DC Connection, & B4 Lens

bcolgate

bcolgate

Member
Many apologies if this has already been covered, but I haven't found a DC connection on the camera (something that provides 7.2v or 12v), and was wondering if it was covered by the removable side grip.

This might be antithetical, but one of the lenses I'd like to put on the front of the AF-100 is the Fujinon XA17x7.6BERM. I've already tested it on a GH1, but I'd like to supply power to the zoom motor without too much wiring, and a DC tap would fill that bill nicely. I have a Vocas for a controller, so you can see why this might be a nice combo.

Thoughts on the DC tap?

With thanks,

-Bruce Colgate
 
Thanks Barry, much appreciated. Here's hoping my pre-order beats Swit's deadline. And thanks for being the voice of the Operator in a room of engineers.

-Bruce
 
Both AntonBauer Goldmounts (available soon) and IDX V-mounts (shipping now) are available with both 12v and 7.3v, this is very convenient and a lot of shooters already have these great batteries.

I am incorporating those in a shoulder mount/NanoFlash bracket I am building for the AF100. They can power wireless mics and camera lights as well and help balance the camera for shouldering.
 
How well will the 2/3" zoom work with the single sensor AF-100? I thought the ENG zoom would need a special adapter to work with a single chip design? Outside of any crop issues.
 
Thanks Olof - we're fans (& owners) of both - I was just hoping for a smaller footprint. Your project sounds interesting - good luck.
 
Hi Bassman!

We were fortunate to have purchased the BERM version, with the 2x extender, so it fills the sensor nicely, but when we tested with the GH1, we didn't notice any significant issues. Yes, there is some color fringing, but I'm not sure it's enough to not use the lens. The sample pic here is handheld, at probably 100 - 130mm. I'm on the opposite side of the rink (my son is a budding speedskater). This pic has some adjusted levels.

P1020104.jpg
 
bcolgate,

how does the doubler come into play? are you able to go full wide?

I've got a canon 8x15 with a double that might be interesting to use with my af100 if i could get power to the zoom motor.

cm
 
Interesting but when I put the 2x extender in play there is some image softness that comes with the territory. I do not think you are getting the best out of the setup like a normal mount lens.
 
The doubler is necessary to cover the full sensor - remember that the XA lens is designed for a 2/3rds inch imager, about half the diagonal of the AF100's diagonal. So, with the extender engaged, but on the (in my case) GH1, the witness marks are close to accurate. And it is T1.7 (wide) without the doubler, so you have to figure that loss also.

It just struck me that, when we were first considering the AF100, why not try using this nice $9,000 lens we got when we bought our HPX-500? We also have the 14-140, but that don't work real well with a matte box, do it?
 
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The 14-140 is not a good fit for a mattebox, no. It telescopes out about 2.5 inches when zooming, which would make it a pain with a rails-mounted mattebox. You could use a clip-on style mattebox I guess, but I don't think the lens would support the weight.
 
Bassman2003 said:
Interesting but when I put the 2x extender in play there is some image softness that comes with the territory. I do not think you are getting the best out of the setup like a normal mount lens.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Adding the doubler is worse than not adding the doubler, with respect to sharpness. However, the lens, even with doubler, is significantly faster than the 14-140, particularly at 140mm. There were shots I just couldn't get with the 14-140 that were attainable when I used the XA lens.

I guess I'm just saying that there's no reason to put a nice piece of glass on the shelf just because it's an "ENG" lens.

Maybe I'll shoot some footage with both, and post the results.

Best,

-Bruce Colgate
 
It's expensive, but we actually make a B4 to PL adapter called the HDx2. This product is designed to cover a 22mm image area, which is a bit bigger than the AF100. The benefit of this product over using the internal doubler is that no chromatic aberration is introduced, sharpness is retained, and it will always cover that image area. Not all 2x extenders on B4 mount lenses will cover the AF100 sensor. The only way to know is to test.

B4 lenses can be powered off a D-Tap with a special cable.
 
Shipsides said:
It's expensive, but we actually make a B4 to PL adapter called the HDx2. This product is designed to cover a 22mm image area, which is a bit bigger than the AF100. The benefit of this product over using the internal doubler is that no chromatic aberration is introduced, sharpness is retained, and it will always cover that image area. Not all 2x extenders on B4 mount lenses will cover the AF100 sensor. The only way to know is to test.

B4 lenses can be powered off a D-Tap with a special cable.
Click to expand...

Would that still work well, going B4 to PL to MFT? I'd love to come by the shop some time - try it out. It has been a LOOONG time since I've been there.
 
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