FS7: FS7 successor (rumours/expectations)

Once I was supposed to do an all drone shoot but ended up crashing the drone into a tall tree.
We had already tried to pursued the client to do a more classic job instead.
Anyways, I brought the fs7 and 18-110 just for fun... just in case.
Ended up using that combo for the entire day and I think it saved my ass

Pass "kam0104"


Im not saying its great, but its not bad either......
 
I'm using a modified Bebob Engineering Zoe Lanc zoom demand with the 18-110. No longer made though. Still available used through eBay quite often. That unit has a speed control on it which allows a standard servo speed range of 2-30 seconds. Internally modified it can go anywhere from 2-90 seconds with pretty good control feel. Not as good as a my Canon ZSD-300 zoom demand but hey that's a $2,100 demand. For most purposes it does the job quite adequately. It offers a much more subtle control than the onboard lens servo control.

When I first became curious about the 18-110 I grabbed one for a couple of hours for a quick test which I chucked up on the tube. Rough and ready but I just wanted to see what it could do. At the end of the clip you will see some crash zooms that should give you an idea how it hold up regards zoom and focus lag. Regards zoom lag it's nil as it is unlike the FF 28-135 lens in construction. The 18-110 is 100% mechanically linked so responds instantly to finger operation and responds as quick as any zoom demand can push the servo motor. All the zooms in the clip were done using the zoom control on the lens except for the crash zooms they were hand driven. I was testing a few things on the FS7 back then like this clip was shot in Custom S-LOG2 with a home rolled matrix. The clip can be seen here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRs-8CbohQ

Granted the following clip is a Sony promo clip so obviously it's pushing the 18-110's merits but it very indicative of how the lens works. I will 100% second the results you see will see in that clip as it mirrors my experiences with the 18-110.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1mx2AKjv2k

One of my favorite aspects of the lens is its absolutely minimal breathing which makes for great focus throws. Something I cannot say with the 24-105 plus Speed Booster. I'm using the Sigma 24-105 in preference to the Canon because the Sigma at least holds f4.0 the whole way unlike the Canon. Though I believe the Canon 24-105 MkII has improved on the one stop ramp towards the 105 end. For me on an all around jobbing lens an f2.8 aperture is not the be all to end all, max aperture is far outweighed by the other attributes the 18-110 can quickly and efficiently bring to a shoot. Constant f4.0 aperture and parfocal performance kills a non constant aperture non parfocal f2.8 any day in my book for most corporate jobs where working quickly is often paramount. If I really want shallow DOF in a zoom for interviews etc I will use a 24-70 or 70-200 f2.8 with a speed booster giving me f2.0 which is as fast as I've ever needed on interviews.

Some of the nicest looking interviews I've shot have been using a Speed Booster with the old Tokina 28-70 parfocal f2.8 constant aperture minimal breathing Mk I and Mk II glass that inherited Angenieux's cine zoom design.

https://vimeo.com/38152106

For around $200-300 coupled with a Speed Booster my clients love them. I'm talking about the sort of interviews I'm unlikely to ever use the Sony 18-110 on.

Chris Young
 
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I reached the point when a new lens makes no difference. I wont get paid more and I don`t miss anything while shooting. So I kinda gave up and accepted the flaws of the Canon 24-105 which I use 90% while shooting on FS7/5.
 
OnSet said:
Which Sony equivalent are you referring to?
Meanwhile -- a question with the microforce/ 18-110 combo:
I'm sure it's great (a big improvement) for control over slow and smooth zooms -- but how does it work for really fast zooms? Any perceived lag in zoom or focus?
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Actually that's a great question that I should test out. Initially I kept the speed of the micro force slow because it would make the lens "bounce" at the end of its travel. But now I'm locking it to a lens rail support so maybe I can up that speed.

It is an expensive addition if you don't already happen to have a micro force though( advantage for us old guys) .
 
"max aperture is far outweighed by the other attributes the 18-110 can quickly and efficiently bring to a shoot. Constant f4.0 aperture and parfocal performance kills a non constant aperture non parfocal f2.8 any day in my book for most corporate jobs where working quickly is often paramount. If I really want shallow DOF in a zoom for interviews etc I will use a 24-70 or 70-200 f2.8 with a speed booster giving me f2.0 which is as fast as I've ever needed on interviews. "

Ditto not just for corporate but also for many documentary situations and especially anything where live capture is important and you don't want to miss anything by having to reset the lens.
 
f/4 on S35 has the same depth of field as f/1.6 on 2/3"

The Sony 18-110 seems like a really good lens: 6x, constant aperture, parfocal, good mechanics, 2.4 lb., $3,400
 
the Sony is reliable & functional, if uninspiring.

the Canon 24-105 just feels like a liability.
 
J.Brown said:
I'd like to see Sony making a 18-80/2.8 lens with IS made like their 18-110/4.
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I would most likely put my hand up for that one! I tried the Canon 18-80 and came very close to getting that as it works very well with a Metabones adapter. It was mainly the greater range plus I was influenced by the $ for value that the 18-110 offered. No regrets on the decision.

Chris Young
 
I used the 18-110 on FS7 recently to shoot a one woman show on a stage with mostly black background. She moved around a lot and I kept the lens on auto focus and it worked very well. Likewise used my zoom motor to make adjustments as needed when called for. Not something I would do often with any lens but for this situation it allowed seamless one take shot.
 
J.Brown said:
I'd like to see Sony making a 18-80/2.8 lens with IS made like their 18-110/4.
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DLD said:
At what price? Canon T4.4 (servo) is U$4,600.
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Clermond said:
there's a reason why it doesn't exist. It would weigh 4K and cost 19k and everybody would complain about the price.
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Just look at the Fuji 19-90 T2.9. 5.95lbs(2.7kgs) and just a hair under $30K. Yeah, they could cut corners and get the price and weight down, but it’s still gonna be big and heavy(relatively speaking) to have that range at that speed, plus throw in IS.
 
I guess it would depend on the lens elements it's moving around. On the handful of specialized stabilized 2/3" ENG lenses, they'e always looked to be a lot larger in certain places to allow for the IS mechanism. I've never compared the weights to see to get a real idea, since those would be a lot better comparison than still lenses. But just to get an idea what kind of bump it may be, the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L is 2.9lb and the IS version is 3.3lb. Almost half a pound heavier if we presume that everything else is exactly the same about the lenses except for the IS.
 
Run&Gun said:
Just look at the Fuji 19-90 T2.9. 5.95lbs(2.7kgs) and just a hair under $30K. Yeah, they could cut corners and get the price and weight down, but it’s still gonna be big and heavy(relatively speaking) to have that range at that speed, plus throw in IS.
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Angenieux EZ-1 30-90mm S35 T2 is under 5 lbs and is priced at ~ $11,000.

Sigma Cine are about 4 lbs but there are only 16-35 and 50-100 at ~ $4.000 each.

Then there's Tokina with their wide zooms and a 50-135, at various pricing points, from mid-$2,000's to ~ $4,500.
 
DLD said:
Angenieux EZ-1 30-90mm S35 T2 is under 5 lbs and is priced at ~ $11,000.

Sigma Cine are about 4 lbs but there are only 16-35 and 50-100 at ~ $4.000 each.

Then there's Tokina with their wide zooms and a 50-135, at various pricing points, from mid-$2,000's to ~ $4,500.
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Yeah, the Fuji is in a completely different class, especially money wise. But none of those lenses listed are close to the specs "wished for". I was just trying to give an idea what someone may expect if there was an actual 18-80/2.8 IS servo zoom. 30mm is a mile away from 18mm or 19mm, as is 35mm from 80mm or 90mm and none of them have "native" servo's or grip's.

I've never considered the Fuji 19-90. And I say this as someone who really likes Fuji lenses, but it's a poor value in my book, especially today. I own the Canon 17-120 and have never regretted buying it for one minute, but for a "budget option"*, the Fuji 20-120 T3.5 is really nice. Not as fast as some of the other options out there, especially the shorter range zooms, but it does tick a lot of boxes, especially convenience.


*~$10K non-servo version, ~$13.5K w/servo
 
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