Panasonic Service Centers that can do Back Focus repairs

L

LanceLewis

Member
So about 2.5 years ago I bought a Panasonic HC-x1000. Out of the box the back focus doesn't work correctly. I think it's just a problem with 4k cameras in general and don't do anything about it. I also don't upgrade my warranty to 3 years like I could of. Stupid me. At anyrate, the camera was shelved and barely used in that time as we were looking at several cameras and decided to go a different direction. Now, I am circling back and believe that this camera may fit our workflow good enough for now but only if I can get the back focus calibrated correctly (when I zoom in grab focus on something, then zoom out, that something is no longer in focus...I believe that is a back focus problem, right?).

My question is, can anyone recommend a service center in the US that can fix this particular problem? Or can I send it back to manufacturer? I know I am out of warranty and will have to pay out of pocket...but so far I have found 3 service centers, all of which said their technicians can't do it.

Thoughts?

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Lance
 
Digitron in Los Angeles has done pro Panasonic repairs for many years.
Back in the DVX100, HMC150, HVX200 days many back focus issues were fixed with a "software alignment" without having to replace the lens assembly.
Don't know if that is still the case with your model camera, but you might want to give them a call.
Ken
 
"when I zoom in grab focus on something, then zoom out, that something is no longer in focus...I believe that is a back focus problem, right?"

Maybe not. Focusing as you describe would require your lens to be parafocal, which it probably isn't. Parafocal lenses for video will usually cost way more than your Pannycam.

Not sure about the focus aids on the HC-x1000, but most Panny Handycams have a few such as focus in red, digitally magnified zoom, focus bar and maybe a few others I can't think of. Another way to go is to hit autofocus for a moment and tweak it manually.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
"when I zoom in grab focus on something, then zoom out, that something is no longer in focus...I believe that is a back focus problem, right?"

Maybe not. Focusing as you describe would require your lens to be parafocal, which it probably isn't. Parafocal lenses for video will usually cost way more than your Pannycam.

Not sure about the focus aids on the HC-x1000, but most Panny Handycams have a few such as focus in red, digitally magnified zoom, focus bar and maybe a few others I can't think of. Another way to go is to hit autofocus for a moment and tweak it manually.

Grant
Click to expand...

First of all sorry to be a stickler but the word is "parfocal"
The OP is correct- what he describes seems to be a back focus issue. Zoom lens (in this case "non") parfocality refers to the scenario when the image from the lens is sharp at both extremes of the zoom lens tele (long) end and wide end but it falls off (softens ) at the intermediate zoom positions. This is a very common misconception propelled by inexperienced camera users. I've been trying to correct it for ever and, apparently , have not succeeded...;-)
 
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Optitek,

You are correct about my spelling error. Thanks.

I'll let you consider parfocal by this definition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parfocal_lens

Your crusade to correct this has not yet succeeded, yet. Possibly you have other documentation that could better splain it to us inexperienced camera operators.

I am open to wisdom from those who know more, but isn't the point of a parfocal lens is that when you do zoom, things stay in acceptable focus from one extreme to the other? What would be the point of having a parfocal lens if it has a soft patch in the middle?
 
I rest my case haha...;-) That's exactly my point:
let me splain:
1. The lens is NOT parfocal if it goes soft in the middle but holds focus at the extremes. (hence the -in this case "non" - in my post)
2.The lens could be parfocal (and they usually are in camcorders) if it goes soft at the wide extreme from a sharp set focus at the long end.
To know that for sure the back focus has to be set first and then the test repeated.
how to check the back focus on zoom lenses?
Here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pKFkXfOiog&t=222s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki-31j51krE
Evidently this is not an easy concept to understand, please let me know how I can make it more clear.
My math teacher used to say that "complex" and "abstract" problems are not the same and require different skills. This one is definitely under the abstract definition...
 
Maybe it’s better to put it the other way around.

A parfocal zoom with correct backfocus adjustment will hold focus thoughout the zoome range. For A zoom to hold focus, the lens must be parfocal and the backfocus must also be set correctly. They are two different optical characteristics that have similar symptoms when they’re not right.

JB
 
John Brawley said:
Maybe it’s better to put it the other way around.

A parfocal zoom with correct backfocus adjustment will hold focus thoughout the zoome range. For this to work, the lens must be parfocal and the backfocus must also be set correctly. They are two different optical characteristics that have similar symptoms when they’re not right.

JB
Click to expand...

Thank you John, that's a good way to put it.
 
Is it possible that the autofocus switch may have been bumped and turned on? I have a network client with some Panasonic handycams and I've seen them inadvertantly be in AF (or some weird hybrid mode) and you think you're focusing and then when zoomed out they grab somewhere else in the frame.
 
Yes indeed.

Read what the OP said: "when I zoom in grab focus on something, then zoom out, that something is no longer in focus"

What I said, "Focusing as you describe would require your lens to be parafocal, which it probably isn't.

And in fact, if the OP's lens is not parafocal, then focusing via that technique will never work.

I can tell you that the three Panny Handycams I have owned DVX100a, HPX170 and AJ-PX270 are not parfocal. At least not enough parfocal to be used in the way that the OP is attempting to grab focus.

So what part of my response is incorrect?
 
ggrantly,

My DVX100A is perfectly sharp from end to end, as were the HMC150 and HVX200A cams I've used.
The zoom lenses on these are parfocal, in the sense that the software component of the focusing system corrects for any minor "mistracking" issues as the lens is zoomed.
Mass produced lens assemblies like this with a number of lens element groups, often need some internal computer help to keep them in focus throughout the range.
I'm pretty sure that the integral zoom on the OP's camera works the same way.

As JB notes, the back focus must be set correctly, and a proper back focus check is one of the first things I'd do when buying or renting a camcorder with built in zoom.

Hopefully, back focus "tweaking" on these newer lenses can still be done electronically via a software alignment, unless the assembly itself is damaged.

However, since Lance's post asked for service center suggestions, I hope my earlier reply was of some help.
Don't know where your located, but if Digitron in L.A. can't fix it, no one can (I think Eric is still the go-to guy there).

Ken
 
ggrantly said:
And in fact, if the OP's lens is not parafocal, then focusing via that technique will never work.



So what part of my response is incorrect?
Click to expand...

I think the confusion comes from the described symptom that COULD be because the lens isn’t back focussed correctly OR it could ALSO be because the lens isn’t parfocal. We don’t know for sure with this specific case if the lens is parfocal. I’m certainly used to built in lenses on handycams being parfocal.

JB
 
Ggrantly: This is a fixed lens. In my experience, every video camera I have ever owned with a fixed lens is parfocal. I've never had a camera with this issue and I've owned nearly 20 cameras over the past 20 years. Yes, I do have focus aids on the camera but we are an event based company and as such we need cameras to hold their focus...for example we are shooting a dance recital. One camera is responsible to hold the group...which expands and contracts from as wide as the stage to less than half the stage. A camera that can't stay in focus through that zoom range would be useless to our crew.
 
Any of the fixed lens PannyCams I have owned have lost a couple stops (roughly) of sensitivity between wide and long views. If you go from f/2 to f/4.5 your depth of field is going to change. Even if the lens is "parfocal", if the DOF changes while zooming, can you necessarily expect the lens to hold focus? Maybe, maybe not. It is a distinction without a difference if the image softens.

Despite some differing opinions posted here, in my experience with the PannyCams I have owned, I wouldn't be able to make significant zoom in or zoom out moves without tweaking the focus unless I was using a small aperture to increase the DOF. And smaller apertures, beyond f/8 or so, will significantly soften the image on virtually all Handycam lenses.

G

Edit: No doubt when we moved past the standard def DVX100 series to the high def HVX and HPX cams, critical focus became more challenging.
 
ggrantly said:
Any of the fixed lens PannyCams I have owned have lost a couple stops (roughly) of sensitivity between wide and long views. If you go from f/2 to f/4.5 your depth of field is going to change. Even if the lens is "parfocal", if the DOF changes while zooming, can you necessarily expect the lens to hold focus? Maybe, maybe not. It is a distinction without a difference if the image softens.
Click to expand...

Yes. Most high zoom ratio lenses have iris ramping going from wide to the top-end. My three Fuji Premiere HD's (13x, 13x, 22x) and Canon 17-120(7x) all hold focus. If it's a parfocal lens, you nailed focus, back-focus is set properly, there's nothing "wrong" with the lens and the object or camera doesn't move in relation to one-another after focusing on it, focus should be the same no matter where you are in the zoom range. If this were not the case, then what most of us do with ENG and other (parfocal)zoom lenses, zooming in to get critical focus on your subject and zooming back out to set the shot while maintaining focus, would not work.
 
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