Soft Images???

[Scott Hayes]

keep your Panasonics. they work.

[Adam Welz]

Have you resolved this? My NX5 is sharp at all focal lengths, macro and otherwise.

Adam

[Mark Von Lanken]

Hi Adam,

No, Sony has not responded to my phone calls. It is very disappointing to see such a low level of service coming from Sony, especially from a brand new camera.

I know the back focus problem I experienced is not an isolated case. Just tonight I received an email from a videographer in Wisconsin who is having back focus problems with his brand new NX5U.

[Mark Von Lanken]

We received a phone call from a Sony Representative today. He wanted to assure me the NX5U should not have a back focus issue and we had a faulty camera. He said they currently would not have a camera available for us to review until after NAB. We will follow up with the Sony Rep after NAB to more accurately review the NX5U.

[Denny Kyser]

Mark, has the issue been resolved?

I am looking to add a second camera to my EX1r, right now I am between the HMC150 and the NX5U.

[Mark Von Lanken]

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.

[Denny Kyser]

Originally Posted by Mark Von Lanken

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.

[Jeff Bradt]

Originally Posted by Mark Von Lanken

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.

[Denny Kyser]

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.

[Steve Kass]

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.

[Denny Kyser]

Originally Posted by Steve Kass

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.

[Ron Evans]

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

[Mark Von Lanken]

Originally Posted by Steve Kass

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.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

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.

[Mark Von Lanken]

Originally Posted by Jeff Bradt

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.