HPX170 Lens Wobble Improved

I don't know about the "remedied" HPX170 vs HVX200. But my two HVX200's do not present lens wiggling/wobbling or image shifting as opposed to my brand new otb "un-remedied" HPX170.
 
Segarza said:
I don't know about the "remedied" HPX170 vs HVX200. But my two HVX200's do not present lens wiggling/wobbling or image shifting as opposed to my brand new otb "un-remedied" HPX170.
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I'm going over to the edit booth now to get the video ready for you all but in the test I actually tap the front of the lens and that's the only way to get the image to shift on either camera now.

I'll be right back.

Andrew Hoffman
 
any news from Japan yet?... I'm freaking out... no, not really... yeah, you guys, stop hugging your cameras...
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Though personally I still believe the best test is to siimply rack focus (something you would actually do during a shoot)
not tapping the lens hood itself, which isn't something you would normally do.
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Luis, I did pull a focus and wobble occurred. Tapping on the lens hood was just to show how vulnerable and sensitive the image is to this overly compensated, unannounced shock mount feature.
 
Spec-Comm said:
Since this is not a Panasonic procedure, we cannot handle this as a warranty claim, especially since the camera is functioning as designed.
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I think there is a bit of a consumer debate to be had here. It's functioning as designed but 1.) this design is a significant departure from from the 200 & it has never been listed as a described "feature" of the camera.

So, this information was not presented to the consumer so that they could be informed before making their purchase.

If I had read about this in advance & especially if I had seen this video, I would have not purchased this camera.

So, it may be functioning as designed, but that function in itself is creating defective footage.

You state that end users aren't happy about the "shock mount" while I believe it is that we are not happy that the lens will produce unusable imagery under telephoto conditions.

I really think Panasonic needs to take a little bit of responsibility here and not keep spinning it (in their favor.)

It is wonderful that you are offering this solution but I am sorry to say that I just received my RMA so that I can return mine.

Best of luck with this.
 
I have to give three thumbs up and an extra-credit gold star to Spec Comm. They are understandably concerned and involved on a business level, but providing an immediate solution before Panasonic has even responded is Above and Beyond. My 170 came from them and I am quite pleased with their service.

* modified post: upon closer inspection, imitating what others have done for testing I see a small amount of drift and wiggle. Not as much as many of the others have found, but enough to be of concern; I agree, it is not a professional quality image focusing manually at full tele.

Waiting to hear from Panasonic... on a camera this new, if it is in fact their QC neglect then Panasonic should cover overnight shipping in both directions to make it right.

The positive spin: Having dealt with large quantities all sorts of technological devices for decades, I'm comfortable with first generation devices that are imperfect as long as vendors are as responsive as what we are witnessing here.
 
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RMA = Return Merchandise Authorization. Your vendor should supply you with one if you need to return anything.

Hmm maybe this means some dealers will have some open box specials soon! :)
 
Ugh, I bought from B&H and I think my 15 day grace period expired yesterday or the day before. I'm sooooooooooooooooo pissed right now.
 
Jay Rodriguez said:
Ugh, I bought from B&H and I think my 15 day grace period expired yesterday or the day before. I'm sooooooooooooooooo pissed right now.
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Don't jump the gun just yet, Jay.
Panasonic has yet to respond -
I am certain they will make certain their customer base is satisfied.

Let's just try to keep things under control for now.
 
You should call B&H and explain the situation to them. I really think they would understand and they have worked with me in the past when going beyond return periods. You might talk to your credit card company too to see if you are protected.

This is somewhat of an unusual situation but I think Panasonic & its dealers really do need to offer an unconditional return of this camera for everyone who has this issue or simply aren't comfortable with the camera as a result.

I also think they should cover the shipping costs as well. This isn't the consumer's fault. We weren't aware of this "feature" when purchasing and for many, it clearly has a big issue.

So I don't know why the burden of braving this very precarious technical problem should be left upon the uninformed end user.

Until this is uniformly resolved to everyone's satisfaction, I think there is going to be a stigma with this camera and it is going to be hard to sell it to anyone who is concerned about the image quality, especially with these clips now floating around.




Jay Rodriguez said:
Ugh, I bought from B&H and I think my 15 day grace period expired yesterday or the day before. I'm sooooooooooooooooo pissed right now.
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Luis,
I know your a mod now and you have to display some kind of, political correctness but c'mon dude. You're going to consider me me wanting a refund out of control?
 
Interesting!

If I got this right, an authorized dealer (very reputable, mind you) although "inclined to bow to Jan and Barry" on the issue, recognizes a problem exists, and offers "free of charge" fixes.

Various members of this board are partially unhappy with their camera and we are all waiting for a response from Osaka.

All around there is no consensus about the issue and even if we have one.

Sounds just like current politics.
 
Jay Rodriguez said:
Luis,
I know your a mod now and you have to display some kind of, political correctness but c'mon dude. You're going to consider me me wanting a refund out of control?
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No, that's not out of control and it's understandable that you might want a refund.
I was referring more to your comment about being "soooooooooooo pissed."

I just meant, and this is my personal opinion - mod or not - that we should probably try to keep our emotions under control on this until we hear an official response from Panasonic.

Like I mentioned before, I would like to see a resolution as much as anyone, having a wiggly camera myself. I just think we should give them a chance before we get too upset. Too much emotion is just going to fuel panic and start rumors.

I remember when the EX-1 was released and people were talking like the camera may as well be thrown in the trash.
Well I don't know about you, but I've seen EX-1 footage and that is one impressive camera - yes it had some intial release issues, but they were dealt with and made right.

Just trying to avoid too much rumor and hyperbole from starting up, that's all.
 
I'm with Luis. I dont own the camera still shooting with a DVX but I hope to be able to get a 170 or 150 (undecided) soon and I have been following this thread since it started.if it were me I would be SO grateful that i was even able to own the camera and i would be out shooting with it as much as i could and not sitting at my computer thinking its the end of the world especially after Jan said the problem would be taken care of and SpecComm already has a solution.

I see where the problem could arise if you had the image shift when you are focusing but seriously who would sit there and repeatedly tap the lens or lens hood while shooting?

I think that if anyone is in the position to own a $5000 camera and this is really bothering them then the $100 or so that it costs for Spec-Comm to do their fix is a minimal expense albeit an inconvenient one. There is always some unexpected costs in doing business.
 
All I can say is...WOW....

1) Spec-Comm yet again delivers excellent service. Can't say enough good things about them.

2) The camera in the Spec-Comm video wobbles about ten times more than mine does. It's not even close to a comparison. I really have to wonder now if there was a bad batch of cameras, or a defect of some kind.

While I wasn't at all worried before, I'm starting to worry that this might become an issue down the road. I don't really want to pay to ship my two week old camera in to have Spec-Comm do the mod when there's nothing wrong with it, yet I really don't want to have to worry about something happening in the future.

Andrew: any chance on being more specific as to what you guys are doing to fix this? If we knew more about what causes the problem, those of us not effected will feel much more comfortable that this won't be an issue later on.
 
I just received a new Chrosziel adapter ring for my HPX170 and 450 Mattebox, I've just set it up on a Zacuto universal base mount, attached mattebox and follow focus.. this gave the lens the support it needs, no more image wobbling with this setup.
 
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