Some of you may have been having issues downloading my LUT’s and some other content. This was occuring due to Chrome blocking the download of any files it deems unsafe. I have installed some upgraded tools on my server and you should find that downloads will work again now. Do let me know if you ever encounter issues with the site. The sooner you let me know the sooner I can look into them. Thanks.
Tag Archives: problem
Hot Pixels and White Dots From My New Camcorder (FX9 and many others).
So you have just taken delivery of a brand new PXW-FX9. Turned it on and plugged it in to a 4K TV or monitor – and shock horror there are little bright dots in the image – hot pixels.
First of all, don’t be alarmed, this is not unusual, in fact I’d actually be surprised if there weren’t any, especially if the camera has travelled in any airfreight.
Video sensors have millions of pixels and they are prone to disturbance from cosmic rays. It’s not unusual for some to become out of spec. So all modern cameras incorporate various methods of recalibrating or re-mapping those pesky problem pixels. On the Sony professional cameras this is called APR. Owners of the Sony F5, F55, Venice and FX9 will see a “Perform APR” message every couple of weeks as this is a function that needs to be performed regularly to ensure you don’t get any problems.
You should always run the APR function after flying with the camera, especially on routes over the poles as cosmic rays are greater in these areas. Also if you intend to shoot at high gain levels it is worth performing an APR run before the shoot.
If your camera doesn’t have a dedicated APR function, typically found in the maintenance section of the the camera menu system, then often the black balance function will have a very similar effect. On some Sony cameras repeatedly performing a black balance will active the APR function.
If there are a lot of problem pixels then it can take several runs of the APR routine to sort them all out. But don’t worry, it is normal and it is expected. All cameras suffer from it. Even if you have 1000 dead pixels that’s still only a teeny tiny fraction of the 19 million pixels on the sensor.
APR just takes 30 seconds or so to complete. It’s also good practice to black balance at the beginning of each day to help minimise fixed pattern noise and set the cameras black level correctly. Just remember to ensure there is a cap on the lens or camera body to exclude all outside light when you do it!
SEE ALSO: https://www.xdcam-user.com/2011/02/are-cosmic-rays-damaging-my-camera-and-flash-memory/
Caution with new type 128GB XQD cards in the PMW-F5 and F55 (maybe others too).
UPDATE – IT IS NOW CONFIRMED THAT THE NEW 440MB/s CARDS WILL NOT WORK UNDER V7 OR EARLIER FIRMWARE. A FIX WILL BE INCLUDED IN VERSION 8.
There have been some comments on an older thread about problems with the very latest slightly faster Sony G series 128GB XQD cards with Sony’s F5 and F55 cameras (thanks Justin and Richard).
Many people, including myself use XQD cards with the Sony QDA-EX1 adapter in the PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 as well as other SxS cameras. Up to now I’ve never heard of any real problems, basically they work pretty much the same as SxS cards.
Very recently Sony released a new very slightly faster XQD cards. The old cards have a maximum write speed of 350MB/s while the new cards have a max write speed of 440MB/s. You can see in the image above of one of the new cards that both the read and write speeds are shown on the front of the card. The old (good) cards only show a single speed (400MB/s).
From what I have been able to gather so far the old 128GB G series cards work just fine, but a few people are reporting that the new faster 128GB ones do not. Problems include being unable to format the cards in the camera or unable to write anything to the cards.
If you have any experience of this issue, good or bad, with the new 64GB or 128GB 440MB/s cards please let me know by adding a comment.