Lens issues

Blurriness

Out of focus when shooting in wide angle

This is a back-focus issue.  Just behind the lens, on the right hand side of the camera, is a little black plastic cover that slides forwards and comes off.  Behind it is a cog that you turn with your finger, and it'll shift the position of the CCD sensor back and forth, to match the focal length of the attached lens.  This should be a once-only adjustment, unless you change lenses, or subject the camera to serious vibration, as it's quite stiff and unlikely to accidentally shift out of position.

Setting the back focus

You might want to repeat those steps a couple of times.  And you want the iris wide open, so you're adjusting the lens under the worst conditions it'll have to work in (with minimal depth of field).  So use the high speed special effect shutter (SES) to reduce the picture intensity, if opening the iris causes over-exposure.

If you don't open the iris wide, you'll think you've set the back focus, but it was depth of field aiding you.  Later, when filming with the iris wider open, than now, you'll find it goes out of focus on wide angle.

Virtually no depth of field

I've come across several lenses where they have extreme depth-of-field problems.  Although it can produce a very nice looking soft background behind someone in a telephoto shot, it makes focus very difficult, and you have almost no depth-of-field.  There was something smudged over the back element of the lens, I could only guess that it's some oil or grease that vapourised and condensed there, it doesn't look like lens fungus.

It is possible to clean this off, but you'll need to undo the fastener holding the back element on.  There's a black screw ring that has two small holes on its edges, to insert a tool with two prongs.  And there's a bit of glue in the gap between it and the rest of the lens.  You'd need to carefully scrape out the glue, and undo the ring.  If you don't have the tool, and can't get one, you could very carefully knock a couple of nails through a small bit of wood, the right distance apart.  Or, even more carefully, prise the ring around with a couple of tiny screwdriver points poked into the holes.

But first, mark the ring and the surround, so you can return it to the same position when you re-do it.  And count the number of times you unscrew it, before it's released (mine took six and a half rotations).  It's tightness, when done back up, will affect focus.

I ended up using a combination of methylated spirits to remove the mess, and lens cleaning fluid to tidy up.  It's been quite effective, though needed repeating about a year or two later.  And so long as you don't scratch the lens while cleaning and handling, it's not likely to make it any worse than it was.

At least one of the standard lens for the camera isn't sealed against the outside elements.  There's a gaping hole below the auto-iris servo, inside the metal box screwed on the side of the lens.  So outdoor use isn't going to be kind to the lens, and the lens should probably be wrapped up if used in a windy environment.

Seizing zoom or iris rings

I've come across several lenses where the ring will jam, or get stiff, part way through its travel.  Unfortunately I don't know a proper solution to this, though carefully exercising a lens zoom ring through it's movements, without forcing it, did free up a couple of our lenses (NB I spent somewhere around half an hour carefully moving the zoom ring from one end to the other until it moved freely).  I'm guessing that some bearing has worn out, or the lens always had a rough patch.  Replacing a lens would be difficult, as they're a special mount.  There were adaptors to use different types of lenses, but finding one of these adaptors (for a 1990s camera) would be difficult, too.

If you have mechanical cable drives for zoom and focus, sometimes the cable jams in them.  You should undo the cable, and flex it about, straightening it out, then re-attach it.  You want to avoid kinks and bends between the lens controllers and the lens, but sometimes you need to put a wide loop in, so that cables don't sag and snag on parts of the tripod.

Slipping zoom and focus lens remotes

The mechanical lens remotes have a clutch in them, so that if you try to turn the control too far, it slips in the remote.  Unfortunately, a common problem is that the clutch is too loose, but it can be tightened.

For the focus control, roll back the edge of the rubber grip on the end nearest the cable, and you'll see three tiny screw holes around the edge of the cylinder, under the grip.  Carefully loosen them, and pull the cylinder off.  You'll be left with the clutch exposed.  Grip the outer section with something that won't damage it (e.g. line the jaws of some pliers with strips of old bicycle inner tube rubber, or wind some gaffer tape around things).  And use a two-pronged tool to, slightly, tighten the clutch (I just knocked a couple of small nails through a small strip of wood, the right distance apart from each other).  You still want some amount of slippage.  Test by grabbing the outer part of the clutch, using it to control the lens.

For the zoom control, unscrew the flat zoom lever that you rotate around to zoom the lens, and you'll expose the clutch.  Slightly tighten it, and test, as with the focus control.

Squeaky zoom remote

After a while, you may find that the zoom control squeaks.  Or, more precisely, the spinning finger-grip knob on the end of the zoom control.  It has a metal bearing going through a plastic knob, and the plastic gets worn off, leaving a fine powder residue inside.

Unscrew the pivot for the knob, and carefully pull the knob off.  Run a pipe cleaner through the hole, and wipe off the shaft, too.

I wouldn't try lubing it, it's not that type of bearing, and it'll jam up as muck gets caught in it.


Contents
Main sections:
homepage
contact details
business info
personal info
eBay & trading
“sales” ads
“wanted” ads
electronics
video production
photography
computing
reviews
misc info
website info/help
links
index
search