FX7 Resolution took a nose dive >=( Help
 

Well I noticed the problem July 14, 2007 when I was recording a wedding with it as main cam during the reception and the fx1 was the wide shot because of better lowlight performance. I noticed the fx7 was not sharp at all and just put it beside me and said it was cause of lowlight. Well, it's now september and I used the cam again 3 times this month and notice something was wrong with the cam. The cam is just soft period and I don't know what caused it. I searched the internet for help and nothing. Attached is 3 pics from a job done 3 weeks ago where I had no choice but to use the cam. There's a fx1 frame grab medium shot, and a fx7 frame grab untouched and one lightly sharpened. Anyone what could have happened? I also put both cams thru my HDTV via component and yes both set for component 1080i out of cam. The fx1 is way way sharper when the fx7 was sharper in my first initial test. If it does need repairs any help with where to send it? I bought the cam 2nd hand from Steve Nunez and the warranty expired. Thanks for any help.

Monday

Sorry if this is obvious- just things to check in case you haven't thought of it:

I have FX1, but no FX7. So I'm shooting in dark. But for a long time, I had issues with my FX1, untill I found a setting was wrong. Most obvious thing is to check all settings, at some point you may have inadvertantly set sharpness setting or detail setting low, or something like that. If I recall, you even can reset everything in the camera by a process in the book.

Second issue could be what mounted in front of lens? New shylight filter, other filter, extender ?

Lens clean?

Did you shoot in dusty conditions ? Could some have gotten inside camera.

I'd say it was a backfocus problem.

i've heard that problem on other Sony cams - if it is, then it's a dealer repair issue.
I think you should wait for other opinions on this thread, check all the stuff advised, but i think it may be a repair job.

Hey Chris,
there's no filter in front of the cam at all. Sharpness is at 8 on both cams. I even turned sharpness up on the fx7 and it just looked over processed sharp. I reseted the cam and nothing changed. Very frustrating.

Hey Stu,
That may be the exact problem. I will wait and see as you've suggested before sending the cam out. I've never had to send a cam out to sony b4 any info from the repair dealer if I have to send out of the states? Thanks

Monday

I would also look at the shutter speed - on an NTSC camera if you drop the shutter below 1/60 (1/30 for example) you will take a 50% resolution hit. Also be sure you aren't using one of the cineframe modes (cf24 or cf30) because they also reduce resolution.

When you say you compared the cameras using a component connection, did you mean you compared the tapes or that you were looking at a live image? Again, it's pretty obvious, but you should make sure you're getting the best possible focus by plugging the camera into the monitor and using manual control.

If you feel your camera needs repair then see the following link for info on repair centers and pricing. Enter your camera model as hdrfx7 and complete the other info in the "new repair" section: http://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web/index.do

Hey Boyd,
Cineform 24 is off and the shutter is always 1/60 or faster. I looked live view through my HDTV with manual focus an it is really soft compared to the fx1 when the first time I tried this the fx7 was sharper than my fx1. I looked at the last 3 jobs same settings used on the cam as the fx1 and the resolution stinks. I don't know why it is just plain out soft. Looked at the job from yesterday and my assistant noticed the problem immediately when comparing the two cams just off the lcd screen. (I know that's not how you judge anything but it's significant the resolution loss) I will look at the link, thanks for providing that Boyd.

Monday

Are you using any gain?

Hey Marcus,
After your comment on gain and no gain I played with the cam some more using gain and no gain. Shutter at 1/60 N/D off, cam wb and the iris at 1.6 and the image is as bad as you see it in HD and SD as the attachment. Then I decided to stop down on the iris and 2.8 - 11 the cam was back to normal with or without gain. So now it looks like Stu is right on with his judgement. I use 1.6 iris all the time on my FX1 and even the FX7 from time to time before and no problem. Now 1.6 - 2.6 the image just gets messy.

Monday

Yes it certainly seems like a focus issue. I doubt Sony will have to send it out of the USA.

Good luck with getting it fixed - hope it's not too expensive, but as you say it's out of warranty, so i think you're probably looking at something in the region of US$500 unfortuantely (bit of a guesstimate, but other repairs on Sony cams in USA seem to come in about 500 or so..)