Anamorphic Adaptor issues

L

lordofmetropolis

Member
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I know that Panasonic's AG-LA7200 Anamorphic adaptor is the only the thing in the market. This adaptor at times makes me wish I purchased a Canon XL2. Has anybody found the following things to be annoying with the adaptor:

1. The way it mounts onto the lens. You just keep turning it and turning it and turning it....it really never seats into the lens the way a UV or any filter would. Sure you got that little tightening knob, but it still never seats as secure as I'd like it to.

2. This leads to question 2....focusing. At times, when I am at the long range of the lens, there is focus fringing going on. I can't get acceptable focus. Now, I swear I am mounting this lens properly....and I know its a lot of glass to have on our lenses, but just wanted to see if anybody noticed this.

3. That leads to part 3......if I am shooting for TV, I can probably sacrifice this 16:9 conversion lens adaptor and just use the natural glass that is already present.


There are some great things about this little DVX-100A. I shoot a lot with Sony's D-35 and 600 (both betacams) and Sony's HD F900 (depending which network) However, these other cameras lack a simple feature that can be really really sweet: the little LCD screen. Sure, I love shooting with the other cameras that don't have it, but having an LCD screen allows me to execute a shot within seconds, and at the same time, see the entire framing for it. Its a great feature.

I saw the comparison video that Jared put together (thank you Jared) It leads me to believe that the DVX-100A is great for 24p in terms of color interpretation.....granted, thats a "loaded" statement...but I like Panasonic's interpretation of color. The DVX has a great look if one's final look is to be on TV (it gives the film look for TV) I am beginning to conclude that I would only need to use the anamorphic adaptor if I want to go to film.....otherwise, I say skip the anamorphic adaptor if your final source is video, because the anamorphic adaptor is a lot of glass to deal with and could f*#ck up the focus. I saw the anamorphic adaptor index, great idea.....BUT, lets face it, still a pain. Wondering if anybody else had similar thoughts.

THANKS!
 
Re: Anamorphic Adaptor issues

lordofmetropolis asked:
>1.  The way it mounts onto the lens.  You just keep turning it and turning it and turning it....it really never seats into the lens the way a UV or any filter would.  Sure you got that little tightening knob, but it still never seats as secure as I'd like it to.

Try the following proceedure:
Theory In The Mounting Of This Adaptor
The threads that screw onto the lens are designed to be free floating so that the lens can be aligned for the 16:9 field of view once it has been tightened on to the front of the camera. So what one has to do is to lightly tighten the threads into place, screw the adapter on and then release the set screw so that the lens can be reoriented to the proper position. Once in place, re-tighten the set screw. To remove this adaptor, simply unscrew with the set screw fully tightened.

To Mount:
· First, remove Lens Cap from the Camcorder.
· Next, remove the Lens Hood from the Camcorder by loosening the screw on the Lens Hood and turning counter clockwise (as seen from the front).
· Remove the front and rear caps of the 16:9 conversion lens.
· LIGHTLY tighten the set-screw on the 16:9 Lens assembly. (If it’s too tight you won’t be able to screw it on. If it’s too loose it will slip.)
· Screw the lens on the camera. View from the top and be sure not to misthread. (Try to have an equal space on each side about 2mm)
· Be careful not to over tighten! Make it just snug. NEVER OVERTIGHTEN THE LENS.
· Now, loosen the thumbscrew and rotate the lens to square it with the camera*. Once in the proper position, tighten the thumbscrew to lock the lens in the proper position.

* The AG-LA7200G 16:9 lens is in effect a 1.33 wide angle anamorphic lens but only in the horizontal plane (not vertical). Please make sure the lens is “leveled out” before shooting. You can do this by putting the camcorder in Wide angle, 60I mode and Auto focus ON. Put the white lens cap (which is actually an alignment tool) on and point towards some light. The camera should macro focus down to the lens cap and you can now see the impressed rectangle on the lens cap on your LCD panel. Rotate the lens slightly while set screw is loose and when the rectangle is parallel to the LCD frame you know you’re properly aligned. Tighten the set screw, then remove the white lens cap and start shooting.

To Dismount:
To remove the lens, make sure the thumbscrew is tight, but not too tight and simply unscrew the lens.

Hopefully this makes mounting the lens a little easier to understand.



>2.  This leads to question 2....focusing.  At times, when I am at the long range of the lens, there is focus fringing going on.  I can't get acceptable focus.  

I strongly recommend Barry Green's Anamorphic Pamphlet or his DVX Book that also contains it for helpful tips and tricks for focussing with this adapter. It does add to some confusion but once mastered can turn out some great pictures.

Trusting this helps a bit.

Best,

Jan
 
Re: Anamorphic Adaptor issues

Hello Jan, any news if Panasonic will release a next version of the DVX with true 16:9 CCDs and possible increased resolution? Or a DVX owner's dream would be an upgrade of the 4:3 CCDs to 16:9 CCDs. I am a wishful thinker.
 
Thank you Jan

Thank you Jan

Jan,

Thank you very much. I am remembering your name. Its funny because, I got the lens and the first thing I did was mount it (incorrectly)..... then I "bitched" and went to this site and made my comments, and THEN I realized what I did wrong....of course, I got your email for you to remind me of that :) Such is life, I'm alowed a stupid mistake now and then.....

But yes, I first thought that the knob was to tighten the adaptor into place after screwing it down......I didn't even know about the white cap aligning trick, thats great! But I guess that makes sense since you can see the corners then, etc. I would just stare at the lens and see where it needs to lign up. You guys should include that little trick on a note to buyer thing, I didn't have any notes or anything like that when I purchased it.

As for the focus thing though, yes, I agree about Barry Green's Anamorphic Pamphlet, but are we in agreement about the ability to focus it on the fly? If I am shooting a doc, and if the final source is to be video (lets say a 16:9 TV monitor or 4:3) don't you think I will get very pleasing results by just squeezing the image. I mean, the anamorphic adaptor is great, but if I'm not going to film, I'd rather enjoy the true sharpness that the DVX-100A's lens has to offer. I mean, the adaptor is great but it is a lot of glass.

Thanks for the response!
;)
 
Re: Anamorphic Adaptor issues

If you're staying in 4:3, letterbox mode would actually be the highest possible quality.

the anamorphic lens is beneficial only when showing on 16:9, larger screen sources.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top