EX1 focus issue

[Jw Van der vlies]

I have the ex1r and i never use the ND’s because they make the picture very soft. I always use the shutter to ‘dark’ the picture.
But it’s also possible that there’s a lot of air/fog between cam and mountain that will give the picture a grey overlay.

Jw.

[Brian Cass]

Thanks for your post. It is definitely out of focus and not due to atmospheric issues. Your comment about adjusting the shutter as opposed to using the ND filters is interesting.

Best,

Brian

[Jw Van der vlies]

Ok very good! I don’t know, maybe the NDs will be sharp when you backfocus with ND on? I don’t know, it’s just an idea, but for me the shutter always does the trick. Enjoy!

[Don Greening]

The very early EX1s had back focus issue differences between the ND clear setting and the two ND filter settings. This was fixed with a subsequent firmware update.

If you think there’s a focus difference between ND clear and the activated ND filters then you should do the flange back adjustment located in your camera’s maintenance menu. The EX1 lenses are par-focal so you should be able to have a good focus throughout the entire zoom range. Do the flange back routine twice, the first time using ND clear, the second time using one of the ND settings. Note any difference in focus quality. If there is a difference then send your camera in for service.

Stopping down the iris (a higher F stop number) instead of using the ND filters is definitely the wrong way to go because of deffraction limiting. The more you close the iris the softer the image becomes, especially noticeable with a big zoom in. The maximum F stop on the EX1 lenses (in front of 1/2″ imagers) is apparently F8. The smaller the imagers the less latitude there is to keep deffraction limiting at a minimum.

If you need to refresh your memory on how to do the flange back adjustment search this forum using keywords such as ‘flange back adjustment’ or back focus adjustment. And whatever you do DON’T use the one for the EX1R camera. That’s a completely different set of instructions on how to implement the procedure.

– Don

Don Greening
A Vancouver Video Production Company
Reeltime Videoworks
http://www.reeltimevideoworks.com

[Brian Cass]

Don,

Thanks for your input. I am familiar with the backfocus procedure as well as light requirements when shooting. Still, with shooting outside in sun, I am needing to use a ND filter (the other option, which I have not tried is to increase my shutter speed). I will attempt to redo the backfocus and see if it helps.

Brian

[Matt Orfalea]

Did it help? Did you send it in for service?

Thanks in advance!

Matt
https://www.youtube.com/orf

[Brian Cass]

The issue still exists. I have not sent it in to Sony because I cannot go without a camera for 1 month plus. I have to back off from full zoom in order to keep it from going soft. Since other users do not seem to have this issue, I assume it is not a very common problem.