Very Strange Problem!!! F717---Help Please

[Bharat J. Sutaria]

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS. They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[Shay Stephens]

Wow, that takes me back to the old blue flash syndrome of the F707. The white balance is definitely off in those pictures. But as far as why that happened, I don't have a clue. You say it was happening before the camera went in for the HAF fix, I have been taking a lot of flash pictures with my F717 and have never run across this. I would call Sony and see if they have any data on this happening with anyone else and if it is fixable. I can't see anything you are doing that would cause this.

--
Shay

My Sony F707 & F717 Gallery: http://www.shaystephens.com/portfolio.asp
My F717 Observations: http://www.shaystephens.com/f717.asp

 

[Bharat J. Sutaria]

Wow, that takes me back to the old blue flash syndrome of the F707.
The white balance is definitely off in those pictures. But as far
as why that happened, I don't have a clue. You say it was
happening before the camera went in for the HAF fix, I have been
taking a lot of flash pictures with my F717 and have never run
across this. I would call Sony and see if they have any data on
this happening with anyone else and if it is fixable. I can't see
anything you are doing that would cause this.

--
Shay

Shay,

Thanks for your response. I can live with any problem as long as is it is always there. I would find a cure for it or learn to live with it. However, this problem comes and go.

I get a better response from this forum members than Sony.

Is anybody else experienced this problem ?

Thanks,

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[frank108739]

Your picture has a large portion of background that is dark green. When camera is in auto WB it tries to make this part "white" so that auto WB was set to the wrong value.

Try using manual WB or use a white paper and manual WB set. That will solve your problem.

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I
still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I
have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after
this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as
settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same
settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to
these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went
away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

--
Frank

 

[wiseone]

I was photographing dogs in front of white painted cinder blocks with florescent lighting using onboard flash. Only 2 pictures turned out "blue" out of 40, and I just reshot them. I am using a newly fixed 717. I just heard about BFS today. I wonder if it's the same thing? first time it has happened.

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I
still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I
have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after
this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as
settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same
settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to
these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went
away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[Jay Jervey]

A post yesterday indicated a strong blue cast under flourescent lights. Here it is:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=3773233

Best bet for studio-like indoor shots is to use manual WB. You will get excellent and consistent results. Note, manual WB is ineffective with flash shots cuz flash always uses auto WB.

--
Jay Jervey
Sony DSC-F717

 

[Bharat J. Sutaria]

Your picture has a large portion of background that is dark green.
When camera is in auto WB it tries to make this part "white" so
that auto WB was set to the wrong value.

Try using manual WB or use a white paper and manual WB set. That
will solve your problem.

Frank,

Thanks for advice. I will do that. You are right about the dark green background. That was the true color of the background.

However, it does not answer the fundamental question. I took forty plus pictures with the same setting and same background. Nothing was changed including subject distance from the camera.

Why these seven pictures out of forty plus pictures experienced white balace problem ? This is the second time it happened to me.

I will try with manual WB next time. I still think, auto WB should have worked all the time.

Thanks for your suggestion. It will definately solve the problem. However, I would miss the convinience of using "Auto WB".

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[Bharat J. Sutaria]

I was photographing dogs in front of white painted cinder blocks
with florescent lighting using onboard flash. Only 2 pictures
turned out "blue" out of 40, and I just reshot them. I am using a
newly fixed 717. I just heard about BFS today. I wonder if it's the
same thing? first time it has happened.

Wiseone,

Thanks for your response. In a strange way, it is comforting to know, somebody else experienced the same problem as I did.

At least with F707, it was a consistent problem. I can deal with "consistent problem". However, It is not easy to deal with the problem that comes and goes.

Where do we go from here ?

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[lck0925]

This happens to my elph and i head g2 users experience it from time to time. Must be a glitch.

T
--
F717 owner in a few days.

Wow, that takes me back to the old blue flash syndrome of the F707.
The white balance is definitely off in those pictures. But as far
as why that happened, I don't have a clue. You say it was
happening before the camera went in for the HAF fix, I have been
taking a lot of flash pictures with my F717 and have never run
across this. I would call Sony and see if they have any data on
this happening with anyone else and if it is fixable. I can't see
anything you are doing that would cause this.

--
Shay

Shay,

Thanks for your response. I can live with any problem as long as
is it is always there. I would find a cure for it or learn to live
with it. However, this problem comes and go.

I get a better response from this forum members than Sony.

Is anybody else experienced this problem ?

Thanks,

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[wiseone]

I was surprised at the brilliant blue that appeared similar to your shots. I;m new to all this. Apparently they had a similar problem with the 707 but I don't know if it is the same thing.

fortunately, I check each photo before I go to the next and I'm able to retake if necessary. Can't remember if it was once or twice. I thought at first maybe the flash wasn't charged yet...the blue was a bright blue and did not repeat itself the next time.

Maybe some of the more experienced folks can respond to this. I'll be here with you, anxious to discover what this is.

I was photographing dogs in front of white painted cinder blocks
with florescent lighting using onboard flash. Only 2 pictures
turned out "blue" out of 40, and I just reshot them. I am using a
newly fixed 717. I just heard about BFS today. I wonder if it's the
same thing? first time it has happened.

Wiseone,

Thanks for your response. In a strange way, it is comforting to
know, somebody else experienced the same problem as I did.

At least with F707, it was a consistent problem. I can deal with
"consistent problem". However, It is not easy to deal with the
problem that comes and goes.

Where do we go from here ?

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[wiseone]

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I
still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I
have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after
this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as
settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same
settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to
these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went
away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[wiseone]

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I
still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I
have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after
this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as
settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same
settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to
these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went
away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[Jay Jervey]

BFS (blue flash syndrome) was just the same. After a handful of shots, one would come out looking like a blueberry. You couldn't predict the exact frequency -- but it was repeatable. I was able to make it happen on my F707 by just flashing away at the wall. This problem was corrected by Sony within a month or two (same time last year).

I haven't seen this at all with my F717.

fortunately, I check each photo before I go to the next and I'm
able to retake if necessary. Can't remember if it was once or
twice. I thought at first maybe the flash wasn't charged yet...the
blue was a bright blue and did not repeat itself the next time.

Maybe some of the more experienced folks can respond to this. I'll
be here with you, anxious to discover what this is.

I was photographing dogs in front of white painted cinder blocks
with florescent lighting using onboard flash. Only 2 pictures
turned out "blue" out of 40, and I just reshot them. I am using a
newly fixed 717. I just heard about BFS today. I wonder if it's the
same thing? first time it has happened.

Wiseone,

Thanks for your response. In a strange way, it is comforting to
know, somebody else experienced the same problem as I did.

At least with F707, it was a consistent problem. I can deal with
"consistent problem". However, It is not easy to deal with the
problem that comes and goes.

Where do we go from here ?

Bharat J. Sutaria

--
Jay Jervey
Sony DSC-F717

 

[wiseone]

I haven't seen this at all with my F717.

fortunately, I check each photo before I go to the next and I'm
able to retake if necessary. Can't remember if it was once or
twice. I thought at first maybe the flash wasn't charged yet...the
blue was a bright blue and did not repeat itself the next time.

Maybe some of the more experienced folks can respond to this. I'll
be here with you, anxious to discover what this is.

I was photographing dogs in front of white painted cinder blocks
with florescent lighting using onboard flash. Only 2 pictures
turned out "blue" out of 40, and I just reshot them. I am using a
newly fixed 717. I just heard about BFS today. I wonder if it's the
same thing? first time it has happened.

Wiseone,

Thanks for your response. In a strange way, it is comforting to
know, somebody else experienced the same problem as I did.

At least with F707, it was a consistent problem. I can deal with
"consistent problem". However, It is not easy to deal with the
problem that comes and goes.

Where do we go from here ?

Bharat J. Sutaria

--
Jay Jervey
Sony DSC-F717

 

[Bharat J. Sutaria]

It seems, there is intermittent BFS problem with F717.

I remembered a lot of contribution from a lot of forum members for F707 BFS issue.

This issue is more challenging than F707 BFS issue. It was a consistent problem with F707. I cam deal with and live with consistent problem.

However, with F717, it comes and goes.

I am requesting help fro,m all those who contributed to F707 BFS problem.

Thank you,

Bharat J. Sutaria

 

[David J. Brown]

Hi Bharat,

I have an F-707 that did have the BFS problem (since repaired by SONY). However, that problem was also intermittent, and I wish I hadn't put in for the fix, as the fix produced other flash-related problems with the slow shutter speeds required, which was a new problem created by the EPROM update to fix the original BFS problem.

I could have lived with the BFS problem, as it was very apparent using either preview option.

Good luck in finding a solution to your problem.

Kind regards,
Dave.

It seems, there is intermittent BFS problem with F717.

I remembered a lot of contribution from a lot of forum members for
F707 BFS issue.

This issue is more challenging than F707 BFS issue. It was a
consistent problem with F707. I cam deal with and live with
consistent problem.

However, with F717, it comes and goes.

I am requesting help fro,m all those who contributed to F707 BFS
problem.

Thank you,

Bharat J. Sutaria

--
Dave

 

[lck0925]

The flash fired. Doesn't it disregard whatever white balance you set it @?

T

Try using manual WB or use a white paper and manual WB set. That
will solve your problem.

I hexperinced this problem before I sent my F717 for HAL fix and I
still have this problem.

It happens once in a while only, comes and goes.

Please refer to DSC0076----DSC0081 and tell me what is going on. I
have added two pics before these problem pics and two pics after
this problem pics for comparison. Nothing was changed as far as
settings are concerned. I took over 50 pictures with the same
settings. All came out O.K. except these six. What happened to
these six pics ? This happened without any prior warning and went
away on its own.

Here is the lnik:

http://www.pbase.com/bharat/sony_f717_strange_problem

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

I will appreciate your feedback.

Bharat J. Sutaria

--
Frank

 

[Yehuda Katz]

Bharat,

I inpected your photos. It appears that you were using the onboard flash, plus an external one. If this is true, the onboard flash chooses automatically its preset white balance (daylight?), ignoring any other white balance setting.

If this is correct, I suggest that you send your camera, with this set of photos, to Sony.

Regards and good luck, Yehuda

 

[Shay Stephens]

Again, my camera does not do this, and I am taking a lot of flash shots. What you need is to call Sony to register your problem. If others are having this problem too, they should do the same thing. If only a few people are having the problem, it may be a batch related problem, but that will never be known unless you call Sony.

--
Shay

My Sony F707 & F717 Gallery: http://www.shaystephens.com/portfolio.asp
My F717 Observations: http://www.shaystephens.com/f717.asp

 

[Mike Fitzgerald]

It took me two hours to fix-up these six problem pictures in PS.
They still are not accurate.

Sorry you've run into this which, as others are saying, sounds ominously like a problem which was seen with early F707s and whose underlying cause possibly goes right back to the F505.

For your reference, there's an easy way to get reasonably close to a correct colour balance very quickly in Photoshop. If you start with a white balance in PS you'll generally reduce the overall work quite dramatically. It's described here, by Peter iNova, in this site's Learn section:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/Image_Techniques/Color_Correction_Speed_01.htm

Good luck with Sony!

Mike