Canon ENG B4 Lens on GH1

lvlinux said:
Should work great - the Pegasus III is still a VERY VERY fine lens. I have seen a Pegasus II be sharper and have less CA than some of the cheaper HD 2/3" video lenses. And the Pegasus III should be even better. I have two of them and a Pegasus II, and I'm about to mod one or two for the GH1 (permanent mod). Haven't tested it yet, but I'm sure it should work awesome. I'll let you know the results if I get it done before you get your adapter.
Many people think that the only lenses that are any count are the newer ones, and tech has improved, but high-end older glass is still very nice, much nicer than cheap new stuff, even if it has the "80s tech" look to it :-D
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I'm glad to hear that! I will check if I can supply +12V to zoom handle and get functional zoom servo. Also, I would like to connect "REC" button to GH1 movie button.

This is just mind-boggling if it works. 600$ body and old lens gives 17-238mm in full glorious HD :D Few years ago it would cost a small fortune.
 
Grunf said:
I'm glad to hear that! I will check if I can supply +12V to zoom handle and get functional zoom servo. Also, I would like to connect "REC" button to GH1 movie button.

This is just mind-boggling if it works. 600$ body and old lens gives 17-238mm in full glorious HD :D Few years ago it would cost a small fortune.
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Yep - it is mind boggling. You mean few years ago would cost a LARGE fortune hehe :-D

I don't know about the REC button connecting to the GH1, but should be no trouble at all to get +12V for servo operation. Planning to do that myself, but have to figure out what sort of battery I will use (and where to put it).

I've got an old Sony DXC-3000 camera that is for parts, and I'm thinking about taking the guts out and making some kind of shoulder rig from it and use the NP battery case on it, or maybe put an AB battery on it and run the GH1 and lens on that. That way I'd have tons of power and nice balance in the weight of the system. And I think it'll look cool too :cheesy:
 
That's a excellent idea! I could remove battery holder from old Betacam and use it to feed GH1 + LED light and zoom servo! :thumbsup:

GH1's light weight is somewhat of a burden...it shakes with much higher frequency than "proper" ENG cam. If kitted with ENG lens and NP battery, it will be much more stable.

I have a Canon as well but hacked GH1 IS revolutionary.
 
Grunf said:
GH1's light weight is somewhat of a burden...it shakes with much higher frequency than "proper" ENG cam. If kitted with ENG lens and NP battery, it will be much more stable.
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That was my thinking exactly - I do pretty well holding a large camera steady, even a still camera, but the GH1 is so light that the shake is bad sometimes - and I don't have any kind of stabilizer made....yet :D
 
I saw that post #31 you mentioned a B3 mount. I have a Fujinon 14x 9.5 with a B3 Mount (from a godd ol' HL95 Ikegami) Did you ever manage to fabricate the adapter for the B3 Mount?
 
Jaybilizer said:
I saw that post #31 you mentioned a B3 mount. I have a Fujinon 14x 9.5 with a B3 Mount (from a godd ol' HL95 Ikegami) Did you ever manage to fabricate the adapter for the B3 Mount?
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Well, actually I don't have an adapter for B4 or B3 - I have permanently modified my lenses by putting a Nikon mount on them. For the B3 one I used an extension tube set that I ground down to the right distance and then used JB-weld to glue it on.
 
lvlinux said:
Well, actually I don't have an adapter for B4 or B3 - I have permanently modified my lenses by putting a Nikon mount on them. For the B3 one I used an extension tube set that I ground down to the right distance and then used JB-weld to glue it on.
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Perfect! I have extension tubes and I have JB weld :-) What was your flange distance?
Thanks!
 
Jaybilizer said:
Perfect! I have extension tubes and I have JB weld :-) What was your flange distance?
Thanks!
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To be honest I have no clue about the flange distance. I know that Nikon standard is 46.5mm and B4 is 48mm, but I really don't know about B3. I had to take the bayonet ring off in order to get my extension tube on it and access it with the glue.
I just kept grinding it down with my hand on some walkway bricks :D and trying it on the GH1 with the Nikon adapter until it was the right distance. I would just hold the assembly together and fiddle with the zoom and focus to check for correct back focus distance. Before starting I set the lens back focus adjustment to the middle so I'd have leeway if I got the mount distance slightly off in the end (but you still don't have much room for error).
I did all the testing with the lens 2X extender on since I knew that's how it would be used.

The Schneider lens that I modded the other day also had a B3 mount on it. I did pretty much the same thing except I used a different type of mount from an old lens and it actually had a piece on it that screwed in/out so I used it to set the distance instead of having to grind.

After I got the mount the right distance, then I glued it on with superglue just to hold it temporarily - (and tested it again on the GH1) then smeared on the JB weld and let it sit overnight.
 
lvlinux said:
To be honest I have no clue about the flange distance. I know that Nikon standard is 46.5mm and B4 is 48mm, but I really don't know about B3. I had to take the bayonet ring off in order to get my extension tube on it and access it with the glue.
I just kept grinding it down with my hand on some walkway bricks :D and trying it on the GH1 with the Nikon adapter until it was the right distance. I would just hold the assembly together and fiddle with the zoom and focus to check for correct back focus distance. Before starting I set the lens back focus adjustment to the middle so I'd have leeway if I got the mount distance slightly off in the end (but you still don't have much room for error).
I did all the testing with the lens 2X extender on since I knew that's how it would be used.

The Schneider lens that I modded the other day also had a B3 mount on it. I did pretty much the same thing except I used a different type of mount from an old lens and it actually had a piece on it that screwed in/out so I used it to set the distance instead of having to grind.

After I got the mount the right distance, then I glued it on with superglue just to hold it temporarily - (and tested it again on the GH1) then smeared on the JB weld and let it sit overnight.
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Thanks! It's not fun if you don't have to wrestle for it! That gives me the approach. I'll try to adapt it to a Canon FD mount.
 
Should work fine with an FD mount, but you'll have to use more extension tube since the flange distance for FD is much shorter than Nikon.
 
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Just got this lens today. I literally taped some extension tubes to the lens and the camera in order to mount the lens for a preliminary quick test. The vignetting in the upper left is because the rig is taped together and not perfectly aligned.
The camera is a hacked GH1 set for 50Mbs AVCHD. The lens is a Fujinon A14X9.5F F1.7 9.5-133mm. with the 2X extender engaged. This effectively loses about a stop and a half and makes the lens a 36 -532mm in 35mm equivalent.
The lens is a 2/3" B3 mount (rather than the more common B4 mount) ENG broadcast lens off of an old Ikegami HL95 broadcast camera. I am working on machining a permanent B3 to Micro 4/3 mount and wiring the servo zoom. Stay tuned. http://vimeo.com/13594750
 
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Thanks Paulmeyer on the mount info. I'm pretty excited to see that these lenses can be used on m4/3. I'm patiently waiting for my adapters from bumkicho. :)
 
I got home last night from the trip. Had a great time but I am tired from flying 14 hours plus lay over at the airports. And yes I have 4 new adapters to ship out tomorrow. I will send you guys shipping information once they are shipped tomorrow.
 
I think the doubler would degrade the image too much. I have a $35K Canon HJ lens but the doubler to my eye adds that "fog" to an image. I use it only if I have to on SD and HD 2/3" cameras. But still, I'm curious about this adaptor.
 
powervideo said:
I think the doubler would degrade the image too much. I have a $35K Canon HJ lens but the doubler to my eye adds that "fog" to an image. I use it only if I have to on SD and HD 2/3" cameras. But still, I'm curious about this adaptor.
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That is very strange - sure a 2X degrades the image some, but on an expensive lens it shouldn't be noticeable without close inspection (especially an HJ lens) - you may have a faulty lens. I have many many 2/3" and 1/2" lenses, and I have only seen a "foggy" image with the doubler when there is fungus or some other problem with the lens.
2/3" video lenses on the GH1 with the doubler on show linear distortion and unsharpness in the corners, but the center is good and sharp. The reason for the distortion is that you don't see those corners on a 2/3" video camera since you are only looking at the 2/3" center, rather than a 4/3" area with the GH1, but with the GH1 you are using that usually-thrown-away part of the image circle.
 
Sorry I didn't to say it looks literally like fog, but that I can tell when it's in and tell when it's not. I am curious enough to buy an adaptor, none the less.
 
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