Good News for IR contamination problem
 

Here we go, as promised I used my powers as a journalist to contact Sony technical support and had a very interesting conversation.

The Sony service guy told me that the EX3/EX1 camera does not have any problems that are wortth doing anything about. I am only the second person to mention this and as such he didn't regard it as a major issue. He also told me that if more people complained then Sony would be forced to take action.

I pointed him in the direction of my web site which now contains a video displaying the problem

http://www.photo-i.co.uk/video/Canon...on_1D_mk4.html

and although he could see the brown shirts (should be black) he was still in denial of the problem.

I also mentioned that there had been umpteen posts on forums such as this one and the service guy told me that they don't take any notice of what is being written on forums, as many contributors can say anything they like - accurate or not.

So here we go, anyone who has the "alleged" IR contamination problem should ring the Sony Service department on 0500 555 622 (UK number) and register their complaint

Good luck, I will probably sell my EX3 and buy something that doesn't have problems that need to be fixed.

Sony knows. That's why they addressed the issue in the EX-1R.

And the captain of the Titanic questioned the existence of icebergs.

It would also cost Sony a lot of money to correct the problem.

I will not give up on this issue, as it stands the camera is "not fit for purpose" and as such the trading standards office will force Sony to do something about it.

Looked into other options and the Tiffin filter seems to be my best move - I hate having to spend money on problems that should never be there in the first place.

Thanks to everyone that posted up about the Tiffen T1 IR screw on IR filter. To me it's a matter of getting on with it. 69 bucks. What's your time worth? Not worth the aggravation spinning your wheels over the issue.

I have one of the Tiffens coming from Abel. I plan to send the bill to Sony.

Oh, I'm sure Sony and all the manufacturers of anything read the industry user forums. Whether they do anything about what's being bantered about is another thing, but they're reading. Hi Sony!

Of course Sony know, but no way will they publicly acknowledge it. Just like Apple and the various iPhone faults. The second you admit it the floodgates open.

Perhaps sending the bill to Sony is a good idea. Having said that it's a good camera that gives amazing pictures so perhaps it's not worth the hassle of arguing with them. But the fact that the EX1R is coming out so soon to rectify various faults must mean a few people have had their a*** kicked.

The EX1R may have solved the problem, but I have the EX3 and still have the problem.

I agree the EX3 is a fine camera and other than the Brown Blacks, I can't fault it in any other way - well maybe I can nit pick here and there, but I can live with minor faults.

I am going to dig deep into my pocket and buy the Tiffin filter - it's a cheaper option than seeking out another camera and all the bits that go with it.

I have heard rumours that Canon make an SLR that can also capture video, surely not.

What ever happened to the Sony guy who used to post in here months ago? Did somebody piss him off too often? My guess is that his overlords....er, bosses.....got to him and told him to quit interacting with the users. That's a pity, actually, as having this kind of direct link to the manufacturer is vital with a product as good as this one. But, I'm still upset that I spent over $200 on the 486 filter and now I have to pony up another $70+ for yet another filter. I'd love to know who to send BOTH of these bills to. Don't get me wrong....I love this camera but this issue should never have been passed along to us. Sony should have bought filters for all of us.

BTW, why is this thread "Good News...", Have I missed something, or is it irony?

I waited for the Tiffen, but when I heard it lost 1 stop overall (which early testers were saying) I sent for a 77mm B+W 486 instead. I leave it on all the time as a lens protection filter and although I can see slight cyan vignetting in the corners of a wide if I try very hard, it hasn't spoilt anything I've shot so far.

It certainly does kill the red/magenta black fabric problem and the insertion loss is negligible. Ignoring vignetting, its effect on colour balance is small enough to be able to use preset colour temperatures at a pinch and correct the overall greeny-cyan cast in post; but a normal camera white balance corrects everything (except the tiny vignetting) nicely back to neutral.

The good news is that they have eliminated this problem in the EX1R and 350.

I did some testing - Tiffen T1 Far Red Filter and the Sony EX Cameras | CineTechnica

Andy

Awww Peter, had I known you were in the market for a 486, I would have sold you mine! ;-)

I got my Tiffen. I'm sending the invoice to:

Sony Broadcast and Business Solutions Company
Accounts Payable
One Sony Drive
Park Ridge, NJ 07656

They won't pay it, but it may stir them up or at least cause some confusion and memos to fly around. I know, I'm evil. I once sent an invoice to my dentist for 3 hours of my hourly rate that I had spent waiting in his lobby because he had "overbooked" (I finally had to leave). They almost paid it.

Keep us posted, Ronn. I'd love to send them both of my invoices.

@Andy
Thanks a lot!
The comparison EX1 / EX1R without filter looks as if the EX1R would even a little brighter. Did you use same gain and iris settings? Does the EX1R have at leat exactly the same sensitivity (with same noise) as EX1R?

Thanks again,
Markus

The bad news for most of us is that we already have the EX1 or EX3, together with the IR problem

Markus

Good question. I didn't notice that it was any faster because I was just testing the IR issue and eye balling exposure. I reviewed the two clips in the Clip Browser and I can see that the EX1 was set at a F2.2 and shutter of 89 degrees. The EX1R is at a F2.5 and at a shutter of 103 degrees. They were both on STD3 gamma and at 0db Gain. So it does look like the EX1R is a bit more sensitive and the noise level is right about the same.

I'll probably get another anyway, as I keep a spare protection filter in my camera bag in case of accidents, and a second IR cut would make more sense than having to go back to an ordinary UV ;->

I might take the opportunity to get a Tiffen instead though - as people have said, they're relatively well priced. Never having tried one I've nothing against them except earlier reports on this forum: a greater overall colour cast, mid-greys may be tinted green even after a WB, and a one stop loss.

I need as much sensitivity as I can get as I record underground a lot and don't like to use any more than 9dB gain. What I like about the 486 is that it has so little attenuation at visible frequencies that on auto iris the ring hardly moves when you put the filter in front of the camera.

I would be very interested if someone could post EX1/3 shots of a greyscale or a Munsell/Macbeth colour chart, with and without the Tiffen but with the camera on one preset colour temperature for both, to see what it is doing...

No tiffen T1 IR filter for the Fujinon W/A zoom lens. I'll have to tape on a 4X4 to the lens hood.

Well, if your shutter is reported wildly with values like 89 or 103 degrees, you must have been using some auto settings (either full auto, or at least auto shutter with TLCS). Hence this is not a conclusive or fair comparison. Also, considering the EX1R was F2.5 and 103 degrees, this makes a higher exposure than the EX1's combination of F2.2/89 degrees.

BTW, the Acquisition tab of the new Clip Browser is a fun to watch - especially when, for testing purposes, you set the camera to Auto everything... Sudden changes in ATW measurements, focus hunting - really educative!

It wasn't full auto anything... just set to 23.98p with a second based shutter. But doing the math 89 degrees =1/97 and 103 = 1/83, which is equally as strange. Perhaps the flicker reduce feature was doing something as well. So Piotr I'd have to agree that something is not right.

I do love the Acquisition tab though, fun to watch the settings as they change.