Jerky Zoom - Sony's reply: That is normal

[Andrew Stone]

Stephen, what kind of mechanical wheel zoom device are you talking about? I am familiar with wireless solutions but these are out of the budget of most here.

[Docea Marius]

Hallo
i have a 521ex Manfrotto controller, the EX1 has worked perfectly on EX1R is a disaster.I make zoom is like jumping into the frame.what can be done?
Thanks

[Stephen Armour]

it was a mechanical rings setup. Will look for it

[Federico Perale]

I will check tonight mine (ex1r), but I am pretty sure I've noticed some jerkiness (?) when doing really slow zoom using the rotating grip switch

will report laters

[Zoran Vincic]

The zoom is jerky at speeds below 8 when the lens is pointed down. When level or pointed up it smooth even at low speeds.

At least that's how my ex1 behaves...

[Federico Perale]

I am a little confused

are you experiencing this issue with the main zoom switch (rotating handle) or with the top handle switch (small one) or both? I though you could only adjust the zoom speed for the top handle one

[Stephen Armour]

Andrew, I still haven't found the unit, but it was a general purpose unit. I might be drooling about this, but I'm sure I saw that unit the other day. It's similar to the focus units with rails.

A quick suggestion I tried and sort of works with this lousy zoom:
I tried a trick from many years ago that worked with a Panasonic 460 cam we had. I needed some extreme slows, so used a hollow aluminum rod from a old discarded TV antenna (light, strong enough and free) and put it over the little handle on the zoom. Worked pretty well and gave me the more precise control I needed mechanically.

I just did the same with the little zoom knob on an EX1R and removed the screw and carefully crimped the 10-11" rod over the screw evenly. It's secure and does allow me some pretty slow moves.

A large double action wheel would work better, using the teeth on the zoom ring, but...haven't seen anyone make one yet. Any takers?

[Zoran Vincic]

Originally Posted by Federico Perale

I am a little confused

are you experiencing this issue with the main zoom switch (rotating handle) or with the top handle switch (small one) or both? I though you could only adjust the zoom speed for the top handle one

It's jerky no matter what rocker you use. It's just that the top handle one is preset to a constant speed and it's easy to be consistent when testing.


just try it for yourself, set the top handle speed below 8, point the camera down at an angle and it will be jerky.

I tested four different cameras, one old EX1, my EX1 from one of the last batches made, and two newer EX1r's. They all jerk when pointed down and they're all smooth when pointed up!

nothing's perfect...

[Stephen Armour]

Let's just face it, we got jerked around on this one by Sony...

[Federico Perale]

Originally Posted by Zoran Vincic

It's jerky no matter what rocker you use. It's just that the top handle one is preset to a constant speed and it's easy to be consistent when testing.


just try it for yourself, set the top handle speed below 8, point the camera down at an angle and it will be jerky.

I tested four different cameras, one old EX1, my EX1 from one of the last batches made, and two newer EX1r's. They all jerk when pointed down and they're all smooth when pointed up!

nothing's perfect...

just tried what you suggested
I set the top handle speed (low) as 4 and it's absolutely perfect....no jerk at all!!
on the other hand, trying to do lower speed with the rotating handle rocker, it's terrible and really noticeable

so in my case it seems like I can survive....as I only have 50% of the problem

incidentally, I've noticed that for values lower than 8, the menu doesn't really use numbers anymore but alternates _ and * characters..... is this normal??
I even tried to use 1 and still works fine!

[Les Wilson]

I get the _ and * characters on my EX1R too. I think that's normal on the new model/firmware. Love the camera and workflow to bits. No regrets. Wouldn't switch if you paid me. I just finished editing a piece and used all digital zooms. The footage holds up great. I know it doesn't suffice for all cases.

[Cliff Totten]

It's hard for me to say this because I LOVE my EX1R....however, I had this problem and any speed below 13! I sent it back to Sony and they replaced the lens with a new one. (took about 3 weeks) The new lens is much better but can still stutter at 8 on occasion. (not too bad now)

The problem is the Fujinon lens motor/servo. It simply does not have the torque to smoothly rotate at slow speeds. I suspect Fujinon is paying the price for all these returned EX's

It's a shame cause the EX cameras are fantastic in every other aspect.

CT

[Joey Terwindt]

Hello there,

As a crane and Jib operator I am very depended on a good zoom lens.
Working with the sony EX1 - EX3 has always been mayor troubles, first of all finding a good conversion cable is a challenge.
Besides that the zoom is never a perfect smooth motion, there is always a jitter, shock, or a bad start-stop.
Using a zoom in a crane movement is part of the motion, so most of my footage would end up useless.
But for all of you dealing with this problem, this is what I did. I got on of those feather touch zoom kits from camera turret company.
Broadcast and DSLR Lens Controls from CameraTurret Inc..
It comes with a 0.8m gear but on request you can get other pitches to match your fujinon or canon lens.
I've always got this little kit with me and I need to use it oftnen, it also gives me the ability to zoom on DSLR camera's.
It gives a really smooth zoom, better than the stock lens. The only thing that you need to make sure is that you can mount it on your 15mm rods.
For me this is the best solution for all those jerky zooms or when I do not have the right conversion cable for all those different lenses out there.
Especially on the Sony camera's
.

Hopefully this could be a solution for you to.

Joey

[Matt Davis]

Thanks for sharing, Joey - awesome info, awesome device. :-)