My AF-101 needs already to be serviced

G

Gary Senda

Well-known member
I'm almost worried and disappointed. I was one of the first to receive the camera and perhaps this is a sort of punishment.
Yesterday I was testing the camera and I have performed the white balance followed by black balance in the usual way (I have owned a DVX100, an HVX200 and HPX170 so I kwnow what I do). I had a Lumix 20mm pancake lens attached to the camera. After balancing colors, the result is that now there's a yellow-greenish casting in midtones (white seems OK). I've repeated the balance several times rith several lenses: no modifications, the color seems definitively compromised. Presets are OK. The casting is more pronounced in camera monitor, but it is noticeable in recorded clip also. Camera has only 1 hour of activity, I think i'll bring it back to it to the dealer calling for a replacement.
I hope this is not the new 'lens wobble' issue. Someone else has had similar problems?

Regards

Gary
 
Jan has suggested on this forum for other issues to perform a factory reset of all settings. I'm sure Panasonic support will also tell you to do that first thing before accepting a return to see if that resolves the issue.
 
I've noticed that onboard LCD leans towards yellow. Off board LCD was showing correct white balance. Need to some more tests.
 
Yes, I noticed this also. But now it is a lot more pronounced and clips tend to turn yellow also. Overexposed areas tend to turn yellow on camera monitor and in clips also. The strange thing is that white seems OK and yellow (and green) casting seems to affect mainly midtones.
 
This is a very quick clip (sorry for quality), but it's enough to have an idea

http://www.vimeo.com/18402692 (pwd dvxuser).

I've compared with GH1: as you can see my parquet and my pink beech shelves have turned greenish. I've included also a clip with WB preset and custom made that I've shooted yesterday.
 
DM_rider said:
You should post up raw clips. Vimeo is a poor way to look at camera issues.
Click to expand...
I can make it if you want. Anyway, despite the compression and the noise (1600 ISO), the clip give a good idea of the color shifting. It was not the first time that I performed white and black balance on AF101 (it was the first time with 20mm lens), but I'm sure that all has appened after performing a white/black balance: I've seen immediately the monitor turning yellowish much more than usual. I've thought it was a bug with the 20mm lens so I have performed a new white balance with the 14-140mm lens: nothing is changed.
It could be useful to know if there is a way to reset the camera at the factory settings: I can see only a menu reset and I've also performed it, without results.
 
You mention all this appearing at 1600 ISO, does it appear at lower ISOs as well? Particularly 400 (native chip rating) and 800 (pushed +1 stop)?
 
Outdoor clips are at 400 ISO. This happens at all sensistivities. In monitor it is much more evident and overexposed areas tend to turn yellow
 
Gary Senda said:
I'm almost worried and disappointed.
Click to expand...
Don't panic, take lens off, put cap on camera, then Black Balance. Black balance before white balance. Put lens on Camera and white balance. Are you sure your IRIS was closed for the Black balance? Just take lens off and put cap on camera to be sure. (You only have to occasionally perform a Black balance)
 
you shouldn't have to do this. There is an internal iris that closes for Black Balance.

vic777 said:
Don't panic, take lens off, put cap on camera, then Black Balance. Put lens on Camera and white balance. Are you sure your IRIS was closed for the Black balance? Just take lens off and put cap on camera to be sure.
Click to expand...
 
vic777 said:
Don't panic, take lens off, put cap on camera, then Black Balance. Black balance before white balance. Put lens on Camera and white balance. Are you sure your IRIS was closed for the Black balance? Just take lens off and put cap on camera to be sure. (You only have to occasionally perform a Black balance)
Click to expand...
I've just tried. I've disabled the lens check and I've put the cap on the lens during black balance: nothing. I've removed the lens, also, and performed the black balance with the body camera cap: nothing. I've just seen that the 3.2k preset has the same yellowish tint. I think I'll bring the camera back to the dealer: he has calibrated monitor and I can compare my camera with another 101. Anyway there is no doubt: something has changed in the color and is not possible to come back.
 
do you have auto tracking white (ATW)turned off? or maybe there something like tape or muck in fron of the white balance sensor.
 
Taking it back to your dealer is probably a good option at this point, especially to compare it to another camera.

Hope it works out for you.
 
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