead to the soft focus that some people report. Once set manually its sharp. I have not changed the default sharpening in the menus so at times I think the XR500 is a lot sharper. The XR500 IS a lot cleaner image as I think the "R" sensor is a lot better than the stock Exmor chips. On the FX1 12db of gain was acceptable but not on the NX5U where I think 9db may be pushing the limit when I intercut with the XR500 that is cleaner at 18db than the NX5U at 9db. Of course if Sony have just shifted the gain numbers then 9 could actually be 15db !!!!!! Which is understandable as 18 on the "R" sensor will be cleaner than 15 on a standard Exmor. I will certainly look at the MC50 when it comes out as this may actually give a better picture than the NX5U !!! All my projects are in theatre shows with low, contrast lighting so clean images with gain are important.
Overall I am happy with the camera as I get more used to it. I like the long record time for my theatre show without having to think about tape changing on any of the cameras, the audio is great at LPCM, and the picture is a lot better than HDV. When compared to the FX1 the NX5U is much better and without having a XR500 to compare to I might be a lot happier. The picture from the XR500 was one reason I wanted to change from the FX1 as it was looking like the cheap consumer camera compared to the SR11 and XR500!!! AT least the NX5U matches easily to the two consumer cameras!!!! I will send my camera to Sony mid June when I have a break so that they can check out the focus issue.

Ron Evans

The focus problem is still there. I wish I had not bought this Camera. It is a same that their consumer HD camcorder produces better results than this junk. I spoke to sony and they claim their is no problem.

Hi Steve,

Are you having a problem with back focus or auto focus? If it is a back focus problem, it is very easy to show proof and Sony should stand behind their product. If you are experiencing an auto focus problem, that could be a little tougher to prove, the speed and accuracy of auto focus varies greatly but a back focus problem is completely unacceptable.

Sorry for the bad Sony CS, I know you use to be all Sony (from the DVD's I have) and I will not defend them. I will add that I had to pay shipping to and from Canon for many warranty items. Over the years they only paid shipping 1 time for a recall, the rest was on me...

Hi Denny,

I have had warranty work done with both Sony and Canon cameras and yes, I expect to pay for shipping on warranty work. The difference this time is that the NX5U is a brand new camera that has known bugs. That should not fall under warranty work, but fixing a known problem on a brand new camera.

I am glad for the NX5U owners that Sony has a firmware fix that can now be downloaded. At least now they don't have to pay to ship their brand new cameras off to be fixed.

I couldn't agree more Mark!!! If I had it to do over again, I would not purchase these cameras and that's primarily because of Sony's customer service. I'm pretty deeply financially invested in these cams now and if the firmware fix holds up to testing, I'll be keeping them. If it doesn't, I'll bite the bullet and move back to Canon or Panasonic.

Hi Jeff,

I am so sorry about all of the lost time and stress you have experienced over this issue. It's always a big decision when buying new cameras, not to mention the money invested. I hope the new fix really does fix the problems. From my limited time with the NX5U, I noticed a lot of great features, but if a camera is unreliable it doesn't really matter how cool the features are.

My NX5U seemed a little "blah" right out of the box but I boosted the chroma and detail a little and it made a huge difference. It's very sharp now. I mainly shoot in 720p.

Joe

Just to present a counter-point to this thread: Ive been shooting with the NX5U for about a month. Done everything from a car meet in a dimly-lit parking lot to 100-degree blindingly-bright days trackside (I specialize in automotive for corporate clients) to filming my youngest son learning to walk in our livingroom. I haven't bothered with the memory unit, since I'm not worried about the loss of data and just shoot to big Class 4 cards (been shooting with a b-camera for years to SDHC cards and never had a problem.)

Though I would like a faster and smarter auto-focus, and I'd prefer the expanded focus button be located closer to the barrel, I have zero serious complaints about this camera. Fantastic picture, smart workflow (and I use FCP) and a great price for a day-to-day work camera.

I find the NX5U just has a learning curve if you're not used to doing everything manually. Yes, even focus. In my experience even the generally regarded great autofocus systems screw up often enough to avoid for serious work. Ask a 7D owner what they think of auto-focus (okay, that's just me being snarky now). I'm not the type of guy that can track a bird in flight with manual focus without drifting a bit in and out, but I can still do better than most AF systems (I don't have to film birds for paid work, thank god.) Just be sure to turn on the Peaking feature.

I did the V2 reflash this afternoon since I finally have a couple days free (in case I screwed it up.) I actually think Sony responded very quickly to the problem and offered a solution in an acceptable time frame after the problem was discovered. Very nice they even made a stupid-proof windows installer to self-flash cameras (I run mostly macs, but it's ridiculous to expect them to release both a mac and pc updater, imho.) Yes, I agree it shouldn't have been a problem in the first place, but even the early 3rd party reviewers didn't seem to experience the buffer overflow issue, so obviously it wasn't epidemic.

At least the NX5U isn't frying controllers on SDHC cards a year after it's release (look that up in the HMC150 forums... granted isolated incidents, but based on forum posts you'd believe it was happening to almost everyone).

I agree with your last post pretty much. I am between this camera and a second EX1r, I know there is a price difference but some things to consider.

EX1r has been on autofocus VERY little over the last year, and it also writes to one card. (SXS) I am very close to giving this camera a try. I wish I could test one first, If it matches up really well with the ex1r, and its functions are very similar it could be a great choice. Still kicking around both cameras, will decide this week.

I would love to see some more positive feedback on this camera.

If you haven't made up your mind by late June, I see I'm scheduled to be shooting in the western PA mountains.You're welcome to come by and try mine out... though, I don't really know *where* I'm shooting exactly yet. I just know Miatas are involved. Lol.

The NX5U matches well with the EX3 that I shoot with sometimes so I assume the Ex1 would be the same. On the issue of auto focus. For me the camera is in manual all the time. I just like to check by pressing the push to focus button as I did on my FX1. Not reliable on my NX5U and I have taken to relying on peaking more as well as the expanded focus. As I have said in my previous posts if I didn't have the XR500 to compare to it would be different. Compared to the FX1 the NX5U is great. Better in every way ( maybe the auto focus is not as good!!!!) I certainly don't miss changing tapes.

Ron Evans

Mark,

Here's some basics on optics. (BTW, I heard about this problem with the NX5, and that it was corrected after initial production problems. I will check mine, however.)

With telephoto lenses, front focus is critical. The lens is far from the image plane so small movements of the lens assembly represent a small percentage of distance.

With wide angle things are reversed. The lens assembly is very close to the image plane, so even the slightest error in lens assembly positioning will knock the whole image out of focus.

You run a test - pick an area that's not overly bright as you want a large aperture. Zoom in on part of a scene where everything is roughtly at the same distance; a large sign works well. Focus on an object in the scene. Now zoom all the way out. The whole thing should remain in focus. If not, there is a misajustment with the positioning of the lens assembly. If you are working with a large pro camera there is usually a back focus adjustment. With the NX5, it's a factory service thing.




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 (http://vimeo.com/9788720)

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the techno explanation. I wish I would have known that when I spent hours trying to figure out why the NX5U looked so soft. Oh well, now I know.

The two shocking things about the whole back focus problem is that the camera came from the San Jose demo pool. You would have thought that a camera that was used for demos would have gone through strict Quality Control so this did not happen with their brand new product line. I know of three other examples of people buying an NX5U with back focus problems, (they contacted me after seeing it on the web) so hopefully it was a small isolated problem.

The second thing that has been so shocking is that Sony told me they would send me a properly working NX5U after NAB to write a review. It's been 2 months since NAB and nothing. That says a lot.

All NX5u has this problem it may hurt Sony in the long run if the do not fix it.

For example last Sunday I went to my local pro shop were both the Sony and Cannon rep were on the hand. The $6,000.00 cannon was selling like crazy while the sony did not move. Why because the Canno had a better and sharper picture. The Sony rep went throught three NX5u with the same back focus problem. the owner of the store told me he refuses to carry the NX5u because he feels that this camera is unsellabe.

I now wish I had not bought the NX5u and instead waited a couple of months to get the Cannon.

Does anyone have a Sony NX5u that works

Does anyone have a Sony NX5u that works

No, none of us have NX5 cameras that work. Go buy the canon for 50% more$$, because none of us need a camera that works. Seriously? You're really asking that?

Faulty Back Focus UPDATE:

I continue to have people contact me about the faulty back focus problem, even last night. Sony has not sent me a properly working unit, nearly 3 months after it was promised, so I am not holding my breathe.

Bottom Line: I don't know how many NX5Us have a faulty back focus, but I do not believe it is a wide spread problem. If it were, we would be reading about it much more frequently. If you are nervous about buying the NX5U because of the faulty back focus, immediately test the back focus when your camera arrives. Odds are it will be fine. If it is not, contact your dealer and send it back for a good one.

UPDATE:

I am still being contacted by owners of the NX5U about the back focus problem. Many have found this post by doing a google search. Sony never did send me a properly working NX5U, so I do not have test footage comparing the HMC150 to a properly functioning NX5U.

I am happy to answer any questions, but most of the emails are wanting to know if the problem was resolved and if I have comparison footage, and as of today, the answer is NO on both accounts. Sorry.