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| urbanfox.tv > camera workbooks > Sony PD150 > Hissed off |
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THE STORY SO FARThe original PD150 cameras did have an audible hiss problem. Firstly Sony denied it - but, then admitted there was a problem. Next, Sony offered a fix to those people who had already bought the camera. Sony supplied a "Manual Audio S/N Upgrade Kit" to the early adopters but at a cost of $150. To add insult to injury the upgrade was not covered under warranty. Naturally those people were not too happy to have to pay to get the camera up to standard. If you want to know how p*ssed off people were take a look at www.global-dvc.org/html/PD150.asp for the whole sorry story. Then Sony started to do repairs for free - all you have to do was pay
for shipping. I spotted this on the egroup
VX2K forum ... In between all of this going on - the cameras coming off the production line were modified and the problem solved. I attended the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in September 2000, in Amsterdam and asked a Sony rep on their stand what the situation was with the camera. I was told that "this problem has now been solved". Here's another message and answer from the VX2K forum (posted 18 March
2001) ... |
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BUT - what should you do if you want to buy a PD150?If it is a reputable supplier you should be OK. If they have a regular turnover of stock and you feel confident you are getting a recently manufactured camera - you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I checked out eight cameras the other day (24th April 2001). A client of mine had just bought them and wanted me to check them over. There was no problem with any of them. Interestingly - I checked two cameras back in January for another client - one had the hiss and the other didn't. Be wary of special offers from suppliers - the camera may be old stock and may have the hiss problem. Watch out for grey imports - these cameras are sold cheaply and with little or no warranties. Remember there may be a few unscrupulous suppliers out there who want to sell you old stock. As ever you should remember the best advice before handing over your hard earned cash "buyer beware". Whenever, wherever and from whomever(!) you buy the camera - do a hiss test and if you're not happy take it back. |
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THAT HISS-TEST AGAIN...The most comprhensive test I can find on the web is at http://www.dvinfo.net/sony/audio/audiofiles.htm by David Cherniack. There was a simple test on this site but that has now been removed. It seems it was just too simple. Because according to Sony's site... "Evaluation of Audio Signal to Noise should not be performed using earphone / headphone output. The earphone / headphone amplifier circuit has been equalized to emphasize high frequencies and is intended to be of "monitoring" quality. Furthermore, the earphone / headphone audio may not accurately represent record level audio since the earphone / headphone level can be varied using the volume +/- buttons near the LCD screen. Audio Signal to Noise evaluation should more properly be performed by playing back recorded tapes on a studio VTR." (Please note this Sony warning is about the VX2000 which is reputed to have the same problem as the PD150). See www.sel.sony.com/SEL/service/dcrvx2000.shtml for the full text. |
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SO, YOU THINK YOU HAVE A PROBLEMThis is my advice
But, please don't email me on this! Sorry. It's just that I've had loads of emails from people asking me whether I think their camera has a problem. Without being in the same room as your camera there is no way I can make a diagnosis. And even if I came face to face with your camera - I'm still not an audio engineer, just a camerawoman. |
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THE
PD 150 AND THE HISS!