Zoom rocker, a show stopper!!

Warren Eagleton · October 17th, 2011, 02:55 PM

Here in New Zealand I have been in contact with SONY NZ professional division for some time. From the start they have been very supportive and understanding of my complaint. However the latest is that SONY Japan has advised them now that March 2012 is when this problem is likely to be rectified. For me its totally unsatisfactory to put up with this 'factory initiated defect' for what will be 9mths since I bought the camera. I conveyed my profound disappointment to them and they conceded that they are not happy either, and that New Zealand, Australia & Hong Kong are trying to get the factory to improve this date. I suggest that if other owners are reading this and are also not happy, that they should let SONY reps know and ask them to add their weight to call for an earlier date for rectification. Don't get me wrong this camera has a lot going for it, but someone dropped the ball, badly, at the factory and we the customers are not being satisfactorily supported by SONY Japan in my opinion.

Mike Beckett · October 17th, 2011, 03:09 PM

Hi Warren,

I'm not sure who the UK Sony rep is (no easy way for little people like me to find out). I've just fired off a mail to Prime Support Europe. After all, European models cost £100s more just to cover this service, so I would hope they can give me a response.

It is a bit galling, I can work around it, but it's a shocking oversight. Did nobody test the camera before release? There's been a few people on here who have said they won't buy the camera solely because of this issue, Sony must be aware that it's losing them business!

Tom Hardwick · October 18th, 2011, 03:31 AM

Mike, you ask, 'Did nobody test the camera before release?' and I feel this way about the NX5's top screen. Did no-one at Sony's R & D take the Z1 and ther prototype NX5 into the sunny carpark and say, 'Whoooh! Look how much bigger and brighter the Z1's screen is. It may be cruder resolution, but at least the picture and on-screen graphics are readable in direct sunlight.'

tom.

Mike Beckett · October 19th, 2011, 11:02 AM

Reply from Sony UK Prime Support today:

"We have checked with the factory in Japan and have been advised that a firmware upgrade will be released next year, possibly March. The details however have yet to be finalised so I cannot offer any more information other than this."

Pretty much as Warren and others have reported. I don't think there's any way to speed up the process, it probably has to take its place in the queue in development and QA. I'm sure it is lower priority than some of their broadcast stuff, and who knows, it may still be suffering from the effects of last year's earthquake.

Mike Beckett · November 19th, 2011, 08:19 AM

I noticed a news posting on ProAV's website in the UK.

NEX-FS100E & HXR-NX70E Firmware - Coming Soon! - News - Proactive

Quote:

* Zoom rocker operation improvement
* Simultaneous Rec. with internal memory and memory card
*720/50p additional recording mode, etc.

PLUS much more!

One does wonder what "Plus much more" is.

Tom Hardwick · November 19th, 2011, 08:23 AM

'Plus much more fiddling with the English language;' by the sound of it. Surely it should be 'zoom rocker fix' if they're going to bother at all. Improving a no-good control might just take it up to so-so territory.

tom.

Warren Eagleton · November 19th, 2011, 02:14 PM

Yes Tom, I had a look at that news item on the Pro AV site about the firmware upgrade. Had to laugh a little when the heading stated it 'will be out soon' (March 2012!!!). You will note I posted on this site July 2011. Its fairly clear to me that SONY don't have any sense of urgency on this issue, and I suspect what we will end up with is a slow / fast zoom function not a fully variable function as all other pro cameras seem to have. To me only a hardware upgrade would bring the desired result. I had ideas about offering video coverage of weddings as a little retirement earner, and it could pay for future larger camera purchases if it took off. However since I experienced the indifference of SONY to the customer, even when the issue is squarely in their court, I won't be buying SONY again & no I not doing weddings either. Not having that smooth variable slow zoom ability to me makes no sense. A slow / Fast zoom function is for domestic cameras, not for what SONY claims is a new design Pro Video camera. Yes I'm unhappy and I guess I'm not the only one.

Barry Wilkinson · February 22nd, 2012, 06:35 AM

I had the SONY HVR A 1E which bizzarely had a sideways zoom control lever( not even a rocker) and that was ok for slow starts but seemed to run away with itself so most zooms were awful. No change there then! I could never remember which way to press it to zoom in!This is a major problem if you don't use it on a tripod and can't fit a Lanc controller. Does Sony ever hand over prototypes to cameramen for testing before puttint things on sale???

Mike Beckett · February 22nd, 2012, 07:40 AM

One does wonder, Barry. I can't imagine any normal user, amateur or professional, who would lift an NX70, try the zoom, and be happy with it.

Jim Stamos · February 23rd, 2012, 11:39 PM

what about this supposed firmware in march. will it give it a slow zoom? i noticed it at nab last year. cant believe sony doesnt see this? as long as theyre selling, sony wont do s..t.
i was going to buy one as a second to my ex1r. not now, am using my sony cx550 and it matches very well.

Mike Beckett · February 24th, 2012, 04:02 AM

The firmware update is supposed to give us a "controllable" speed. I presume it will be a speed limit set in the menu. Something like "Set maximum zoom speed: slow, medium or fast".

I'm not getting too excited about that. What if you set your speed too slow and you need to zoom slightly faster mid-shot? Hmmm. It does suggest that the problem is most definitely hardware, that can't be fixed with a firmware update. So this is just a compromise solution.

I've become so un-enamoured with the NX70, I'm on the verge of buying a Panasonic AC130 or AC160 soon, to hell with poverty. The NX70 will live on a B-cam, or I will try to sell it.

John Knight · February 29th, 2012, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Beckett

I can't imagine any normal user, amateur or professional, who would lift an NX70, try the zoom, and be happy with it.

Hi Mike. There once was a time when I would have agreed. But after using the NX70 for about 6 months filming over 30+ wedding and events... I can honestly say this camera absolutely rocks.

The terrible zoom has solved a major flaw in my filming technique... always filming with a slow zoom-out or zoom-in, mainly to compensate for the lack of steadyshot function in previous models.

Now I'm forced to not use an unreliable zoom - my footage is 20 times better as I've learned to frame and compose in a more professional manner.

Zoom shots scream amateur. I love the NX70. It produces amazing images that I'm constantly amazed at.

October 17th, 2011, 02:55 PM	#46
Warren Eagleton Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Auckland, New Zealand. Posts: 52	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! Here in New Zealand I have been in contact with SONY NZ professional division for some time. From the start they have been very supportive and understanding of my complaint. However the latest is that SONY Japan has advised them now that March 2012 is when this problem is likely to be rectified. For me its totally unsatisfactory to put up with this 'factory initiated defect' for what will be 9mths since I bought the camera. I conveyed my profound disappointment to them and they conceded that they are not happy either, and that New Zealand, Australia & Hong Kong are trying to get the factory to improve this date. I suggest that if other owners are reading this and are also not happy, that they should let SONY reps know and ask them to add their weight to call for an earlier date for rectification. Don't get me wrong this camera has a lot going for it, but someone dropped the ball, badly, at the factory and we the customers are not being satisfactorily supported by SONY Japan in my opinion.

October 17th, 2011, 03:09 PM	#47
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! Hi Warren, I'm not sure who the UK Sony rep is (no easy way for little people like me to find out). I've just fired off a mail to Prime Support Europe. After all, European models cost £100s more just to cover this service, so I would hope they can give me a response. It is a bit galling, I can work around it, but it's a shocking oversight. Did nobody test the camera before release? There's been a few people on here who have said they won't buy the camera solely because of this issue, Sony must be aware that it's losing them business!

October 18th, 2011, 03:31 AM	#48
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! Mike, you ask, 'Did nobody test the camera before release?' and I feel this way about the NX5's top screen. Did no-one at Sony's R & D take the Z1 and ther prototype NX5 into the sunny carpark and say, 'Whoooh! Look how much bigger and brighter the Z1's screen is. It may be cruder resolution, but at least the picture and on-screen graphics are readable in direct sunlight.' tom.

October 19th, 2011, 11:02 AM	#49
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! Reply from Sony UK Prime Support today: "We have checked with the factory in Japan and have been advised that a firmware upgrade will be released next year, possibly March. The details however have yet to be finalised so I cannot offer any more information other than this." Pretty much as Warren and others have reported. I don't think there's any way to speed up the process, it probably has to take its place in the queue in development and QA. I'm sure it is lower priority than some of their broadcast stuff, and who knows, it may still be suffering from the effects of last year's earthquake.

November 19th, 2011, 08:23 AM	#51
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! 'Plus much more fiddling with the English language;' by the sound of it. Surely it should be 'zoom rocker fix' if they're going to bother at all. Improving a no-good control might just take it up to so-so territory. tom.

November 19th, 2011, 02:14 PM	#52
Warren Eagleton Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Auckland, New Zealand. Posts: 52	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! Yes Tom, I had a look at that news item on the Pro AV site about the firmware upgrade. Had to laugh a little when the heading stated it 'will be out soon' (March 2012!!!). You will note I posted on this site July 2011. Its fairly clear to me that SONY don't have any sense of urgency on this issue, and I suspect what we will end up with is a slow / fast zoom function not a fully variable function as all other pro cameras seem to have. To me only a hardware upgrade would bring the desired result. I had ideas about offering video coverage of weddings as a little retirement earner, and it could pay for future larger camera purchases if it took off. However since I experienced the indifference of SONY to the customer, even when the issue is squarely in their court, I won't be buying SONY again & no I not doing weddings either. Not having that smooth variable slow zoom ability to me makes no sense. A slow / Fast zoom function is for domestic cameras, not for what SONY claims is a new design Pro Video camera. Yes I'm unhappy and I guess I'm not the only one.

February 22nd, 2012, 06:35 AM	#53
Barry Wilkinson Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grange over Sands UK Posts: 99	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! I had the SONY HVR A 1E which bizzarely had a sideways zoom control lever( not even a rocker) and that was ok for slow starts but seemed to run away with itself so most zooms were awful. No change there then! I could never remember which way to press it to zoom in!This is a major problem if you don't use it on a tripod and can't fit a Lanc controller. Does Sony ever hand over prototypes to cameramen for testing before puttint things on sale??? __________________ Cameraman BBC and ITV since 1966

February 22nd, 2012, 07:40 AM	#54
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! One does wonder, Barry. I can't imagine any normal user, amateur or professional, who would lift an NX70, try the zoom, and be happy with it.

February 23rd, 2012, 11:39 PM	#55
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! what about this supposed firmware in march. will it give it a slow zoom? i noticed it at nab last year. cant believe sony doesnt see this? as long as theyre selling, sony wont do s..t. i was going to buy one as a second to my ex1r. not now, am using my sony cx550 and it matches very well.

February 24th, 2012, 04:02 AM	#56
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Re: Zoom rocker, a show stopper!! The firmware update is supposed to give us a "controllable" speed. I presume it will be a speed limit set in the menu. Something like "Set maximum zoom speed: slow, medium or fast". I'm not getting too excited about that. What if you set your speed too slow and you need to zoom slightly faster mid-shot? Hmmm. It does suggest that the problem is most definitely hardware, that can't be fixed with a firmware update. So this is just a compromise solution. I've become so un-enamoured with the NX70, I'm on the verge of buying a Panasonic AC130 or AC160 soon, to hell with poverty. The NX70 will live on a B-cam, or I will try to sell it.