Odyssey 7Q+ Image looks TERRIBLE!

[lbpalmer]

I just purchased the Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q+ to use with my Sony FS700 and I was so excited to finally be able to harness the power of this incredible camera. Much to my surprise, the image that came out of the Odyssey 7Q+ looks absolutely TERRIBLE! There is an incredible amount of noise regardless of exposure. It looks the worst when you are shooting 4k RAW to 4k ProRes or UHD ProRes but even the 4k RAW looks bad. I've tried several different brands of 3G rated SDI cables, shooting all kinds of different environments with varied exposure tests but nothing seems to take the noise away. I'm hoping it's just operator error and I have something set wrong on the unit or in camera but I've tried to do a lot of trouble shooting and testing over the last week to no avail. It's also really frustrating that the Convergent Design team has yet to respond to my help ticket even though it's been over 24 hours. I'm pretty disappointed with CD because I expected a lot more from such an expensive piece of equipment and the lack of support is really uncool. To top it all off, I also purchased the $80 Convergent Design Sun Hood which is a total waste of money. The screws that shipped with it are all cockeyed and they don't screw in flush with the unit so the hood is all crooked. Maybe I'm just having some bad luck, and I'm hoping someone on here might have a solution or recommendation because these results are pretty depressing considering how much money I just spent.

I've attached images below of the noisy 4k image and the cockeyed screws.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[DPStewart]

Me thinks you got a unit that was subjected to the "gorilla test" before it made it into your hands.
You sure seem to have tested it pretty well.

But year, at that price point even just a simple acknowledgement of your ticket would be nice.

 

[olof]

The 2 screws just had the caps pressed on at a slant, QC should have caught this. But it is easy to fix.

When I make these, I use a bench press and screw the socket cap screw into a flat plate and then press the plastic cap on in the bench press, this way it is guaranteed to be perfect.

You can fix the crocked screw heads the same way, or simple by having a flat piece of wood even with a ¼" hole drilled straight down in the wood, put the screw in the hole. Then take another piece of wood and hold it flat over the wood on your table/bench and tap it with a hammer, it does not have to be very hard, it will seat the cap straight, it only takes a few seconds to do.

As far as "terrible image", I need more specifics, I and others have shot hundreds of hours of footage with the Odyssey and FS700 combo with excellent results. The 700 and the new FS7 can both produce wonderful images or really terrible ones. You have to set the camera up correctly.

ProRes or RAW from the O7Q does not have the noise reduction that the onboard camera recording has. It is up to you to reduce noise in post, or better yet light and expose so there is no or very little noise, it takes a lot of experimentation. The O7Q records what the camera feeds it so setup is crucial.

CD support is usually really excellent. Try calling the phone numbers on their webpage. Often they answer 24/7.

 

[Mitch Gross]

Please send me a PM with your contact info. I'm happy to discuss ways of improving the image out of your camera system. As for the bolts for the sunshade, they should have never gone out like that and we will send you new ones. Sincerely apologies.

We're a couple people down on our tech support staff at the moment, so we are a little slow in response. But I will do my best and if I cannot help we will get someone in contact with you who can.

 

[DPStewart]

^-- Now look at that will ya!

Mitch to the rescue!

 

[lbpalmer]

Well that's pretty awesome customer service! I didn't think anyone from CD would be keeping tabs on the forums this close to the weekend. Thank you so much for the response Mitch, that's very cool. It sounds like it is most likely operator error which is a relief. I actually just got home and saw that my support ticket had also been answered even outside of business hours so Convergent Design is back in my good graces.

Thanks again and hopefully you guys can help me resolve my issues!

-Matt