HPX170 Lens Wobble Improved

Gary Senda said:
If there's a little amount of weight on the front of the lens it works as a lever so at the base of the lens the final weight i 3-4 times. In addition there are also ***inertial*** issues and al these forces works togheter in the attachment poin of the lens.

I apologize again for my english, but I hope now I was able to explain my tought. My philosophy in setting up rigs is: all the accessories weigth on the support and not on the camera, even when it seems rock solid

Regards

gary
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Gary,

I totally agree with you and have learned that the adapter must be bolted to
the rods, not just supported weight wise. Now I just hope those using wide
angle adapters and follow focus units and clip on matte boxes will be okay, but
based on your approach, they will not. And again, I agree with you.
 
Dino said:
Now I just hope those using wide
angle adapters and follow focus units and clip on matte boxes will be okay, but
based on your approach, they will not.
Click to expand...

I've tried with my follow focus and there are no problems and I don't think that using follow focus will causes issues and perhaps never additional lens. Consider the lever: when your letus was not fixed to the support it worked as a long lever. Wide angle adapters are shorter and this means less lever effect. Consider also that the minimal focal lenght of this baby reduces a lot the need of a wide angle adapter: 28mm equivalent in 16:9 aspect ratio with a very minimal barrel and without all the problems of the additional lens is a great feature.
Finally, I can agree with you, this 'play' can disappoint someone who has just spent 5000 USD, but it could be a good reason to avoid potentially dangerous settings for any camera.

I'll forward you the results of my test on this point

Regards

Gary
 
For anyone who thinks I over stated this issue, I'm sorry. I was most interested in
finding out others experience. I'm used to finding issues and having a manufacturer tell me there is no issue(Sony), only to see a service bulletin generated about it a few months later.

Of course, one person's burning issue is not necessarily on somebody else's priority list, but it's still nice to be able to know about it.
 
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i have the wiggle with my hpx171e, too.
the wiggle is much more than on the dvx100b and hvx200.

thats my expirience and i find it not acceptable.
the gap also is not acceptable, i expect an issue with dust inside the lens...

i do not think, its a idea of shock protection of the lens.
i would like to hear the trues about it, please.
 
Why dust in the lens? The wiggle is between the lens and the body of the camera.

How could dust penetrate between the lens elements?

Gary
 
The shock mount is part of the design of the individual camera. There are only differences between the cameras because the cameras are different , but they all have the shock mount design.

The build quality is sound and is smaller which is why I compared it to the DVX instead of the DVX. Are they as solidly built yes, but the size and weight does change things, but there is a 1 year parts and labor on the DVX and the HVX but a 5 year on the HPX.

Best,

Jan
 
I haven't yet tried my HPX170 with my Brevis rig, but I have my preconceptions. I can't imagine any kind of wiggling would show itself if your components are properly fastened and supported.

In theory (from past experience with the HVX200 and soon-to-be experience with the HPX170) . . . my adapter is secured tightly to a mount and the camera is secured tightly to the plate. This is all secured tightly to rails. I can't imagine any kind of (reasonable) longitudal or latitudal stress would make the lens wiggle. This is the whole point of having rails and support. So, I can't imagine how a follow focus on a 35mm lens would cause this wiggle if the proper (common sense) precautions were exercised when assembling the rig.

Now, I'm not doubting that some of you may be experiencing this wiggle issue, but I have to question the way in which you are using these components. Therefore, I would stress (no pun intended) to make sure that your rig is securely built so as to not allow for any wiggle.

Just my thoughts so far . . .
 
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snpx said:
the end of the lens in direction of the ccds.
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I don't think so. If I move the lens I can feel a 'rubber sensation' where the lens twiggles; probably there's a rubber gasket: the camera has a 5 years warranty and I don't think that panasonic engineers are so stupid to permit the dust to penetrate between the lens and the CCD in a 5 yrs. warranty camera.
Rubber probably works as a shock mount and this wiggle reduces the risk to break the camera in that point in case of a collision.

It has sense

Regards

gary
 
incredible

incredible

David Shawl said:
I have posted a video of this wobble / lens play on Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/1873268
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I saw the video, thanks for sharing this! I will try it on my DVX100BE tomorrow. And thanks for Panasonic coming here and posting. Could there be models that wiggle more and less? I do see some force is needed to produce the wiggle and doubt that a follow focus should have so much pressure on the ring. Nevertheless the wiggle looks worrysome.....
 
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timbook2 said:
I saw the video, thanks for sharing this! I will try it on my DVX100BE tomorrow. And thanks for Panasonic coming here and posting. Could there be models that wiggle more and less? I do see some force is needed to produce the wiggle and doubt that a follow focus should have so much pressure on the ring. Nevertheless the wiggle looks worrysome.....
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The wiggle is not worrysome. It is there to accept a shock should you inadvertantly hit the lens. It has been on all of our palmcorders on the professional side since 2002. It is a SHOCK-Mount. It is fine.

Thanks,

Jan
 
Okay, I just sat down a DVX100A, an HVX200 & the HPX170 side by side & an (EX1 for good measure.)

The 100 has little to no movement, the HVX200 & the 170 are very similar in terms of their construction & looseness, BUT, my 170 is considerably looser than the HVX200. What is disconcerting about the 170 is the physical gap that is there which clearly contributes to the looseness.

As best I know, the lens is not a sealed element on a camera like this. I had to have my DVX100 serviced twice to have dust removed from the inside of the lens element.

Jan Crittenden, do you think there is going to be a dust issue with this vulnerable area of the camera?

Jan Crittenden, does the 5 year limited Panasonic warranty cover dust inside the lens ?

Thank you.
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
The wiggle is not worrysome. It is there to accept a shock should you inadvertantly hit the lens. It has been on all of our palmcorders on the professional side since 2002. It is a SHOCK-Mount. It is fine.

Thanks,

Jan
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i prefer to have it like that in fact, because i'm always a bit worried with the adapter hardmount. I prefer to have this little play because it's never 100% perfectly aligned and when i screw it i don't want the adapter to force too much on the camera lens.
One question Jan, is the lens of the camera firmly attached? because i made a mistake and pushed the adapter with its lens cap against the lens of the cam. is there a possibility that i made it moved a bit or no chance at all? i can't stop thinking that my hpx is not perfect anymore ^^
 
I tried the wiggle test on my HVX and on my new HPX. They both move side to side, HOWEVER the HPX is close to twice the movement.

I never noticed this with the HVX, I hope it does not hurt the functionality of the HPX.

I understand it seems to be a "performing at spec" issue with panasonic, but I am worried that it is so much more than the HVX.

There must be some point where the play is just too much. And I am concerned that the HPX may be closer to the threshold than the HVX.
 
I've been following this post since the begining and Jan and Barry are saying it's always been the same design and Dino and some others have been saying the wiggle is worse than previous generations. As someone who's looking to buy the 170 (and this is really the big question)..... is will Panasonic cover any damages due to a fault from this wiggle in the 5 year warranty????

I would assume that if Jan and Barry are correct then Panasonic would have no problem covering this in the warranty since it's never happened before.
 
Angelcyk said:
As someone who's looking to buy the 170 (and this is really the big question)..... is will Panasonic cover any damages due to a fault from this wiggle in the 5 year warranty????
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Yes, I really need to know the answer to this while I can still return my camera. My fear, as I have posted about 10 times to day to no response, is that this gap between the lens & the body is going to allow dust to come into the camera.

Will the limited Panasonic 5 year warranty removing dust from either inside the camera or the lens?
 
Doing an informal, unscientific count on this thread of HPX170 owners who have no wiggle issue totals 6. Those who have enough wiggle to be a concern and/or more than their HVX200 or DVX100 total 11.

Obviously a small sampling, but I think it's fair to say that the issue does exist and many believe it to be worse than previous Panasonic palmcorders which are built the same way, with the same shock mounting system.
 
It is a SHOCKKK MOUNT people.

Not to be disrespectful but...

It's made to absorb SHOCK!


Would you be this upset if the your car moved up and down after going over a bump, as a result of the car struts absorbing the shock? No because they're meant to be SHOCK ABSORBERS.


it's cleary not a hard mount. It's not MEANT to be.
 
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