AF100 and B4 mount

J

James Bridges

Well-known member
Today the AF100 made it to Atlanta. Showcase Photo Video and Panasonic hosted the event.
I had the opportunity to try out my B4-FD FD -M4/3 mount
I had purchased from Bum Ki Cho last month, it worked very well.
Put the lens adapter on first, then my Canon HDXS 17x.
Flipped the 2x extender, it was blurred at first, after a quick macro adjustment, I was zooming and holding focus with no problems. We unfortunately could not roll any footage, but from what I saw on the monitor it looked very good. I did notice some fringing on extreme highlights, I imagine it is from the lenses extender. I have some photos, but I do not know how to post photos to this website.
 
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Very good to know. I bought a B4 to Micro 4/3 adapter from Ciecio7 and I am planning to use it my Canon J15x8B4 IRS SX12 BCTV 2/3 with a 2x extender. I had already used a similar solution with a Fujinon lens with my GH-1 and it worked like a champ.
 
Great, we had it on the camera today for about 5 minutes. I would have liked to had my backfocus chart, but it worked just fine.
 
Coco Bermudez said:
Do you know if there is an easy way to detach the handle zoom? I know there are screws around it but I don't know what's inside .
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Well, there's no handle zoom... I presume you mean the top handle? It is easily removable, you undo two screws and then slide it off the accessory shoe. When removed, it reveals two 1/4-20 screwholes and an accessory shoe.
 
Barry_Green said:
Well, there's no handle zoom... I presume you mean the top handle? It is easily removable, you undo two screws and then slide it off the accessory shoe. When removed, it reveals two 1/4-20 screwholes and an accessory shoe.
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I think Coco was referring to the Power Zoom grip on the lens not the handle on the camera.
 
Have I got this right? Normally a B4 mount lens for a 2/3" chip camera would vignette on a m43 camera (AF100/GH1) but by using the lens' 2x extender switch the m43 sensor is fully covered w/o vignetting.? That sounds logical and cool. Follow focus and manual zooming would work better on B4 lenses than adapted still zoom lenses. Downside is what? reduced f/stop, increased focal length, slight image quality hit?
I could see this working for longer focal length exterior shooting, like sports.

chris/wash. dc dp
 
You do lose 2 stops, but the zoom is at F3.4 continuously through the zoom range. Focusing is much easier with lenses like these , you me anyway.
Yes, you can use a FF, mattebox, etc. I found my Chroiszel lens support is needed.
No power to the zoom....yet.
As far a image quality with 2x extender, it looked quite good. We had it on the camera a few minutes.
The lens was a $17K Canon HDXS 7.6 17x zoom I use on my 2/3" HDX900.
This maybe overkill, but it is a quick, cheap, temporary solution.
I have not had the opportunity to try a 4.7 or the new 4.3 Canon zoom to see if there is vignetting with the extender on.
I am trying to use the gear I have until I see were this camera/large sensor future will take me.
 
These lenses work quite well on the sensor. i think you can see a little...almost insignificant vignetting when you zoom all the way...depending how wide your lens is. It is worth the investment of getting a cheap lens out there...An entry level Canon will run you around $800-$1000...but in my opinion, it is a must lens if you are doing run and gun ENG style work.
 
You are correct CoCo, but remember, your video zoom needs to be HD if you want an HD picture.
SD video zooms are meant to resolve at best PAL resolution. No more...no less.
 
James Bridges said:
You are correct CoCo, but remember, your video zoom needs to be HD if you want an HD picture.
SD video zooms are meant to resolve at best PAL resolution. No more...no less.
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Absolutely...yet, non HD glass gives you a wonderful soft look...they have a very organic feel and look to them...highly recommend to try it out...
 
Don't be too seduced by the "HD" label on the 2/3" lenses; you might recall that the first "HD" lenses were simply those samples that tested best and had the "HD" label stuck on them. I might add that you don't find "HD" engraved on cine lenses.

I agree you might really like the look of a good "SD" lens on your camera; if you've never tried it, you should.

Of course the modern lenses are better, but beware of marketing; even top-tier companies have resorted to improvement via labeling; for example, "HD" lights. What the hell makes a light fixture "HD?"

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
Ticheli said:
Don't be too seduced by the "HD" label on the 2/3" lenses...you might really like the look of a good "SD" lens on your camera; if you've never tried it, you should
Leo
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Agree and agree.

Take a look at a few samples stills from I project I used the GH-1 and a crappy Fujinon TV•Z Lens 10-140mm F1.2. Unfortunately I can't post footage because the work is still not for general release...but basically it is a lot of portraits. All these stills are straight from the camera with no color grading. These lenses need to seriously be considered as a fabulous alternative IMHO.

FUJINON_1.jpg


FUJINON_2.jpg


FUJINON_3.jpg
 
Using the extender on a video zoom lens is ok if you adequate light, HOWEVER you will notice that the image will begin to suffer as the light falls off, the lens is wide open and you are in 2X extender.
I noticed that all your samples are daylight exterior, use the same lens set up and try shooting some low key dramatic interiors....
 
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