20X Lens for PMW-EX3?

[basspig]

We ordered an EX3 last week. In the coming months, I want to find a good 20X lens to use in our concert shoots. 20X is the MINIMUM magnification we need for good closeups of performers from balconies. 24X would be even better. At any rate, the only other lens I found on the B&H site is a 4mm 8X wide angle lens (on my wish list for next year).
Of course there are a lot of Fujinon lenses that may or may not fit the bill, but will they work with the EX3?
I wish to keep the cost under $4K for the lens, if possible. Suggestions?

[Huy Vu]

Why not get a Nikon adapter and slap a zoom lens on there? The magnification factor would be considerable and it'll be a lot cheaper.

[Steve Shovlar]

Mark and Mary, we make the Adaptimax and it will fit your requirements perfectly. You get approximately 5 times magnification and edge to edge sharpness, for a very small outlay. ( providing you own Nikon lenses)

A 105mm Nikon will become a 550mm telephoto with the Adaptimax. An 80-200 will give a very nice telephoto range.

And of course the Adaptimax will save you a fortune on the price of a new lens for the EX3.

Best regards
Steve

[JDDalllas]

Adapters are great, but remember you will not have servo zooming capability. All will be manual. Which may stand out during a performance. You can prob find a SD 20x 2/3 lens on e-bay for that price. It's SD, but your budget will not get HD.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-YJ20x8-5-B4-20x-Internal-Focus-2-3-Lens-NR-MINT_W0QQitemZ280388866105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamer a_Lenses?hash=item41487a9039&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fujinon-S20x6-4BRM-SD-20x-6-4-to-128mm-Zoom-Lens_W0QQitemZ270423528854QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item3ef67f9596&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

You will need the ACM-21 adapter to mount a 2/3 lens, and you will have a increase in magnification as well. But it will power your zoom.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Acm-21%20Adapter&N=0

The EX will take 1/2 pro lens (adapter provided with camera) and 2/3 pro lens(ACM-21) and still lens with a adapter like Adaptimax. A lot of options!

[steve phillipps]

For that price definitely a stills lens with adapter. Long end of a 2/3" standard def lens, possibly with the 2x in, and through an optical adapter like the ACM-21? Good luck with that!
Steve

[basspig]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.
I don't have any Nikon lenses. I do have Olympus 4/3 system lenses.
However, I am looking at the 'companion' lens, which is a 4mm 8X Fujinon for $3700 as a wide angle choice. Now I just need to find out if Fujinon makes a compatible lens for the EX3 that extends the tele range to 20X or better.
I hope to find lenses made specifically for the EX3, but I'll entertain alternatives temporarily, if it will let me get the closeup shots I need without chromatic aberrations that I get with the EX lenses.
Theoretically, if there's a wide lens already available for the EX3, then there probably will be a longer lens available. I'm looking for that lens.

[steve phillipps]

No long lens for the EX3. As for 1/2" choices that will go on via adapter there is the Canon do an HJ21x5.7 at £12,000. Plenty of choice in 2/3" from Fujinon ZA22x7.8 at £8,000 to Canon HJ40x14.5 at about £35,000.
You won't get anything in HD for the sort of money you're talking about, even second hand.
Steve

[adamr316]

Canon HDgc are the amongst the best of the cheaper lenses out there. http://www.canon.com/bctv/faq/hdgc.html

You may be able to find a camera with a 2x extender. Less than $4K just isn't gonna cut it I'm afraid for a lens that long, HD and 1/2".

I found this one at 17x: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/430112-REG/Fujinon_XS17X55BRMM_XS17x55BRM_M_17x_1_2_XDCAM.htm l but it cost as much as the camera. Your best bet would be to read reviews on older SD lenses to see how good they look in HD. But like a reviewer said of the EX1, "This Funinon lens has no business being on a sub-$7K camera." Meaning how the heck did they shove a quality lens like that plus the camera body and keep the cost that low?

[Jason Wilson]

SD lenses work great but once you throw on a doubler its not so great

[cheezweezl]

i agree with the 2/3" lens + adapter. i have used an ex3 with 2/3" digiprimes and it was pretty seamless. you will keep the ability to zoom and since 2/3" lenses have longer focal lengths than 1/2" your overall reach will be longer. a 20x 2/3" lens with a wide end at 9mm will give you a tele end of 180mm. this would be an extreme tele lens on a 1/2" camera. you'll need some pretty solid sticks to keep a steady shot at 180mm...

[basspig]

I'm a bit baffled as to why these other lenses cost so much, when the
Fujinon XS8X4AS-XB8 8x for Sony PMW-EX3 goes for $3700 and looks to clean. I'm planning to buy that lens next year, but for the concert work, I need a long lens, so I am wondering why Fujinon hasn't got a companion lens to this one, only with a 150mm or so reach.

Based on all that I am seeing, it DOES seem that the stock Fujinon lens is an anomaly. I've looked at tests of other lenses on the EX3 and didn't like the chromatic aberration in the SD lenses. Some were even soft. Soft looks bad to my eye.

One can wait and hope that Fujinon will come out with a comparably-priced tele lens for the EX3. The wide angle lens they got is totally "killer," based on the frame grabs I saw on a Sony dealer web site, which compared the stock and the wide angle. All we need is a long tele and we're in business!

UPS has my EX3 in the state now. Its expected arrival is later today. This ought to be exciting. Time to order a 32GB SxS card.. I love these cameras. I've gotten more gigs BECAUSE of the cameras, than I did when I was running DV and HDV cams.

[Steve Shovlar]

Seriously Mark, for a very small outlay of an Adaptimax and a good second hand 105mm 2.8 ( or 80-200mm 2.8 zoom) Nikon from Ebay, your problem will be over and the results are really excellent for a fraction of the cost.

Hundreds of dollars rather than thousands.

[basspig]

I'd like to see some full res still grabs with the Nikon lenses, to see if they look clean. Many of the alternative lenses I've seen tested have objectionable CA, and some are even soft.

That said, the ability to experiment with inexpensive lenses is an attractive feature of the EX3. I'll need adjustable zoom on whatever lens I end up with, but as long as it can go from 45-125mm, that should cover balcony duty at the GBSO. And it could be a viable holdover until Fujinon releases a longer lens to compliment the wide lens they currently offer.

My EX3 arrived earlier this evening, and I am familiarizing myself with differences between it and my EX1's. It's quite a piece of gear and has some significant improvements in convenience and is also geared toward more professional interfacing of electronic signals.

[Kenny_G]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/544586-REG/Century_Precision_Optics_0HD_16TC_EX1_0HD_16TC_EX1 _1_6x_Telephoto_Converter.html

[basspig]

A teleconverter adds more glass in front of the lens and makes matters worse in terms of distortions and light loss. I used to use WA converters back in the DV days and they degraded the image slightly. I want to maintain the image as good as the native lens, which is why I went with the EX3. Now the question is will Fujinon release a good tele lens made specifically for the EX3? :)

[JDDalllas]

I do agree, I own the Fujinon XS8X4AS-XB8 wide angle and it looks and performs great! Still would love have 1/2 HD for 12k, but maybe later.

[basspig]

There is a lens that I really like, but it's manual focus only and carries a $17K price tag. But it goes real wide and can go real long, too, and it's in the f 1.5 range, so it's pretty darned fast. But that costs money. One lens, solves all problems, except bankruptcy! :)

Just finished manually inputting all my picture profile recipes from my other two cameras. EX3 does not read EX1 camera data.

Controls are grouped more logically now, and the new peaking options are nice. No rebates this time! My next SxS purchase will come out of my pocket. But at least I'm all set for concert season, even without the long lens.

BTW, glad to hear a real owner confirm that the optional WA lens for the EX3 is great. I want one!

[steve phillipps]

I'd like to see some full res still grabs with the Nikon lenses, to see if they look clean. Many of the alternative lenses I've seen tested have objectionable CA, and some are even soft.



Worst CA I've seen has been on HD lenses! SD one tend to have less CA (though as you say are generally softer). Stills lenses, especially telephoto primes tend to be much more free of CA, partly due to being primes, and partly due to the amount of low dispersion of Apochromatic glass they use.
Steve

[basspig]

'Could be coincidence, but if not, what factors make an HD lens more prone to splitting the spectrum near the corners?

Looks like I got a lens adapter in the box with the EX3 that allows one to fit Sony 1/2" bayonet lenses, in addition to the "exclusive" two lenses currently available.

I wonder how many third party companies will release lens adapaters for various SLR lenses, in addition to Nikon?

I was looking at some Fujinon lenses and, ironically, some of the 2/3" lenses cost less than a lot of the 1/2" lenses. Confusing!

[steve phillipps]

I was looking at some Fujinon lenses and, ironically, some of the 2/3" lenses cost less than a lot of the 1/2" lenses. Confusing!

Be careful of these though, some of them are as crap as the price suggests!
Steve

[basspig]

Be careful of these though, some of them are as crap as the price suggests!
Steve

So meaning that "crap" exists, even in the 2/3" market? Amazing.. I thought once you reach that plateau, the quality would be stellar. I guess not. Not even in Panavision land, as Blu-ray movies on my 154" screen have been revealing in spades.

[steve phillipps]

So meaning that "crap" exists, even in the 2/3" market? Amazing.. I thought once you reach that plateau, the quality would be stellar. I guess not. Not even in Panavision land, as Blu-ray movies on my 154" screen have been revealing in spades.

Oh, there's some real junk out there in 2/3" land believe me! Most regular HD zooms are no more than mediocre, a few are decent and some hugely expensive ones are excellent. I've thought for a long time that if you spend £15000 or more for a lens you'd expect them to be a lot better than they are.
Steve

[basspig]

I guess the really stellar zoom lenses are over $180,000. I've seen a few that carry price tags that would strain ESPN's budget!

[LeftyLarry]

Worst CA I've seen has been on HD lenses! SD one tend to have less CA (though as you say are generally softer). Stills lenses, especially telephoto primes tend to be much more free of CA, partly due to being primes, and partly due to the amount of low dispersion of Apochromatic glass they use.
Steve

I think another factor in the low CA of stills lenses is that for 1/2" video we use only the central "sweet spot" of the lens field of coverage. I haven't tried one yet, but I plan to before too long.

[basspig]

I'm not sure that still lenses are going to be that much better, unless it's a prime. I have some still lenses and noticed they too have copious amounts of CA wherever contrast is high.

I wish Fujinon would come out with a compliment to their new wide angle lens soon..

[steve phillipps]

Australian guy Ofer Levy uses a Nikon 200-400mm f4 AF lens on his EX3 and although I've only seen stuff via the web it looks really really nice. Didn't used to be able to use this lens as it's one of the newer types that have no iris ring on the lens, but thankfully there are now adapters that let you do it.
Steve

[Steve Shovlar]

Australian guy Ofer Levy uses a Nikon 200-400mm f4 AF lens on his EX3 and although I've only seen stuff via the web it looks really really nice. Didn't used to be able to use this lens as it's one of the newer types that have no iris ring on the lens, but thankfully there are now adapters that let you do it.
Steve

Yes the Adaptimax Plus was designed to work perfectly with Nikon lenses which don't have an external aperture ring.

[basspig]

Well, it's been a while, but I'm now the owner of a Nikkor 18-200mm lens. Only problem is that in the concert hall, I have just enough light for f1.9 with 180° shutter. My Nikkor lens is f3.5 to 5.6 at the tele end, so this wouldn't work. I need an f2.0 or faster lens in order to accomplish this.
The range that would work for me would be on the order of 40-160mm, f2.0, but Nikon doesn't seem to have anything like that.
Being 70' away from the first violins, the 14X stock lens is rather inadequate for anything closer than half body portrait shots. I need to get in close to the fingers and get intimate close up shots, like I used to get with my V1U (with much poorer quality though).
Century makes a doubler for $1199, but I can find no sample images to judge quality, and I don't believe their claim that it loses no light.
Aperture/speed is the killer here.. if this were outdoor shooting, light would be no problem, but I'm already at the low light limits of the camera with a minimal shutter speed and I absolutely cannot compromise PQ with gain up.
I guess that leads me back to expensive Fujinon glass...

Perhaps the Fujinon S20x6.4BRMHS 1/2" Professional ENG 20x Zoom Lens with for Sony Cameras?

[Bassman2003]

Have had a look at the Canon models? http://www.canon.com/bctv/products/index_hdgc.html I have seen the upper end 21x on Ebay for $10-12,000. Too bad 1/2" has been abandoned by Panasonic. I would have a tough time without a servo motor for a lot of jobs.

[basspig]

That link produces a 404 not found.

I'd like to stay Fujinon if possible, just to maximize compatibility with the camera.. the one I noted above is rather affordable (if you consider $4000 affordable) and may have just enough reach to provide the intimate closeups I need. Only question remains whether it can function (I don't care if the zoom functions--I manually zoom my lenses most of the time) but it must match up with the imager and produce full frame images with no vignetting or other distortions, not to mention that the electronics must be plug compatible with the EX3.

[Bassman2003]

The link works when I click on it. Strange. It was to Canon's pro lenses with 4 of them being for 1/2" imagers.

Does the EX-3 1/2" mount have a specific vendor? I know Sony cameras in past have had "Sony" mount lenses from both Canon and Fuji. I had an "affordable" 20x HD lens (2/3" though) that was pretty good until the last 10% of the zoom range where it fell apart. Affordable and really good are difficult with long range HD glass.

[chrisccw]

I did this last year for one project, it worked great, the lens talked to the camera---although it was really heavy and I probably should've had better support. I owned the $1800 adapter and rented the $$$ 2/3 HD lenses needed for the show.

[basspig]

We can't rely on rentals... takes too long to ship to our area. I need a lens that we can add to our concert recording gear, that will always be available when WE need it.

I know that there is an adapter that shipped with the PMW-EX3 that is supposed to allow other Sony/Fujinon lenses to be used, but the question is which ones?

[JDDalllas]

The adapter that came with camera will accept broadcast eng lenses Canon/Fuji that are made for 1/2 chip cameras but, "they must have the power contacts(Hot Shoe) on the lens to have power to zoom. Still can be used without contacts, just no zoom power.The other expensive adapter with power will work with any 2/3 eng lens no hot shoe contacts needed.

MTF has all adapters needed
http://www.mtfservices.com/

[basspig]

There's no mention about zoom on this lens:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/231962-REG/Fujinon_S20X64BRMHS_S20x64BRMHS_20x_ENG_Lens.html

...but the price is reasonable and it's quite a bit faster than the stock lens, to boot. If this lens will fit properly, I don't really care about the electrical functionality (as long as I can manually focus, zoom and set aperture), although having that functionality would be nice.

Anyone have this lens on their EX3?

[avro]

We ordered an EX3 last week. In the coming months, I want to find a good 20X lens to use in our concert shoots. 20X is the MINIMUM magnification we need for good closeups of performers from balconies. 24X would be even better. At any rate, the only other lens I found on the B&H site is a 4mm 8X wide angle lens (on my wish list for next year).
Of course there are a lot of Fujinon lenses that may or may not fit the bill, but will they work with the EX3?
I wish to keep the cost under $4K for the lens, if possible. Suggestions?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-VCL-719BXS-HD-Zoom-Lens-/230603464917?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item35b109a0d5#ht_500wt_1156

[Bruce196]

I hope this does not duplicate any other posting. Why not use the MTF adaptor:

www.mtfservices.com/home.html?page=shop.product_details&category_id=2&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=95

THis gives power to a B4 lens and a magnification of 1.375 so a 20-1 lens should do you.

[chrisccw]

When my first EX3 had suspicious backfocus issues Sony sent me a very sweet 18.5 HD lens to try. It was gorgeous, but back then it was a $7K lens. I don't know what it goes for today, but it fit the supplied adapter perfectly and all the electronics/data worked. Looked like this:

[basspig]

I wonder if this lens will work:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=459526&is=REG

I found it last night while doing intensive research on the Fujinon site. It appears to be compatible with the EX3. A bit pricey though..

I did look at the one on eBay, but buying anything like that overseas is complicated and risky and fraught with import duty nightmares.

It's disappointing that Sony doesn't have a line of lenses for the EX3. It reduces the value of the EX3 as an interchangeable lens camera.