NEX-5n / HDMI / gentLED incompatibility

MombasaFlash

MombasaFlash

Heli's & Tele's bloke
I have been doing a photo job the last couple of days. As ultra resolution was not required I kept it simple with the NEX-5n on the AD-8 and this gave me a safe ten minutes per flight. I was unpleasantly surprised to find that half the shots I knew I took were not on the card. I checked the gear and everything worked so I went out again this morning.

All ready to start, check the shutter release and ... same thing. Nine out of ten shutter commands produced no response. Huh?

I eventually found the problem. With the NEX on Auto-Focus and the HDMI cable plugged in and powered up, the gentLED shutter release did not work - most of the time. Switch to manual focus and it works every time. OR ... remove the HDMI cable and leave the NEX in Auto-Focus and it also works every time. Since the clumsy great HDMI cable is required in order to transmit live video from the NEX there is no option but to use manual focus.

As a rule I ALWAYS use manual focus, along with manual shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity but the sometimes soft imagery of the NEX prompted me to try Auto-Focus for a change and because of that I have discovered this weird anomaly.

I wonder if Sony know about it. Surely this sort of issue must be fixable with a firmware update?

Here is one of the pics.

050.Radisson-Peugeot.jpg
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Aye Up MBF..

I dont use the HMDI out put but a FPV camera Velcroed to the front of the Nex5 and using the 16mm lens its virtually a perfect match to what the camera is seeing. I am working on a servo based shutter release so the FULL camera features are available.

Not sure Sony would have factored in all the scenarios that include yours! What FM are u on?

Dave
 

MombasaFlash

MombasaFlash

Heli's & Tele's bloke
Personally, I have never liked the idea of a separate camera for monitoring and this is one reason why. You have no idea if the main camera is working properly until after it is all over and too late. On this occasion the fault was mine. If I had been a bit more on the ball I would have realised that something was up when, instead of getting a momentary black monitor as the shutter was released, there was just a sort of mild focus hunt.

You lost me there on the 'FM' question. Is that Frequency Module, Free Mason, Fart Machine ... ?

I am currently testing a few other cameras and camcorders in the search for a lightweight heavyweight but it is beginning to look as though each one of them has at least one major Achilles Heel. That's the trouble with consumer gear for this sort of application.
 

ZAxis

ZAxis

Member
I have also been experiencing problems with our NEX5 via HDMI. As explained in a previous post the camera has taken it upon itself to switch to preview mode at the mere hint of a low downlink signal. This then means that shutter release won't work until you manually bring it down a reset it. I find myself racing up to try and get shots before it inevitably happens. The weird thing is that when I first started using the HDMI converter it was absolutely fine, just the past week or so it has started playing up. I guess the manual servo release would solve this but as with Mombasa I really like to see exactly what the camera is doing.
 

MombasaFlash

MombasaFlash

Heli's & Tele's bloke
When I bought the NEX and contacted James 'gentLED' he told me that there is no facility for remote video record, only shutter release. Well, he has discovered by accident that the NEX5 has a LiveView actuating facility similar to the Canon whereby a three position switch allows taking a photo in one direction or starting video record in the other. I use it all the time on the 5D. It is very, very handy and keeps the insatllation crap to a minimum because of course the gentLED's are so discreet. LiveView video record is a function that is not even supported on the Sony Remote !

If using a servo to push a shutter release on a camera was the only option I would not even bother with it. Such crappy Heath Robinson solutions are so clumsy today.
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Why hasn't anyone tried the shutter button hack yet? I just received a 5n but haven't played with it much yet.
 



Gunter

Gunter

Draganflyer X4
My Nikon J1 works 100% perfect with the HDMI cable plugged in using the gentled shutter release. I have a proper preview on the ground based screen and the shutter releases instantly when I hit the stick. It takes 3-4 seconds before I can take the next shot. I can also trigger the video when I'm in the video mode.

The only problem I had was when the sun shines on the IR directly and then the shutter doesn't work...just a matter of getting a cover of some sort.


Regards,

Gunter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 



Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
just ordered low temp soldering paste and a pointy tip for my soldering iron. if they arrive before the weekend maybe I can try the shutter hack Sat or Sun.
The pics by DJ from PhotoshipOne make it look a lot easier than the video from the guy at gethypoxic.com.
i'm going to do it the easy way. :)
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Bartman said:
just ordered low temp soldering paste and a pointy tip for my soldering iron. if they arrive before the weekend maybe I can try the shutter hack Sat or Sun.
The pics by DJ from PhotoshipOne make it look a lot easier than the video from the guy at gethypoxic.com.
i'm going to do it the easy way. :)
Click to expand...

DJ shows how to do it on a 5N, the gethypoxic video shows the older NEX5 and unfortunately complete disassembly is the only way to get to the switch on the older NEX. On the 5N the entire top pops off giving easy access to the shutter switch so it's much less intimidating. That said I have no intention of trying it on either of my 5N, the GentLED works just fine for me doing stills and the rest of the time I'm recording video so I start and stop on takeoff and landing.

Ken
 

MombasaFlash

MombasaFlash

Heli's & Tele's bloke
RTRyder said:
.... the GentLED works just fine for me doing stills ...

Ken
Click to expand...

Are you using an HDMI converter board for live monitoring? If so, do me a favour please. Select auto focus on the NEX-5n, plug in the HDMI cable and turn everything on so that live video is transmitted and received and then try the gentLED shutter release and tell me if it works every time. If the shutter release doesn't work or only intermittently select manual focus on the NEX and try again and tell if it now works reliably.

If you DON'T use an HDMI converter ... disregard everything above :)

BTW, you might have missed my post elsewhere that mentioned this but, James at Gentles has discovered by accident that video can also be activated on the NEX-5 with a gentLED LiveView actuator. I'm with you. I'll stick with the gentLED's and read tales of bodged mods and buggered up cameras.

Oh, Hi Bart. Wassup?
 


R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
MombasaFlash said:
Are you using an HDMI converter board for live monitoring? If so, do me a favour please. Select auto focus on the NEX-5n, plug in the HDMI cable and turn everything on so that live video is transmitted and received and then try the gentLED shutter release and tell me if it works every time. If the shutter release doesn't work or only intermittently select manual focus on the NEX and try again and tell if it now works reliably.

If you DON'T use an HDMI converter ... disregard everything above :)

BTW, you might have missed my post elsewhere that mentioned this but, James at Gentles has discovered by accident that video can also be activated on the NEX-5 with a gentLED LiveView actuator. I'm with you. I'll stick with the gentLED's and read tales of bodged mods and buggered up cameras.

Oh, Hi Bart. Wassup?
Click to expand...

No, not using an HDMI converter. As much as this may seem inconceivable to some, I don't use a through the camera view to line up shots. On the rare occasions I shoot stills I just set the GentLED to continuous mode and fly, I get plenty of good shots and always the one I'm looking for. It's not like when I used to shoot film way back when and every shot cost $, digital is free exposures and I have big memory cards ;)

When I do feel the need to see what the camera is pointing at I use a small FPV cam for the downlink, the view is close enough for my purposes and it takes up a lot less space on an already crowded frame but for the most part I just line it up by eye as I'm flying. I realize there are instances when it's critical to see exactly what the camera is seeing but I'm not doing work for a Hollywood studio so it really doesn't matter in my case.

I'll be ordering one of the LiewView actuators from Gentles, the ability to turn the video on and off from the TX as well as switch to/from taking stills is something I've not been able to do before.

Ken
 
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MombasaFlash

MombasaFlash

Heli's & Tele's bloke
I am keen to see some of your results with the NEX-7. I wonder if it produces sharper raw video? I read in a photo mag article that the NEX has a really excellent sensor but it is let down by insufficient processing power to transfer enough of the data to the card. The result is the sort of okay but a bit smudgy NEX-5 image that I have been moaning about.

I would like to know if this has been improved upon with the NEX-7
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
MombasaFlash said:
.................I'll stick with the gentLED's and read tales of bodged mods and buggered up cameras. Oh, Hi Bart. Wassup?
Click to expand...

the warm-up to this has been my experience disassembling and swapping parts to my kids' Nintendo DS's. my NEX will be on the operating table this evening.......stay tuned!
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
the score at halftime, NEX 1...Bart 0

This modification gives new meaning to the word small! DJ recommends 28 ga wire or smaller and I'm using half of 24 ga wire but it's too big (the strands look like logs). under magnification the conical soldering tip looks like my thumb and i'm having trouble keeping things steady being zoomed in on the work so much. i had the wires on (and even touched the ends together to snap a picture!) but they broke off while trying to pack them into the case so it's definitely doable but it's a challenge. the soldering paste doesn't seem to tin the wires as well as regular solder so it's hard to get the solder to saturate the wire in the process of attaching it to the pad.

i may try again later if i can find some smaller gauge wire hanging around. maybe i can pull something out of a scrap nintendo console and use that. once i've got wires coming out of the case i'll just splice them to a pre-wired JST plug and anchor the leads to the neck-strap eyelets.

Bart
 
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