Very Bizarre "Vibrating" Image Issue...

[Hiram Yates]

I arrive on location last night, pull my camera out, turn it on to start shooting a concert when this started happening... Frustrated, I put the camera away, helped out the other cam op for the night and shot this clip this morning. You'll see me rocking and shaking the camera a bit to get it to wig out for this clip, but it will still do this whether the camera is moving or not, just less frequently. The noise you hear in the clip is coming from the camera.

YouTube - EX1 Screwy Image Problem

Any ideas?

I tried resetting the backfocus, the images shifts and vibrates like this whether steady shot is on or off, I did an "All Reset" on the camera, and am going to reinstall the firmware to see if that helps out at all... Just wondering if anyone has seen anything like this or have any clue what's going on? The camera worked just fine a week ago and has sat in it's case since. I'm thinking the image stabilizer might be wonky, but any info is greatly appreciated!

[Mark OConnell]

My first thought was steady shot, but you've ruled that out. Hopefully you've got some warranty left.

[Buck Forester]

You could get some great Sasquatch footage with that camera. Something is obviously very wrong... I'd say it's time to send it to Sony.

[Hiram Yates]

Yeah, I've pretty much came to the conclusion that it's gotta go back to Sony, unfortunately it's out of warranty and I don't have any spare cash right now to get it repaired so it looks like it'll just have to sit in it's case for a while... Definitely still curious of anyone's opinions as to what they think it might be or if anyone has had this happen at all!

And that's a very good point Buck, I might need to get me some tickets to the Northwest and see if I can't find myself a big foot to film! Haha!

[Jason Bodnar]

I hate to say it with your camera obviously having a serious issue but that is a very cool effect visually and the audio to go with it is a bonus... :) Before sending it back I would shoot some green screen or plate footage to use for vfx at a later date! Curious to know what Sony says the issue is.

[Hiram Yates]

Originally Posted by Jason Bodnar

I hate to say it with your camera obviously having a serious issue but that is a very cool effect visually and the audio to go with it is a bonus... :) Before sending it back I would shoot some green screen or plate footage to use for vfx at a later date! Curious to know what Sony says the issue is.

Haha, yeah, definitely a crazy effect... It kind of reminds me of some kind of effect you'd see in a horror film!

[Chuck Fishbein]

Have you tried turning the camera on with the lens off? Although there will be no usable image, you will narrow down whether the issue is the camera or the lens. A lens might be cheaper to replace than paying to repair the lens and camera out of warranty

[Nick Wilson]

I'd be pretty sure it is the OIS - the vignetting on the left of frame, plus the noise, looks like the image stabiliser is dragging the image hard right. Have you tried a factory reset on the camera, and what firmware are you at?

Cheers, Nick

[Re-read your post - I see you have! Sorry]

[George Strother]

I had the same failure on my first EX1, but vertically, just 3 weeks after I bought it. It was a failure in the OIS. Sony had to replace the lens assembly. I never saw a price, but it's probably very expensive.

Here is a response to the thread on my OIS failure, describing the lens replacement procedure -

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-xdc...tml#post896417

[Greg Laves]

I have a friend who has a slightly different but very similar problem. You might try his temporary fix. At least it works for him most of the time. With the camera on, turn it upside down and hold it there for a few seconds. Try that and see if the "vib" goes away. His has been vibrating for a while but he hasn't taken the time to send it in since his is also out of warranty.

[Bob Hart]

It is the OIS and a job for Sony.

You might try selecting it on and off a few times in the menus and try the upside-down and other combinations, maybe even a light tap to the camera baseplate with something light like scizzor handle whilst it is upside-down and doing its thing. I doubt it will fix the issue and certainly you can no longer have confidence in the camera on a job if you manage lucky and the problem stops.

What may be happening is that the OIS servos have a faulty power source. Perhaps a resistive electrical joint and the system is still trying to zero-set the OIS. Maybe the processor is faulty. There's all manner of things which could be wrong.

[Marty Welk]

If it was the "accelerometer" it is possible that the accelerometer gets stuck.
while trying to fogure out HOW exactally an accelerometer works, i discovered that it is a tiny "micro machine"
all the time i was trying to figure out how it is done with Curcuits and solid state components, only to find out that it really is a weight and springs and a measurer , just like you would do for a big one, just in very tiny packages.

so when somone mentioned turning the camera upside down, it makes a lot more sence than it would seem to. IF it is the micromachine that is doing an improper sence, it might be possible to get the "weight" in the micromachine to start moving again.

suckey thing is if that one part was the problem, with todays tech repair, they will replace some whole board for $600 instead of the part.