Put A Digiprime and Pro35 with Zeiss on EX-3 today

Jason Davenport

Well-known member
Went to rental house today and tried on a 5mm Digiprime and some Zeiss super speeds with PsTechnik Pro 35. The other Digiprimes were out:(
Pro 35 fit very well no issues at all.
Also mounted Fuji HD lens for some comparisons.

Whats the best way to show you guys some stills from footage, tried but got error. Just too large?
 

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I’m curious as to how the DigiPrimes look on the EX-3, and is there any light or sharpness lost. Also with the increase focal length of the 2/3 lenses, does it help with the depth of field any?

I asked this because I am up in the air about using the Pro35 adaptor with Zeiss SS, or DigiPrimes and Zoom for an upcoming indy feature.

I am leaning towards the DigiZoom 6-24mm, and the Digi Primes 3.9mm, 40mm, and 70mm to cover the full range for my shoot. This, to me seems more of a straight forward setup and easier to manage giving I've never used the Pro35 before and I am afraid I may get edge to edge soften and have to deal with other light loss and focal issues....



What’s your thoughts?
 
The Digiprime was very sharp with no edge distortion and they were a bit warmer as well, but it is kinda over kill for an EX-3 that's a 1/2 chip. They would be a better application on a Varicam or Cinealta 2/3 chip or Red 35mm chip. But hey, if you want to use them go for it, I wouldn't past up a chance to use them either. They would make your image, just that much better, in terms of sharpness and edge to edge perfection. There would be no light loss what so ever, or distortion. Those are very, very high dollar lens, the set is over a $100,000 dollars.

But as for depth of field, the digi's will be the same as a stock lens, nothing is changed depth of field wise, only the Pro 35 and combination of the Zeiss lens will give you the desired effect. And if you are doing a film then I'm assuming you want the "Film Look" then you want to use the Pro 35 with primes.
When I used the Pro 35 with the EX it was effort less, mounted up fine (I have the VFGadgets camera plate with rods) and also the power for the Pro 35 is provided by the great ACM -21 EX adapter from the lens port. So no separate power. And you can see by the footage I posted on Vimeo that there was no edge softness or distortion, it looks beautiful. That Pro 35 is more that 15k ,it will perform perfectly and its a snap to use, just read up on it a little. And definitively go and have it test fitted, to make sure you got the mounting set-up correct because you will need rails and a follow focus system.(not required)

Now if you had Digiprimes that were PL mount and put them on the Pro 35 you would then have the ultimate set up.

Have fun. And just be extra meticulious with focus, use your tape measure to measure from subject to focal mark on "Pro 35" that is where your new focal plane will be.
 

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Exposure Room is your friend, JDDallas. I don't think they limit uploads for HD...yet. Good stuff so far, by the way! I would like to see some people in front of that DigiPrime though!
 
We did some similar tests with a Pro35 on the EX3 with a Super Speed (35mm I believe). Here are some pics and links to two videos. We had some really great results, and I can't wait to take this out to do a short film with. The first video is just the whole rig spinning - we have the improved the design since with the Arri plate. The second video is big (Approx. 130mb) but is in ProRes422 so you can get a feel for the actual quality of the thing.

EX3Pro1.JPG


EX3Pro2.JPG


Video Link 1 - Spinning EX3 w/ Pro 35 - http://www.shipsides.com/download/Pro35Spin.mov

Video Link 2 - BIG FILE ProRes 422 Clip - http://www.shipsides.com/download/Pro35Action2.mov
 
question about tests

question about tests

Hi,

Thanks for posting the prores file! It seems to be a bit soft and very grainy. Is the graininess due to compression or is it the pro35?

Thanks!
Gerry
 
Keep in mind this was just thrown on at a rental house probably. Not the perfect light condition, camera not tuned in for a look, detail not adjusted, camera prob wide open, etc, etc.
Whatever is not in focus will appear very soft hence the "effect of depth of field" also you are now using the spinning disk of the Pro 35 as your part of your imager.

So there are a few variables that should be taken into consideration before judging the look of this simple test. When used correctly and under controlled shooting environment, stunning images can be achieved with this system.
 
It would be awesome if someone would do some real testing of the ex-3 soon, not just a quick setup in a rental house, and post some footage, now that the 2/3 adapter is becoming available. I've seen a few rental houses post this type of footage and it doesn't seem compelling enough to me to rent the adapter and lenses or to buy the camera.

I'd be happy to volunteer some lights and time, if anyone in SF is interested in doing so (just pm me). I'm mainly interested in the 2/3 with some digiprimes or a 35mm adapter with cine lenses.

Cheers,
Gerry
 
Believe you me, I would love do do that but, the rental for a day on Digiprimes is 1300.00 and 450.00 for the Pro 35. Not a cheap test day.
 
There are rental houses that allow you to set up a free test day with gear you'd like to rent. Just saying.
 
Like, take them for a day, "away" from the rental house. No charge. Full set of Digiprimes and Pro 35. Or just in the building? That would be great, but very scary for you guys. The point I think, is to get these things out of the Chart room and shoot some other stuff. But if you are willing, I would love to take you up on it sometime and go shoot some stuff.
 
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