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EX3: Footage Seems Poor
We have an ex3 with stock lens and are concerned about image quality.
The camera and lens have been used well for over 2 years (run n’ gun).
White balance always seems a bit off… Visual clarity seem to be an issue too.I would like to send the camera and lens to someone, for a comparison with a properly work EX3 and stock lens. If camera is working properly, then we must be shooting poorly!
It just seems we should be getting much better quality.
Any recommendation for someone or a company that could real-world test this camera and lens?
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12 Replies
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You don’t say in which part of the world you are operating, it is quite a distance between continents!
How are you viewing your footage? Playing to a screen or monitor direct from the camera, downloading files and viewing through a computer or just playing clips on the camera screen? Also, a lot depends on what your camera set up is. Not hopefully on auto anything, lowest gain setting possible, and no added filters. Within Picture Profiles you can set your own Kelvin settings, why not experiment with that to choose your own White Balance? Otherwise take the camera to a Sony workshop or a major Sony Agent and do your comparisons.
Michael Slowe
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HI,
I’m in Wisconsin.
I’m the editor, speculating at long distance from the cameraman… narrowing it down to a lens issue?
Every so often, with stock lens, the footage is all soft / blurry. This is shooting wide and on a sunny day!
Wide and in full-sun should simply not be blurry….even if your focus is off… Agree?The cameraman is an amateur.. Doing his best.. I’m speculating that he’s been manually stopping the iris down to that tiny, tiny opening just before black… I think that would give a blurred image…
Beside the soft footage, getting a good neutral white balancing is a problem with this camera..
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back focus? Check out the “flange back adjustment” of the camera.
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I suggested checking back-focus and was told it would be done…
But this is an intermittent problem.. 6 clips are BAD then back to good… Sometimes it’s so subtile, I just push ahead and use it…move on… I edit a weekly internet show…52 a year… it’s non-stop.. -
Ask your camera operator to hit RESET ALL in the OTHERS menu of the EX3. But first, if there are any picture profile or other custom settings dialed in they should be saved to either one of your media cards or to a computer, because they’ll be lost during the reset. This is probably the first thing I would try, but it sounds like it might be a software issue. You could also try pulling the main and the memory batteries, then waiting a few minutes before putting them back. The last thing is to get it to an authorized Sony repair facility to test the hardware/software.
As may have realized by now, we’re all just guessing here at the COW and unless someone has experienced your exact issue then you may be on your own. This is why getting the EX3 to a repair facility is important. The sooner you get it there and back the sooner your camera will be reliable again.
– Don
Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com -
Would uploading still images be helpful?
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Not so much. I’d follow Don Greening’s recommendations.
In case it’s back focus, you might ask your cameraman to shoot a “star chart,” focussing (on manual of course) at tele and then shooting at various focal lengths from tele to wide, without touching the focus ring.
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Yes, I have had them do a full reset. Back to factory settings.
Imagine an outdoor, full sun image, lens is wide, yet image is very soft, out of focus. Nothing near or far is in focus..
You might re-create this using full zoom, but with lens wide….It’s impossible to look so soft.. no detail
Perhaps one of the ND filters is out of whack? Blurring everything? -
I’ve had some issues as you’ve been describing. I powered down and when the camera rebooted, it was OK. If memory serves, it was while using the Sony wide angle adapter, which is normally rock solid for optics. Of course, the adapter may have had nothing to do with it. I’ve tried to duplicate the problem, but have not been able to. You’re right about closing the iris down. Anything smaller than F8, in my opinion, is not advised, but you did say it happened with the iris wide open.
Rick
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Iris wide open? I have no idea where the iris was other than guessing… (If I said otherwise that was an error) I just know when you try to stop-down right to the edge of closed, you can get a blurred image…
Thanks for feedback!
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