AF100 and new Lumix X 45-175 lens and Manfrotto 521P remote work great together!

G

Gugulino

Active member
I would like to share my first impressions with the new Lumix X 45-175 lens and also with the remote Zoom and Start/Stop controller 521P from Manfrotto.

FIrst of all zooming with the 521P remote works great with that lens on the AF100. Simply, plug the 2.5 mm stereo jack of the remote into the S/S port of the AF100 and turn on the camera. As with the zoom rocker on the lens, the camera exhibits different zoom velocities, depending how much you turn the knob on the remote. Start/Stop works also with the remote. However, it seems a little bit overpriced to me: In Switzerland I paid 189 CHF for this remote. When I see that others build their own remotes for 10 $ or so and I think that they have the same functionality as this remote from Manfrotto, I don't know, if this price is justified.
I hope that I can shoot some samples using the remote and post them here. I shot some test samples with the new Lumix X lens (without remote) in the Zoo of Zurich. You can watch a short sequence here:
http://youtu.be/DnydXP-HGy8?hd=1

As you can see in that sample video, the auto-focus follows the lion extremely well and the focus does not jump around while zooming: It stays also sharp on the object when you zoom out (truly parafocal), for example. However, the lens can not focusing while zooming. The same holds true for the iris. Fortunately, the changes of the iris are very smooth (much, much better than the 14-140) and as such the viewer is not distracted by fast iris changes. And I think also that the auto-iris reacts much faster compared to the 14-140 lens from Panasonic. However, I have to collect more experiences with this lens and the remote to get a complete picture about the cons and pros.

I think that I have found now a very good set of equipment for my AF100 and for my needs. I often shoot live musicals or other live events with only one or two cameras and that makes it difficult to change lenses. Therefore a good zoom lens is very important for me.

Let me know what you think about the new lens and the remote. I wonder, if other AF100 users own the new Lumix X lens, too. If yes, please share your experiences here :dankk2:
 
Thanks for posting ..after your zoom I noticed a change in exposure ..the Iris opened up, was this you or the auto iris, I have this theory that what made the 14-140 poor at zooming was that the iris operation was delayed behind the zoom..so as you zoomed out the iris was half a second behind making it more noticeable.
i wonder what they did to this new lens.. software or a new iris control design (circuitry)

Thanks
 
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It was the auto-iris. I can explain it with the fact that on that day when I was shooting this video it was cloudy and not much light was available. So, zoomed in it was a bit underexposed, because the aperture could not go wider than 5.6. Zoomed out would be normal exposed. But, I had to correct the color in post relatively heavy. Perhaps thats why it looks overexposed when zoomed out. In the original it looks ok. So, this might be the reason why it looks overexposed. I think the iris functioned correctly.
Yeah, I have also the Manfrotto 521 PFI: Looks very cool both on the AF100 :smile: But, the iris of the new lens can not be very good controlled by the 521PFI. I have the impression that the remote slows down the auto-iris function. Additionally, today I had the impression that while zooming the auto-focus was adjusting the sharpness. This would mean that you can focus during zooming. I have to double-check this.
 
Thanks for the test!

Perhaps do some more tests where the lighting remains consistent, and you zoom all the way in and all the way out, and we can see how the iris responds to the lack of constant aperture on the lens?
Thanks!
 
someone should make a handle grip with built in zoom/record/stop controls in it like the ones in camcorders.
 
Here are some photos from the setup: IMG_0083.jpgIMG_0084.jpgIMG_0085.jpg

One can also fix the remote on the tripod itself under the baseplate, which is recommended by Manfrotto. I think that that position is more stable than on the handle grip. I will try it out. More is coming soon.
 
Here is a timelapse I did today from the sunset. The iris changes are cleary visible. I set INTERVAL RECORDING=1 second.

 
Auto iris, right?
Any theories as to why the iris changes are so obvious?
It's almost as if the iris has hard stops. If you were shooting inside and panned to a window, would it stop down smoothly or would it jump?
Is it not a continuous iris like a typical servo zoom? Does it change smoothly in manual/remote and jumpy in auto?

This is a great way to test the lens for changes in light- thanks for doing the test.
 
groveChuck said:
Auto iris, right?
Any theories as to why the iris changes are so obvious?
It's almost as if the iris has hard stops. If you were shooting inside and panned to a window, would it stop down smoothly or would it jump?
Is it not a continuous iris like a typical servo zoom? Does it change smoothly in manual/remote and jumpy in auto?

This is a great way to test the lens for changes in light- thanks for doing the test.
Click to expand...


It's not ALMOST as if the iris has hard stops, it DOES. This is a known issue with the AF100 and the Panasonic lenses in general. The auto iris control is not stepless, as a video lens should be. Lenses like the 14-140mm are still photography lenses being sold as video lenses when they are not. I was hoping that Panasonic would have addressed the "stepped" iris problem with these new zooms.

Can you do another test using auto-iris that is a normal video, and move from dark to light and back? The time-lapse is not a definitive test as to whether this lens is stepless or not.

Thanks.
 
Yes, sure! In my experience I have the impression that this lens is step less. But, I will try to really prove it :-)

The camera was in auto-iris mode and took 1 frame per second. In manual mode the iris reacts fairly slow: When I stop turning the wheel on the camera, it goes still up or down.
 
I tested today also the behavior of the iris while zooming. The iris was not at F4.0 (widest open), I think around F10. Perhaps thats why it looks like a constant aperture. I should also do a test where the iris is maximal open and then zoom.
 
You notice how it goes out of focus during the zoom and then back into focus when you come to rest? That is not how a true video lens should perform. It should be parfocal and stay in focus the whole time.
That lens is drifting out of focus and then back in. Also we still don't know if the aperture control is stepless.

Here is some footage shot with the AF100 and a professional video lens. This is a B4 lens for 2/3" video cameras on the AF100 with the zoom powered by a cable and battery that I put together.

This is how a video lens should perform. I have these lenses for sale with the adapter and the cable and everything and they're not that expensive:

 
groveChuck said:
So are you saying it's the camera, the lens or the combination?
Click to expand...


At this time the combination for sure cannot do stepless iris, either in auto OR manual. It's always stepped, because these were originally designed as still photography lenses.
IF the new zoom X lenses can be proven beyond a doubt to be stepless, then we'll know for sure it's only a lens limitation.

There's a very easy way to tell: just put the iris in MANUAL mode, and VERY slowly move the iris control, watching the f/ stop reading on the LCD. If it jumps in 1/3 stops or similar, then it still cannot do stepless, and we then we still won't know if it's a limitiation of the lens, camera, or both.

If it DOES do smooth stepless iris with these new X zooms, that's exciting, because then we know the camera is capable of it... and maybe the other lenses could do it with a firmware upgrade. Can't wait to find out!!
 
@Turbodog thanks for your test, it's hard to believe the af100 can do this. It's probably out of my range but what's the price for the lens and the adapter?
 
the iris sure does a better job on the 45-175... now the focus on the other hand is the same as the 14-140
 
Agreed the Iris steppyness seems to have been cured, the lens looks as if autofocus was on
 
Yes, auto-focus was on. It could also be that the auto-focus did not find something to focus on. When you look at the last zoom I did, you should see that this stone block stays in focus. Because more of the stone block is in the frame and that makes clear for the auto-focus what to zoom on.
When I zoom, the iris makes changes of as little as F0.1, but in manual mode it shows bigger steps. Also in auto-mode when the light changes abruptly, like here:

 
Interesting so when you zoom the auto iris copes without steppyness but if you pan the auto iris falls apart.

I wonder if the zoom Iris control is internal to the lens i.e. the camera electronics are not involved the lens electronics are altering the iris itself as it zooms a sort of anti ramping control buit into the lens.
Also Gugulino..please do another test, manual focus and zoom in and out. Zoom in focus on something, zoom out and back in again...thanks mate

On a roll here but if the steppyness in the 14-140 is due to the way the AF101 controls the lens I wonder if panasonic could release an update to smooth out this response
 
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