Any new test of ETC mode and 16mm camera lenses

D

dop16mm

Well-known member
Before the release of the camera there was a flurry of speculation as to the usefulness of the feature and old c-mount lenses or others made for 16mm cameras.

Has anyone actually done anything on this since the camera has been available, or are the ones that want to try amoung the many that can't get one yet.

Clearly the crop is closer than would be with the same focal length on a lens that covers the sensor, but how does it compare to the lenses native format. Has there been a determination of the crop modes actual dimensions compared to say cropped for display standard 16mm (aspect ratio not withstanding)

What about direct comparisons of footage shot in etc, with normal mode and vignette zoomed out in post. How much actual pixel res would you lose to a typical vignette.

Considering that this starts as a full raster format, how much can you lose before it is noticeable as compared to hdv or dvcpro hd. I read somewhere that the original hdcam only records 1440x800 and zoom both dimensions to display 1920X1080. If I can create a clean 720p that would probably be plenty for my purpose.
 
very nice, thanks for the links, I'm liking the idea of a digital bolex. I don't mind the idea of cropping a bit. I don't need FullHD, I still watch bluray at 480p, no better than dvd, and don't need it for my eyes.

Some of Farges newest tests with the Gh2 and 1:1 crop vs post cropping is interesting. Need to get back to work, maybe have some money when cameras are readily available
 
I've used the etc feature with three c-mount tv zooms and a B4 mount which I modified into an M42 mount. The c-mounts work reasonably well, but I suppose I've lost interest since I first got the GH2 -- Because noise is worse, their speed advantage is more or less nullified compared to my Oly 14-54mm. They also don't get very wide (the widest I have is 10-100mm. Times 2.6=26-260). It's not that they're useless or anything, but I haven't really found it necessary to use them.

My school just got an Angenieux lens, maybe I'll see how that performs.
 
I have been slowly going through the range of my set of super16 Zeiss Superspeeds MkII's (9.5mm 12mm 16mm 25mm 50mm) My jaw is on floor. I still can not get over the quality of them just shooting stills, let alone motion. I set the camera to ISO 160 when I opened the box, and it has been there ever since. You can shoot in the moonlight with these lenses.

Shooting video = Double Rainbow

25mm and 50mm: brilliant+brilliant
16mm: if i had to carry just one lens, this is it!
With ETC turned OFF, I get slight vignetting artifacts in the corners of the 16mm lens.
Cropping to scope (2.39:1) the corner artifacts are gone. The 16mm has about a 60° horizontal field of view, comparable to an 18mm Cooke S4 in 35mm land. With ETC turned ON, this lens has a 30° H-FOV, comparable to a 40mm S4.
12mm and 9.5mm: both porthole without ETC, but with ETC on:
The 12mm has 36° H-FOV like a 32mm S4
The 9.5mm has a 53° H-FOV, like a 21mm S4. Wide angle dilema solved!

These lenses are already like 2 lenses in one when shooting on film. When opened up to T 1.3 they are warm and creamy with razor thin DOF, after T 2 they deliver that signature Zeiss look. With the ETC ON, these lenses become like 4 lenses in one.

Since they are designed for S16, they have more resolving power than their 35mm Zeiss big brothers, in fact, 3 times the line pairs per millimeter than the new Ultra Primes. So, when this is paired with the 1:1 ETC mode and a 3.6 µm pixel pitch sensor, these lenses put the GH2 up there in the big leagues with the Arri Alexa. Now, I would still drive the Alexa any day over any DSLR, and until there is a workaround for compression, Alexa will win every time when it comes to dynamic range...but when it comes to sharpness, it is tough to discern a still from a GH2 with Superspeeds and one from an Alexa with Ultra Primes. Crazy, huh? But then again, 10 years ago this matched set of Zeiss Super Speeds sold for $30k, and IMHO, they probably should be worth even more today considering they are as fast, and can focus even closer than the $80k Ultra 16's.

In conclusion, this is THE set of lenses for shooting video on the GH2 or the AF100.

I am considering putting them on the marketplace and am open for reasonable cash or trade offers. I am trying to finance a feature film on 35mm and need about 150 rolls of film and a matched set of primes to cover super35. All five lenses matched, pristine, and recently serviced. PM me only if seriously interested or you have a comparable set of primes for trade.
 
I Use the gh2 with an Angenieux 20x zoom lens all the time it's an arriflex bayonet mount - inifinty focus - the lot.

it doesn't vingette at the telephoto end.

I use ETC mainly.

There's a short video of what the 20 x zoom can do here:

http://vimeo.com/21259094

I
 
nice one imaitland
i was also shooting the moon last nite with a 10:1 Angie. stuck on a century 2x doubler so no vignetting without the ETC. And then with the ETC and doubler, my frame was all moon.
 
This definitely is looking like the camera to get the creative juices flowing again. I've got 15mm, 25mm 50mm switar, 18 - 85 pan cinor zoom, 11-70 1.4 canon tv zoom, 10mm schnieder arri mount with c-mount adapter. 12-120 mm angenieux eclair mount ( would need to be adapted to PL)

Not sure the c-mount zooms would fit the available c-mounts, but you never know. Plus Nikon 24mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, various cheap zooms, 400mm sigma in pentax k mount. Its just boggling that all of this glass can be adapted to the same camera with varying quality effect. A lot of character can be achieved with old lenses. It's not all about razer thin and razer sharp focus.
 
Nice hvalreki. Stanley Kubrick put a 2x adaptor on the 20x Angenieux to shoot "Barry Lyndon", That was the only way to get a 20x zoom on a 35mm camera back in the day. So you're in good company!

http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/sk/ac/len/page1.htm

As a side note the moon looks a lot better if you put an unsharp mask on in post - in Premiere CS5, 100%, Radius of ~15-20, so far it's what differentiates 'my moon' from the other people who were shooting it at the same time.
 
Hi hvalreki, what kind of extender do you use ?
I tried a 35mm 2x extender on the angenieux but it won't fit as the rear element protrudes too far.
Do you use a super 16mm extender ?
I wonder if those double the coverage of the lense... Thanks for your input !
 
That Barry Lyndon zoom is actually a one-off Angenieux Kubrick had custom made. Surprise. Nothing was good enough for this man. Elements from a regular 16mm 20:1 were rehoused by Cinema Products and made into a 25:1, a Century 2x doubler was tacked onto the back, making the lens a T9 25-625mm with a 35mm image circle. This one of kind lens is now owned by Sage Stallone, along with those nice f.95 primes for the candlelight scenes.
 
i have both a 2x Century Precision Optics doubler and an Optex doubler, s16mm and 35mm respectively. I shot with a s16mm Century doubler on a 10:1 r16mm Angie. Both doublers work, but generally 35mm doublers are too shallow for 16mm zooms. To answer your other question, both doublers double the size of the image circle: an r16 lens will now cover a 35mm frame. See last post.
 
I've used my Cine-Nikkor 25mm (f1.2) lens with great success! Its easily my favorite lens. VERY VERY sharp.

I have other tests with B4 lenses (using crop mode) as well....

Mostly shot on 25mm

25mm test:

B4 lens test
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top