Vignette problem

Michael H. Stevens · February 26th, 2008, 09:41 AM

Yes, but does anyone think a Sony rebuild is as good as or better than taking a chance on a new one?

Craig Seeman · February 26th, 2008, 09:58 AM

It seems Sony will make that decision and make it honestly.

As noted in another thread I had an issue with zoom control (slow zoom speeds stepping rather than smooth). Sony told me they first tried to "upgrade" the lens and weren't happy with the results so they send me a new camera.

The vignette issue apparently just involves a re-calibration and my hunch is that's accessed from the mysterious front lens port on the camera. See "Cover of the lens control block" on diagram on page 15 of the manual.

If you have the Vignette issue do send in the camera. I do think a few here have said they were not happy with the results when they got the camera bank and I think in those cases Sony may have then replaced the camera.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael H. Stevens

Yes, but does anyone think a Sony rebuild is as good as or better than taking a chance on a new one?

Steven Thomas · February 26th, 2008, 10:45 AM

Craig,
I'm sure you've heard I sent my first one back and it came back the same (maybe a tad worse).

There was NO information regarding they had an issue adjusting my camera.

My replacement camera is better, but does show vignetting between 8-25mm in the top two corners with OIS off.

I'm thinking about contacting Sony again regarding this issue.
Did Sony replace the camera, or was it done through your dealer?

I'm done bothering my dealer regarding this issue. They worked hard at getting me a replacement camera. I'm going to contact Sony regarding this issue with my replacement camera.

Craig Seeman · February 26th, 2008, 11:03 AM

Sony, San Jose replaced it.

When I first called Sony tech support they said to send them the camera rather than bring it back to my dealer.

A few days after sending it I called for an update. I strongly recommend calling for an update rather than simply waiting for the camera to come back.

Just my opinion but I think it's good to let them know you're looking over their shoulder even if it's just by phone.

Piotr Wozniacki · February 26th, 2008, 11:41 AM

OK, so I spotted it today - almost four weeks after I had decided "it's not obvious, so even if it's there I'm not gonna look for it", I saw the vignetting in the upper right corner, during a rather fast pan to the right, with OIS on.

I guess all of them have it to some degree, under specific circumstances.

I will certainly be sending mine to Prime Support, but only after all the dust settles down. I have 2 years for that - and before the warranty end, I'd be getting an overhaul, anyway.

Who knows, maybe by then, Sony will have devised some really effective remedies to the most annoying flaws, like:

- the vignetting, however small and unobtrusive it is on a particular unit
- the stupid ND filter switch
- the silly aperture open-up at switching to auto iris, which is there for 1-2 frames only but annoys me more than the CMOS-inherent, partial flashes
- the "abrupt highlights clipping" problem

If they can't fix in existing cameras, I will insist for replacement then. Makes much more sense to me than having it replaced now, with another unit that might turn out worse in some aspects.

None of the above is a show-stopper to me for a while, yet all of them are below the standards I'd expect from a CineAlta badged, professional machine.

Steven Thomas · February 26th, 2008, 02:29 PM

I believe the worse cameras are the ones showing the vignetting with OIS off.

Paul Joy · February 27th, 2008, 08:19 AM

My cameras gone to Sony today to be looked at by one of their technicians. I have to say that the product manager who contacted me about the issues has been very helpful indeed.

Paul.

Gerald Loidl · February 27th, 2008, 12:43 PM

Paul,
you really can be lucky.
Sony promised me that the repair would be done in 3-4 days before I sent the camera to them.
As it still did not arrive after one week I called them and they did not know anything about my camera but promised to call me back with more info.
As I did not hear from them for another 24 hours I called again. Again they promised to find out whats going on and swore they would call me back asap. That was 36 hours ago. I will call again tomorrow and won´t be very polite this time... I bought this camera to earn money with it and now will have to rent a camera for my jobs. Doesn´t Prime Support promise that one would get a replacement camera while your´s is at repair?
I´m pretty p*s*ed at the moment... :-(

regards,
Gerald

Craig Seeman · February 27th, 2008, 02:22 PM

When I was dealing with Sony San Jose,CA USA they told me they had a backlog. I wonder if this might be the case given certain issues.

They actually put me on hold on the phone while they checked. When they finally determined they would replace the camera that did take a few more days because they said it would take time to get the OK to do that.

I would keep after them though. Even if it's a report that they haven't gotten to your camera yet (as they did when I first called them) would at least give you something.

Sony was very good at answering my questions on the phone.

Gerald Loidl · February 27th, 2008, 02:44 PM

Thanks Craig,
I´m in Europe and my camera was sent to France. Looks like they are working differently over here :-(
The only information I could get so far was that the camera arrived at the repair center last tuesday - more than a week ago... They also put me on hold at the first call only to tell me that they could not find out anything, but assured me to call me back asap with more info.

regards,
Gerald

Gerald Loidl · March 1st, 2008, 05:21 AM

As my camera still is not repaired, Sony now sent me a rental camera.
This camera has a massive problem with back focus and a vignetting issue on 3 corners. The camera they sent me now is brand new and its serial# starts with 40... like mine. I can´t believe that they are still sending out cameras with quality problems... I think if they return my camera and it still has issues I might ask for a refund and return the whole mess.

I´m glad I did not sell all my old SD cameras yet.

regards,
a frustrated Gerald

Phil Bloom · March 1st, 2008, 05:25 AM

That's terrible! back focus? how can the back focus be out?! That's a terrible loan camera. Have you complained. They should send you a better one out ASAP.

I am sorry you are having such bad luck. I feel embarrassed that the two I have exhibit no problems whatsoever. Keep faith, it will be worth it in the end. I promise!

Paul Joy · March 1st, 2008, 06:09 AM

I wish I could agree Phil but my experience this week has confirmed my suspicion that Sony are turning a blind eye to this problem. In my opinion they have decided that centering the lens limits it to a degree so will perform that fix, but any questions about remaining light fall off are met with "it's normal".

After prime support said that the problems on my camera were not due to lens alignment and so are "normal" I spoke to one of the product managers who I met at the video forum show. Upon seeing my footage he agreed that the camera needed to be looked at and arranged for it to be picked up the next day by courier.

After receiving the camera and having technicians check it out they said that they could not see any problems at all and that the lens on my camera had previously been re-aligned in their lab prior to being sent to the dealer, so there was nothing further they could do.

I can understand them not being able to do anything further if it's a design issue, but to say that they cannot see the problem is very frustrating.

I got the camera back the next day so I'm very happy with the speedy way they looked into it, it's just a shame that they will not admit that there is still a problem with the camera. If this is a limitation of the lens then I can live with it, but in essence I'm being told that I'm imagining the problem, make up your own mind...

http://www.olikai.com/shake.mov
http://www.olikai.com/ois.mov

Paul.

Gerald Loidl · March 1st, 2008, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Bloom

That's terrible! back focus? how can the back focus be out?! That's a terrible loan camera. Have you complained. They should send you a better one out ASAP.

I am sorry you are having such bad luck. I feel embarrassed that the two I have exhibit no problems whatsoever. Keep faith, it will be worth it in the end. I promise!

Phil,
I haven´t complained yet, but I definitely will. When I zoom in and focus and zoom out again the picture looks very blurry, especially when the aperture is wider open. My camera did not show this problem. I will try again with a test chart this afternoon.
I always seem to have bad luck with camera purchases - all the cameras I bought in the past 15 years spent weeks at the repair shops from Sony after purchase...

Steven Thomas · March 1st, 2008, 09:11 AM

Wow..
Sony will have to step and and address these issues.

For a camera that cost $7,000.00 USD, we should not be stuck with defective cameras. If they can not fix it, they need to replace it.

February 26th, 2008, 11:41 AM	#500
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	OK, so I spotted it today - almost four weeks after I had decided "it's not obvious, so even if it's there I'm not gonna look for it", I saw the vignetting in the upper right corner, during a rather fast pan to the right, with OIS on. I guess all of them have it to some degree, under specific circumstances. I will certainly be sending mine to Prime Support, but only after all the dust settles down. I have 2 years for that - and before the warranty end, I'd be getting an overhaul, anyway. Who knows, maybe by then, Sony will have devised some really effective remedies to the most annoying flaws, like: - the vignetting, however small and unobtrusive it is on a particular unit - the stupid ND filter switch - the silly aperture open-up at switching to auto iris, which is there for 1-2 frames only but annoys me more than the CMOS-inherent, partial flashes - the "abrupt highlights clipping" problem If they can't fix in existing cameras, I will insist for replacement then. Makes much more sense to me than having it replaced now, with another unit that might turn out worse in some aspects. None of the above is a show-stopper to me for a while, yet all of them are below the standards I'd expect from a CineAlta badged, professional machine. __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

February 27th, 2008, 08:19 AM	#502
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	My cameras gone to Sony today to be looked at by one of their technicians. I have to say that the product manager who contacted me about the issues has been very helpful indeed. Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk

February 27th, 2008, 12:43 PM	#503
Gerald Loidl Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Austria Posts: 122	Paul, you really can be lucky. Sony promised me that the repair would be done in 3-4 days before I sent the camera to them. As it still did not arrive after one week I called them and they did not know anything about my camera but promised to call me back with more info. As I did not hear from them for another 24 hours I called again. Again they promised to find out whats going on and swore they would call me back asap. That was 36 hours ago. I will call again tomorrow and won´t be very polite this time... I bought this camera to earn money with it and now will have to rent a camera for my jobs. Doesn´t Prime Support promise that one would get a replacement camera while your´s is at repair? I´m pretty psed at the moment... :-( regards, Gerald Last edited by Gerald Loidl; February 27th, 2008 at 12:44 PM. Reason: bad english...

March 1st, 2008, 05:25 AM	#507
Phil Bloom Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: London UK Posts: 1,939	That's terrible! back focus? how can the back focus be out?! That's a terrible loan camera. Have you complained. They should send you a better one out ASAP. I am sorry you are having such bad luck. I feel embarrassed that the two I have exhibit no problems whatsoever. Keep faith, it will be worth it in the end. I promise! __________________ Philip Bloom Cinematographer, Director, Filmmaker www.philipbloom.net

March 1st, 2008, 06:09 AM	#508
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	I wish I could agree Phil but my experience this week has confirmed my suspicion that Sony are turning a blind eye to this problem. In my opinion they have decided that centering the lens limits it to a degree so will perform that fix, but any questions about remaining light fall off are met with "it's normal". After prime support said that the problems on my camera were not due to lens alignment and so are "normal" I spoke to one of the product managers who I met at the video forum show. Upon seeing my footage he agreed that the camera needed to be looked at and arranged for it to be picked up the next day by courier. After receiving the camera and having technicians check it out they said that they could not see any problems at all and that the lens on my camera had previously been re-aligned in their lab prior to being sent to the dealer, so there was nothing further they could do. I can understand them not being able to do anything further if it's a design issue, but to say that they cannot see the problem is very frustrating. I got the camera back the next day so I'm very happy with the speedy way they looked into it, it's just a shame that they will not admit that there is still a problem with the camera. If this is a limitation of the lens then I can live with it, but in essence I'm being told that I'm imagining the problem, make up your own mind... http://www.olikai.com/shake.mov http://www.olikai.com/ois.mov Paul. __________________ Blog: www.pauljoy.com Company: www.videotrader.co.uk Last edited by Paul Joy; March 1st, 2008 at 10:50 AM.

February 26th, 2008, 09:41 AM	#496
Michael H. Stevens Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Palm Desert, California Posts: 311	Yes, but does anyone think a Sony rebuild is as good as or better than taking a chance on a new one?

February 26th, 2008, 10:45 AM	#498
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	Craig, I'm sure you've heard I sent my first one back and it came back the same (maybe a tad worse). There was NO information regarding they had an issue adjusting my camera. My replacement camera is better, but does show vignetting between 8-25mm in the top two corners with OIS off. I'm thinking about contacting Sony again regarding this issue. Did Sony replace the camera, or was it done through your dealer? I'm done bothering my dealer regarding this issue. They worked hard at getting me a replacement camera. I'm going to contact Sony regarding this issue with my replacement camera.

February 26th, 2008, 11:03 AM	#499
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	Sony, San Jose replaced it. When I first called Sony tech support they said to send them the camera rather than bring it back to my dealer. A few days after sending it I called for an update. I strongly recommend calling for an update rather than simply waiting for the camera to come back. Just my opinion but I think it's good to let them know you're looking over their shoulder even if it's just by phone.

February 26th, 2008, 02:29 PM	#501
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	I believe the worse cameras are the ones showing the vignetting with OIS off.

February 27th, 2008, 02:22 PM	#504
Craig Seeman Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Posts: 3,841	When I was dealing with Sony San Jose,CA USA they told me they had a backlog. I wonder if this might be the case given certain issues. They actually put me on hold on the phone while they checked. When they finally determined they would replace the camera that did take a few more days because they said it would take time to get the OK to do that. I would keep after them though. Even if it's a report that they haven't gotten to your camera yet (as they did when I first called them) would at least give you something. Sony was very good at answering my questions on the phone.

February 27th, 2008, 02:44 PM	#505
Gerald Loidl Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Austria Posts: 122	Thanks Craig, I´m in Europe and my camera was sent to France. Looks like they are working differently over here :-( The only information I could get so far was that the camera arrived at the repair center last tuesday - more than a week ago... They also put me on hold at the first call only to tell me that they could not find out anything, but assured me to call me back asap with more info. regards, Gerald

March 1st, 2008, 05:21 AM	#506
Gerald Loidl Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Austria Posts: 122	As my camera still is not repaired, Sony now sent me a rental camera. This camera has a massive problem with back focus and a vignetting issue on 3 corners. The camera they sent me now is brand new and its serial# starts with 40... like mine. I can´t believe that they are still sending out cameras with quality problems... I think if they return my camera and it still has issues I might ask for a refund and return the whole mess. I´m glad I did not sell all my old SD cameras yet. regards, a frustrated Gerald

March 1st, 2008, 09:11 AM	#510
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	Wow.. Sony will have to step and and address these issues. For a camera that cost $7,000.00 USD, we should not be stuck with defective cameras. If they can not fix it, they need to replace it.