focusing with EX1
 

I am new to HD format. I use old fashion broadcast camera with B/W viewfinder and ALL manual shooting , including of course focusing. There is a simple method of setting focus accorgingly to distance of subject you film; you just simply zoom in all way to the subject, set focus on it and that's all it will be in focus if you zoom out or fully zoom in. Can this method be used with EX1 lens (can that lens hold backfocus)?

Yes, this method can be used. As well as a couple of methods that may be new to you.

The first is called "peaking". When enabled, the subject in critical focus will have "edges" highlight in your choice of colors (red, blue, yellow, or white). This works by seeing the sharp contrast between edges in things that are in critical focus. It works better for some subjects than others.

The other method is the "expanded focus" button on the handgrip. If you frame up your subject, then press this button, it "zooms in" for you allowing you to critically focus and then you press it again to go back to your normal framing. If you don't press it again, it goes off in 10 seconds or so.

When I first tried shooting with the camera, I didn't know much about how these features performed, but to be honest, they are AMAZING. There is also a DOF available on the LCD to let you see where the lens is focused, and what your DOF is in the shot. Truly amazing stuff for a camera at this price level.

thanks; so it looks like there is no need for extra lcd monitor; camera's lcd should handle it OK? right

Depends on what you're doing. If you're out in the field handheld, on a stabilizer, or need to be mobile, I'd say no.

However if I was going to be shooting a film, or something where not only the principle was important, but the rendering of details around the principle, as well as the falloff of focus around the principle, I'd still want as large a monitor as I could get.

I plan on using the component out to drive my broadcast monitor on my upcoming work. I've got an interview this week with someone for a documentary that I've been working on for a while, and I am SURELY going to take the monitor with me even though it's a pain.

But I have more confidence in focusing the EX1 than any other camera I've ever used, including my DVX which has a *GREAT* LCD.

I use only the eyepiece viewfinder and depend a great deal on the expanded focus feature. Almost all of my shooting is run-and-gun style due to the nature of the subject.

The LCD is too difficult to see in daylight and it's impossible to judge exposure as I rely on zebras, the histogram and watching out for burned highlights in skin tones.

Not in my experience you can't. The focus performance in my judgment is not anything to rave about.

Rather than zoom in, focus and zoom out,
try the opposite. Start at a wide angle zoom, get focused on the target with the peaking and expanded focus aids, then zoom in on the target. It will be much easier to see if it maintained focus, which in my case it does not.

so it looks like there is a problem with the lens

If you cannot rack focus you most likely have a problem with backfocus and should do the FB (Flange Back) adjustment from the service menu (or have it done, since it is not officially supported for end-users).

Racking focus by zooming in and then out to frame the scene should be ok.

George/

I'd really like for someone to get focused at wide angle zoom, and hold that focus when zooming to telephoto.

And will it work in full manual mode as well as servo manual?

In full manual, my lens will focus past infinity. In servo manual, it will not.

The camera has some incredible abilities, the lens system you have to be careful with getting your focus. The zoom in, focus and then zoom back out has caused me some soft focus problems. I don't trust it nor the service menu back flange adjustment procedure to make this right.

For critical focus, I've had to focus at the zoom angle I'm using for the shot meaning heavy reliance on peaking and expanded focus functions.

If I'm going to zoom, and require critical focus at each end of the zoom, I will use the shot transition, whereby the focus and zoom is set at each end.

I wish it was easier. It's not impossible to get focus tack sharp, but it takes some effort. And the peaking is not nearly as effective with detail (sharpening) turned off. So if you don't want sharpening in your image, you have to create one preset just for focusing with detail on, and then switch to another with detail off for the shot.

It is normal for a pro lens to go past infinity.

In these modern lenses the camera continuously 'talks' to the lens to compensate for technical imperfections, even in full manual. In interchangable models Lens Files are used to load correction parameters either from a file or directly from memory contained in the lens. In the EX1 this file is contained in the camera.

It has a Lookup Table (LUT) with the adjustments necessary for consistent backfocus. By performing the FB Adjust function focus for wide and tele positions of the lens are checked and the table rewritten for consistent focus throughout it's zoom range.

The FB Adj. function is present for the Z7/Z270 and EX3 interchangeable lens camera's, but "hidden" in te service menu for the EX1. I believe this is mistake by Sony even though the EX1's lens is fixed, as environmental changes can affect backfocus.

Adjusting backfocus is Standard Operating Procedure for professional camera's and is recommended with any lens or location change.

You shouldn't have to take such elaborate measures, just to get the focus right. Barring any lens defect, correct backfocus should take care of your issues.

George/

George, I appreciate the time you take to understand.

Can you get focused at the wide end, and maintain that focus when racking to the telephoto end?

(Yes, I know this is backwards and tedious, but if it can't, then racking from telephoto to wide will not be perfect either.)

Long answer short: Yes I can.

B.T.W. it is easy/easier to misjudge focus on a wide shot, so usually you focus on the long end of the lens. There is no advantage to going the other way that I'm aware of.

George/

Tom I understand your concern. I spent several times adjusting BF before it set correctly.

I'm not sure about starting wide than checking focus on the tele end.
It's to subjective to where you leave focus at the wide end. A hardly noticeable difference of focus on the wide end yields a large change on the tele end.

I see that George just wrote what I stated above..

I zoom in full tele then hit expanded focus adjust focus then zoom back to frame and have great results, Now trying to adjust focus at wide when you are going to end up at Tele the focus set at wide will not hold at tele and you will have a soft image...Now if I had a Back focus issue the way I focus above would be soft once I zoomed back out correct?

Back focus is set by zooming in and focusing on your target.
When you go wide your target should still be in focus.

Steven, yes we are on the same page.

I agree Steven but the "hardly noticeable difference" is exactly what the backfocus issue is about. If you can't see it, you can't judge it. But if you can judge it, you should be able to accurately set it at the wide end using the peaking or expanded focus. If the backfocus is correct then it should remain in focus when you zoom to the target.

The point is that some people could be saying they have the backfocus set properly when they are unable to judge focus at the wide end independently.

If perfect focus can be established at the wide end using an external monitor for example, it should remain focused when you zoom to the target. If it doesn't , there either isn't good backfocus or you haven't established what perfect focus is at the wide end.

I don't think it should be argued that perfect wide angle focus can't be achieved if we are going to accept the backflange calibration, since it uses the exact same contrasts as the peaking that you would use to judge focus with.

Tom,
I have to disagree. The DOF of the wide end of the lens is huge. Peaking on or not, it would be impossible to nail a focus target on the wide end and have that target in perfect focus when zoomed in on it. How do you judge this when everything's in focus on the wide end..

I can't do this on any camera. I can't imagine why the EX1 would be any better.

Open the iris to f1.9, use the expanded focus, turn detail on. If on some level it was not possible to nail focus at wide angle, the backflange calibration adjustment could not work, which actually is how I feel about it, that getting the correct data stored into the lookup table by that procedure is hit or miss. But if you are successful getting the right data into that table, it should be repeatable so I will try it some more as you did, and hopefully it will stumble onto it. But as it stands, I can focus more precisely now at the actual wide angle I am shooting, but it would of course be hugely convenient to be able to rack the focus.

I Concede
 

The backflange calibration worked perfectly, exactly as it should now on a rack focus.

Thanks guys. You don't get to be a doubting Tom without having some doubts.

Actually, I just pointed the cam at a white textured wall about 6.5 feet away. I could see it snapping into focus, finished in seconds.

Tested it outside, seems perfect. Thanks for the confidence.

Good to hear it solved your issues Tom.

George/

A bit late to the thread but isn't this a known issue with the cameras internal ND filters? The back focus wanders off if you have them on, where as no ND works fine. So you can zoom in focus then zoom out without NDs.

There was some discussion previously about whether the internal back focus adjustment would fix this or whether new firmware was required.

I'd be interested to know if the internal adjustments work to cure this as i don't have the time to send the cam off for focus adjustments.

Also does anyone find the fully manual option more restrictive than the auto/manual - you can focus closer on auto manual then you can on fully manual.

cheers
paul

Paul,

You are correct there was a problem with the (fixed) correction for the ND filters in the EX1 that was fixed somewhere between FW 1.03 and 1.05.

I've heard that some dealers/resellers can do the FW upgrade for you (on appointment I'd say). I'm hoping, fingers crossed, a new FW release will be user installable and move the FB Adj. out of the service menu. However, I have no indication that that will actually happen.

George/

My cam was not a particularly high serial number but was delivered with 1.05.

I sort of expected if it had a backfocus issue, Sony would have calibrated it before delivery.

I only did the flangeback calibration with ND off. The backfocus seems perfect now with ND off or ND2, although I have not tried ND1.

Perhaps the ND issue was fixed in 1.05, or perhaps it never was. I don't know. What I do know, and this may be appalling and shocking, but I did the calibration on nothing more that a white textured wall from 6.5 ft...handheld. That's right. It didn't seem to care.

Not saying you should try that, but it seemed rather forgiving. It's possible the star charts aren't necessary, but with the textured plaster wall, nothing else was in the field of view.

So suddenly I've gone from being the doubting tom to the apostle tom. Sorry...but hallelujah it's nice being able to rack the focus.

You da man Tom!

Handheld backfocus adjustments without any sort of specific target, thats edgy stuff ;-]

George/

P.S. I feel like a wuss now for following the Siemens Star gospel.

How do we find out what version of the firmware we have?

It is listed in the service menu.

George/

Yes it is.

I just got my PMW-EX1 yesterday and one of the problems I found is that it takes several seconds to focus on the subject, unlike my previous camera (Sony VX2000).
Is that because of an incorrect setting ? Or it it fact of like with the EX1?

Francois, you must be talking when using AutoFocus becuase in Manual it is as fast as you can be... Love the EX1 manual mode... I have a VX2000 as well and the autofocus is very quick on it which makes it worse when you compare it to the EX1 autofocus becuase as you have noticed it is not as fast...

The EX1 is a dream compared to other HD camera's I've used. Try an HVX sometime. They don't even call it autofocus, it's called "focus assist" because it's too slow to even use as an autofocus.

Other than a 1080/60p omission, I have not found ANYTHING about this camera I don't love.

Oh . . . COME ON!

Tell me you love the remote!
(A bar of chocolate in the box would have been more use to me).

Or the sticking ND filter switch :(

But these are all minor issues; the more I use (and know) this camera, the more I love it - especially that it will never allow you to get bored, so many new worlds of great (and not so great) features discovered with each new project!

Same here!
Best video camera I ever used - by far!

And my ND Filter switch doesn't stick . . . am I missing something?

My ND filter doesn't stick either. And I can't comment on the remote. It's still in the bag. I don't think I've ever used the remote on my DVX either... and I've had that thing for 4 or 5 years now.

The main reason I'd like a remote that actually works would be to use it to get a perfect zoom rather than actually touching the camera (and risking some movement).

Unfortunately, on the EX1 the remote facility seems to have been designed by someone who assumed you'd only want to use it if you were standing in front of the camera (and very close).

That's what a dolly is for.. :)

Not really practical out in our fields. It would have to be very robust, so it would take too much time to set up, dismantle and store - not to mention the cost (and the weight).

So I just have to press the rocker button on the handle if I really must zoom but I don't much like zooming anyway, so I try to avoid it unless I feel it's essential.

Don't misunderstand me, the EX1 is fantastic but it would be handy if the remote was practical.

I was just kidding. But I am curious now. I'll have to try the remote tomorrow. I've typically found in-camera zooming to not be very filmic, so I dont use it. I tend to shoot as though I have a variety of primes.

To each their own though.

I agree - people use zoom far too often.