AF100 and C Mount Lenses

W

WhiteMonkey

Well-known member
I've looked through the threads and I haven't really found an answer. Do the C mount lenses from a 16mm camera cover the whole frame or is there going to be some vignetting? At what focal length is that going to happen?
 
Anything below 25mm will definitely vignette. Some 25mm lenses vignette and some don't. There is a chart somewhere where folks have been reporting their results with cmount lenses on the gh1...
 
Dear Friends,

I thought I heard, at the Atlanta event, that C mount lenses would not work.

I do not have a note to this effect, just my memory.
 
Here's a link to a list of c-mount lenses and their compatibility with micro 4/3 sensors.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p9kkgjwEQQQ-HJwvNDobeEw

It was originally created for the Panasonic G1 still camera, but it should apply to any micro 4/3 camera. I have a c-mount adapter and 5 c-mount lenses. In my experience, Barry Green is right. My 25mm vignettes a little bit, but sometimes that's cool. My 13 mm looks like I'm shooting through a porthole. Not cool. My 50mm and 75mm show no vignetting and are great, though a bit low-contrast.
The list explains in the "coverage" column whether there's vignetting or not. Also, it indicates whether any machining of the lens is necessary for it to focus to infinity. Some of the cheaper TV c-mount lenses like Cosmicars only focus a few feet in front of you unless you machine the lens to fit deeper into the adapter.
 
Dan Keaton said:
Dear Friends,

I thought I heard, at the Atlanta event, that C mount lenses would not work.

I do not have a note to this effect, just my memory.
Click to expand...
You may have heard a lot of things, but there are multiple questions that would need to be answered to know for sure.

First -- many c-mount lenses won't cover. You probably need to be beyond 35mm before you know for sure.

Second -- just because a c-mount lens works on a GH1/GH2, doesn't mean it would work on an AF100. The AF100 has more hardware in its body, including a rotating filter wheel and a protective glass covering over the sensor. Those add thickness, so if a given c-mount lens protrudes noticeably past the back of the c-mount adapter, it's possible it would hit those items and not work. I've tried some c-mount lenses on an AF100 and all have fit so far, including a Zeiss 10-100 T3* zoom. But I certainly can't say that all c-mount lenses would fit -- I mean, maybe they would. Maybe all c-mount lenses will fit. But I don't know that, and I do know that just because a lens fits on the GH series, is not a guarantee that it will fit on the AF100.

And, again, whether it fits or not is one thing; the bigger question is will it cover the sensor.
 
Wow, I hadn't thought of the ND filter wheel in front of the sensor. Yes, that affects c-mount lens viability. I also didn't know the AF100's sensor had a glass covering over it. That's smart. Again, it's just another reason I think an AF100 and GH2 go hand in hand. GH2 for stills and c-mount lenses. :-)
 
I didn't think any C mount would work. I have a nice Fujion 12.5-75mm TV lens that's f1.2. Having it work as at 35mm to 75mm (70-150mm equivalent) at f1.2 would still be sweet. It would be worth an experiment anyway.
 
Yes, I've put c-mount lenses on it. I don't know about the zooms; my 10-100 vignettes awfully. But something like the Schneider Xenars at longer focal lengths could work out fine.
 
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