HVX200 lens equals 433mm in 35mm? I don't get it!

filmtovideo

filmtovideo

Well-known member
The specs in Panasonic's literature say that the HVX200 Leica Dicomar lens
has 13x zoom from 4.2mm to 55mm which Panasonic says is equivalent
in 35mm to 32.5 mm to 423 mm. How? I used a 300mm lens on a 35mm
shoot and we could see Neptune. With a 423mm lens we probably could have
seen Pluto! I've zoomed all the way in with the HVX200 and it doesn't seem
that long a lens anyway, certainly not the extreme telephoto that the
423mm comparison suggets. What am I missing?

Also, if you're shooting in HD, what differnce do you get between the HD Norm
gamma mode and the cine gamma modes? Maybe I need to go back to school,
but I'll humble myself and ask can somebody clarify: 1. Dynamic range, 2. cine
low (flattening out contrast) 3. Gamma high-additional contrast and color
saturation,
4.providing more contrast and prioritizing contrast?

I have been successfully shooting film for a while and yet maybe I'm like a doctor
who's ben skating by a little bit. I thought I understood contrast and dynamic
range but if you could help especially with some specific examples of shooting
situations that would be great. I also know that I have to do a lot of testing with
the various modes and I'm going to- but any info. would help.

This is an awesome site. I really appreciate how people take the time to
help. Thanks!
 
I think you may be confused with the lens question. 400mm on a 35mm camera isn't that powerful and the HVX seems about right to me and I use 35mm cameras lots. As for the dynamic range stuff, etc. You may be best to do some reading - Wilkpedia is good, or just use google.
 
I also believe that the Japanese are referencing the 35mm still camera lenses, not film camera lenses. That too is a difference. I would like to not use a reference at all but with the still camera lens, many folks have shot with 35mm still and get the idea quikly so, just know it is not the same as 35mm film lenses.

Best,

Jan
 
Thanks guys

Thanks guys

Thanks for the insight. I'll have to ask some of my still photo friends what 433mm
is like in their world.

filmtovideo
 
I come from a newspaper photo background: 300mm and 400mm is what I used to shoot football with. So while it's a long lens, it's not that long. Just 6x what you'd get with a "normal" 50mm lens.

Most video cameras have a lens that's about equivalent to a 45mm when shooting at its widest setting. I'd have to fit a wide angle adapter to make the stock lens usable for the type of shooting I do.

What's very nice about the HVX200 is that it's stock lens provides much wider coverage than most cameras, and doesn't seem to need a wide angle adapter for most work. At least that was my impression when I took a close look at it at NAB. It's as though the designers had real-world usage in mind when creating the specifications for the range of focal lengths. Finally!

I'll know for sure when my camera arrives.
 
Not to drive you nuts-someday I'll go away-but...

Not to drive you nuts-someday I'll go away-but...

Thanks. This is helping. Do you find that the HVX lens zooms in satisfactorily
far enough? Would the same focal length look different (in terms of closeness
to subject) in 16x9 versus 4x3?
 
Filmtovideo, as a film guy, you must have an American Cinematographers Manual? The 'why' of basic relative magnification and FOV questions are answered in there.

If you're a shooter and have a Palm Pilot or Pocket PC, you need to be familiar with these pieces of shareware software http://www.davideubank.com/

All of your questions regarding lenses equivalent FOV & DOF can be answered by just adjusting the parameters in the software.

I.
 
You're so right

You're so right

I do have an ASC manual but I won't say how old it is. Time to get a new one
(although I'm sure some of the basic facts in my old one are still relevant so I'll go back to it till Monday when I can buy a new one) and dig
into it.
That's a great tip on David Eubank's computer programs. I don't have a Palm
Pilot or anything like that but I do have a laptop. I looked at the info. on that site and it's got everything plus I found some great links.
If anybody is looking for inexpensive, high quality car camera mounts follow the links to Filmtools and see the picture of the HVX200
mounted on the side of a vehicle , with suction cups and a 501 head.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top