F35: Comparing Sony F35 to Panavision Genesis remote control ability

Jacob "Gray" Sundal

Jacob "Gray" Sundal

New member
Hello everyone, i've acquired a Panavision Genesis with a faulty LCD & scroll wheel (clicks in fine but can't change the selection), so it's stuck in 180 degree shutter at 5600K. Thank you Archduk3 and Mike Krumlauf for guiding me to this forum. I was fundraising for getting fuses replaced and even potentially swap out the scrollwheel from the SRW control panel, but then my repair guy moved far away- and i'm too afraid to open the thing up on my own or mail it a long distance I can't drive to myself. The thing is my issues (3 dead pixels which i want to black balance, & changing WB) can be worked around with some kind of sony paintbox in theory, i think... i've seen that there is a port there but it's labeled "for technician use only" in the Genesis manual.

I'm posting here in hopes that someone can tell me if it's possible to navigate menus, change settings, and initiate black balance with a paintbox on the F35 (without potentially ruining the current advanced user settings which I prefer to keep the same). I imagine that the Genesis would have the same capability, if yes.

P.S. the Genesis is still being used to this day on a variety of subjects (not making any money with it) and it produces great images. I'm working with Archduk3 to make a comparison video but am looking for more input from the community on what y'all would like to see. I'm always looking for new ways to push this camera's limits and extend its EOL.
 
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The lcd should be a replaceable part. Can you take the side off? I’m pretty sure all the Sony side panel parts are different but Sony side panel is easy to get to lcd and wheel.

What lens mount will you use?
 
Thanks for replying!

I actually have a modernized LCD with the same amount of pins currently in the camera and an identical replacement part.
With the help of Archduk3 and others i've acquired a list of possible contacts at Panny that can get me a ROHM LCD from the era, the same which were put into the Genesis almost 16 years ago.
The previous owner of this Genesis noticed that the LCD was failing to display the image correctly one day- like a muddled mess it was half readable.
So when the previous owner replaced that previous (stock) screen they accidentally installed the screw too tightly and cracked the LCD against the body side panel window edge.
This crack completely disabled the LCD and caused a reaction (voltage surge of some kind possibly?) at the next stop in the circuit which happens to be the fuses for the control wheel rotation, ( :Drogar-Mark-10(DBG) from what I can speculate after viewing the photos).

I'm willing to share the interior photos here (sent to me by previous owner), if a forum member out there is willing to step up and help me confirm if they appear to be blown.

Lens mount is PV.

Here are a few photos of the two most recent builds i've done with the Genesis:
Studio:
IMG_1003.jpg

Lightweight studio:
IMG_1260.jpg
BJCD0396.jpg

Handheld:
IMG_1987 (3).jpg
XPJT2369.jpg
 
IMG_2917.jpg

Do you have this plug on the camera? I can't tell from the manual what it means by "Sony Multi Pin" If it's the Sony Assistant Panel plug or a Sony Paintbox. I imagine it isn't because the Sony button setup is different. If it's the Sony remote port get one like shown with other F35's:
s-l1600.jpg

That sort of paint box can fully access F35 menu system remotely.

Cool photos thanks for sharing.

I have found a few places that specialize in component repair of laptops and phones, someone who can solder on component level instead of place that just replace whole bad part. To them, these older late 1990's era electronics are child play. Luckily for F35 a lot of parts can be ordered still from the pro parts site but it's always a gamble if parts will exceed cost of camera.
 
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Thanks for your reply. Here is a photo of the 2 communication ports.
mUSC1SB - Imgur.jpg

Is the closeup photo of the connector a closeup of the assistant's panel?
Does that paint box have the same connector as the assistant's panel?
 
Sony control panel for F23/35 is not the same as Sony Paintbox which is the RS232 port so you need the Sony remote paintbox. The one labeled “ other” I do not know, perhaps Panavision had their own?
 
This is super exciting. Have you done any tests as of yet? Very interested to see how the f35 stacks up against it. Both these cameras are so similar with the f35 supposedly being an improved version. As a huge lover of these cams it would be a pleasure to see anything shot from it.
 
Hey, thanks for replying y'all. I'm glad you find it interesting. I'm currently saving up for a local colorist to give these clips I shot the proper treatment, because the whole colorgrading Panalog is new to me, and I recently learned that my color management settings were wrong (I chose linear input rec709 2.4 output but my colorist has informed me I should've been using cineon input). So in the meantime here is my most recent cosplay project.

DIRECTORDEVIN,
Archduk3 has recommended to me that when I do a test I should shoot a checkered shirt to check how intense the moire is. I've been out of work since March 2020 due to COVID-19, but have recently gotten a job at a fast food place because the state was dragging its feet on my unemployment extension- so very soon I will have the funding to rent my local studio and make more content. Next week i'll be shooting an intro to a friend's pokemon themed youtube channel, and will probably do any testing I can before the talent arrives. I'll record 4:4:4 to a HDCAM SR tape as well 4:2:2 10bit as onto my Atomos Samurai.
 
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yachacha said:
Sony control panel for F23/35 is not the same as Sony Paintbox which is the RS232 port so you need the Sony remote paintbox. The one labeled “ other” I do not know, perhaps Panavision had their own?
Click to expand...

I've just searched sony remote paintbox and am unsure where to go from here, there appear to be a variety of them but some of the sellers didn't bother to post closeups of the ports. Can you please recommend a model number?

Thanks again for all your help
-Gray
 
I believe anything with Sony model "RMB" will work with the protocol. I see specifically the RMB-150 and RMB-170 list Sony F23 and Sony F35 on their compatible cameras.
 
s-l1600.jpg

I think this is one of the cheaper ones on eBay, not cheap but still cool if you use camera on crane or other setup needing remote control.
 
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Hey yachacha, you're exactly right! I reconnected with a local rental house to rent the RM-B150 for the second time in my career (the first time was for a Jeff Dunham show where I was V2) & it turns out it works just fine for controlling the camera!

Archduk3 helped me set up a nice user menu after locking in a new build for my camera on his visit to Portland. I actually reached out to former Panavision staffers & Matthew Borek replied to me confirming that the RM-B150 is in fact the same panel that was used by the Panavision technicians back in the day.

I also inquired about the thumbwheel replacement because I would rather not have to tote around the remote controller, but half of the techs I inquired seemed to think that the Genesis thumbwheel was a different size from the SRW remote's thumbwheel- so I won't go further there without guidance. In my efforts to reach out to people that controlled the F35 & Genesis with the RM line of controllers i've also been gifted some special contacts to leads on official parts. Thanks everyone for helping me along this EOL adventure with your F35 knowledge!

Test footage dropping soon. Will be comparing the Genesis to the BMD 4.6k gen. 1.
 
@Jacob You're in Portland?! If you're open to it, I would love to meet up and see your camera sometime. I have never seen one in person and I've always been curious!
 
QuickHitRecord said:
@Jacob You're in Portland?! If you're open to it, I would love to meet up and see your camera sometime. I have never seen one in person and I've always been curious!
Click to expand...


Ok, yeah! Let's meet up and shoot some footage with it next month! Work is coming back but if we meet on a weekday i'll be able to take out the rental necessary to shoot some footage.
Every time i shoot with it I need to rent these:
-x3 gold mount (anton bauer) 14.8V batteries
-SSD for Atomos samurai recorder
-SSD to USB 3.0 reader
-Sony RM-B150 (from Pixthis)
The total of the rental is just about $100 USD. I can't wait until my career comes back in full swing so I can finally afford all of these missing parts! However due to the pandemic I had to sell my camera assistant gear so I will need to buy that stuff back before I get into these "emotional puchases" again. If you're willing to split the cost that would be rad. I would let you shoot whatever you want on it (within reason).

I have found a modder to get a second lens going for the camera, and potentially fix the IF box as well as create lens shims using the body cap that Achduk3 has kindly provided for me to borrow. Dane from Casperson productions is facilitating the upgrades to the Genesis, and his special cutting tools & 3d printer may even get the Genesis rod bracket (GRB) & panavision original dovetail in use. Since my last post i've also acquired a Monitor bracket and Astro DM-3005, both of which were panavision originals.

P.S. there are apparently other Panavision Genesis owners out there, but my research has only taken me to SNS & youtube channels that have been inactive for years. If you know anyone with a Genesis body please have them reach out to me on here or facebook...
 
It’s kind of a bummer that this damage happened, i have always found the best way to approach repairs is to source the parts and then pay technician if it’s work you are unfamiliar with. Especially with a one off like genesis. My confidence to experiment on F35 came from having lots of parts.

A big concern is your damage extends into power supply or REI which seems likely considering these parts have fuses to blow.

On Ebay there is Genesis minus ccd unit. If I were you I would be slowly chipping away at seller trying to get. these parts are gold to someone with a working Genesis. I would look at getting spare parts as the highest probability of success and will help years down the road.


I am not very confident replacing the scroll wheel parts are going to help. However looking at the Ebay genisis I can see the circuit boards match the Sony ones. So my approach wouldn’t be to repair bad panel I would plug Sony side panel in at the motherboard level. I am confident Sony Side panel could interface with Genisis just like the Sony Remote. Sony and panavision used different parts for their panels but the interface at motherboard is same plug. If Sony worked then it would be a matter of getting Sony parts into panavision panel.
 
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