Alex Leung

What output does the camera use? HD-SDI or HDMI? I assume your main concern is 7" size and brightness? It'll be hard to get a monitor from a reputable company that can give you 7" in size, high brightness, and good quality under $1000 USD. Are there any rental houses that might carry the 702 Bright? Might be cheaper to rent. Possible options if you want to buy: SmallHD 7" Focus - 1000 nits Atomos Shinobi 5" - 1000 nits Lilliput A7S 7" - 500 nits FeelWorld 7" - 2200 nits

A little digging and it appears Innovision Optics is developing a Probe III that will cover Full Frame and beyond with an adapter. I'm not sure when they will release it though. But it'd be interesting to see if Schneider with their Century Series 2000 Mark II, if they will release a newer version to cover larger sensors.

Just curious if anyone has a solution yet with the advent of larger format sensors becoming more and more popular. When you need a relay lens system or probe lens system, are there any out there that covers full frame or even larger (e.g. Alexa 65)? Of course, ideally without too much of a stop loss relatively speaking. I tried the Optex Excellence system but nobody seems to have the VistaVision, 65mm, or IMAX format module.

The link I provided is a bracket for pan adjustment. You use a motor to pan the sensor left or right. I've used it personally myself (the rig was owned by someone else though). The way I've seen it used is a Preston motor is plugged into the MDR-3's AUX motor port and attached to the bracket. On the HU3 handset, you assign the AUX to your handset's slider. So now as you use the slider, you are panning the sensor. Ignore the pictures on that website that shows the Light Ranger 2. Reason being that you'd never really want to pan the Light Ranger 2. You'll only want to tilt it (hence the pictures show it mounted in a tilting position). Panning will actually mess up what it is reading.

I've used the Cinetape (ultrasonic), ARRI UDM (ultrasonic), Ward Sniper (laser), and Preston Light Ranger 2 (laser). I was brought up on the Cinetape so I know it best and knows how it behaves and figure out what it is reading. So I may be a bit biased. I personally think the Cinetape, although an older technology, is fine for most circumstances. If you are pulling focus, usually the hardest moments are within 10 feet (3.6 meters). In those cases, usually both laser and ultrasonic based system work quite well. I mean, at the end of the day, you still need to understand what the device is measuring (the front of the actor's hat vs his face). What I do find the ultrasonic systems is better at is error margin. If your device isn't aimed 100% correctly, because the ultrasonic beam is relatively wide, usually it will still read the actor. But because the beam is wide, sometimes it can end up reading a foreground actor (in an over the shoulder situation), or even the boom mic when it is low enough. I also find ultrasonic systems slower in terms of refresh rate. Laser based system needs to be aimed more accurately but they are more accurate when they do work and they refresh faster. They also work over a longer distance. But fog/atmosphere does interfere with the device. But it can work through windows. And because the laser based systems require such precise aiming, some assistants have even mounted them on motors (so they can pan the laser). See here: https://cleanscamerasupport.com/product/rangefinder-bracket/ The only exception is the Light Ranger 2. Which I find very accurate, very fast, and really pushes the boundary of what focus pulls can be done. The only downside is you need a monitor and you have to get used to the amount of information that is presented on the screen.

We had a chance to take a look at the air filters mentioned above tonight. It appears the slots where the air filters sit in don't fit the filters snuggly. There are obvious gaps between the filters and the slots. So any large particles can get through without problems. And no, I don't have a service manual for the F65. I got the diagram from the engineer I've been talking to.

I know HEPA filters can filter out dust but not sure about suspended oil-based SPFX atmosphere. Also, by adding more filtration to the air-intake, you risk overheating the camera. The camera's fan already automatically kicks to Hi once it gets too hot during really long takes.

I'm currently near the end of a shoot with 2x Sony F65s and we have experienced this exact problem. We have been using oil-based SPFX atmosphere in our sets heavily. We've sent the cameras back to the local Sony Service Centre twice to have the OLPF cleaned in each camera. The blue-ish tinted filter in front of the mechanical rotary shutter is not the OLPF. It is actually a Band Pass Filter. Cleaning that did not solve our blooming issue. The OLPF actually sits between the mechanical rotary shutter and the sensor. As a result, you need to take apart the entire optical head block of the camera to service/clean it. This is absolutely not advisable to do in the field without proper technicians. The cameras need to be sent back to Sony and cleaned in a dust-free clean room. I've been talking to a senior service engineer for the HD and Digital Cinematography Camera Systems Department at Sony in New Jersey. He apparently has cleaned lots of F65s that come out of rental houses in LA, especially after they have been used in dusty and sandy areas like New Mexico. And he says he finds mostly dust on the OLPF. Based on my experience so far, it appears the sensor area is not entirely sealed to the exterior environment. There are two air filters below the lens mount (see attached picture) where the air intake is. Changing them out might help. But my opinion is that if those air filters can't even filter out fine dust/sand particles, there is no hope of it filtering out even finer contaminants like oil-based SPFX atmospheric haze. As far as I understand it, Sony has significantly reduced the amount of support they provide for this camera. Finding parts (such as the air filters mentioned above) is difficult. I have a colleague that finished a shoot recently with this camera and had to bring along a technician to clean the sensors every night. They even tried to get support from Sony Japan with limited success. I feel cinematographers and camera assistants need to know this is a problem for this camera. Even after our second sensor clean, the problem started re-occurring after 3 shoot days.