crashprime
New member
There has been a few sporadic posts about adapting Fujinon TV ccd lenses to GH1/GH2 cameras over the years, but it never really caught on compared to other lens choices like Canon FD's, Nikon/Nikkor AI(S) lenses and their ilk. I have to wonder why. Obviously it's outside the "norm" of lens adaptation, and sort of a "hack job", but it doesn't seem overly difficult.
I've gathered a little information and I am trying to get my ducks in a row before I try my own hand at doing this.
It sounds like a magic combination of great low light performance and long parafocal length for an affordable price, with very little compromise.
The reason for going this route instead of getting something more "intended" is very simple. Cost, and in some cases, "because there isn't anything else like it". The two focal length lenses that seem to be very popular for modding are the Fujinon 12.5-75mm f1.2 (!), and the Fujinon 7.5-105mm f1.4. I can not find anything close to that length coverage (65-390mm f1.2 or 39-546mm f1.4 35mm equivalent when using 1080p24 ETC on a GH2) at those type of aperture stops.
If you've never read anything about these Fujinon TV lenses, the reason for using ETC would be due to the fact that it has extreme vingetting when not using it. Take a look at Dave Speace's wonderful visual explanation of what is achieved with ETC here (this example uses a B4 mount 2/3" but the concept applies similarly): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5QQVp44C14
It seems the "all-star" of this process (the one who made it popular) is a gentleman by the name of Edwin Lee who appears to be based out of Hong Kong. He has some beautiful wedding footage filmed with the 7.5-105mm f1.4 that can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/24276500
From what old posts, and responses I can find, it seems that once upon a time ago, Ed was modifying these lenses himself, and selling them on eBay. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore, but non-the-less, there ARE many many many examples of these unmodded Fujinon's on eBay for insanely reasonable prices (under $200 a piece, often under $100 a piece) waiting to be modified for M43 useage.
The roadblock for folks seemed to be the fact that a simple eBay cheap-o $5 "C Mount to Micro Four Thirds" adapter won't do the job. Ed got around this by drilling/physically modifying the lens. I could not for the life of me find any write-ups about this specific process. I'm doubtful there ever was one, due to the fact that Ed was making a pretty healthy profit by doing these custom jobs.
There was, however, a gentleman by the name of Gary San Angel who discovered a bit of blue "painters tape" on the "Hawk Peng" (now selling on eBay as hawks_factory) c-mount adapter, would achieve pretty good results when adapting these Fujinon's. His write-up is viewed here: http://www.componentgeek.com/lenses-micro-four-thirds/c-mount-zoom-lens/fujinon-tv-zoom/
I believe Matthias Lein used this method on his 12.5-75mm 1.2 in the very promising cat video he shot here: http://vimeo.com/18433058
This method is laid out very simply, and I feel like I could manage. That sort of leads me to the question of "why didn't more people do this?". I know there are a few examples of people struggling to achieve infinity focus just because we're dealing with an inexact science of "jamming tape under an adapter", but surely folks who love to get down and dirty with software hacks on the GH2 wouldn't mind a little jury rig to get this type of lens for thousands less than alternatives.
So, what part of the story am I missing? Is this a good idea? Is the painters tape the best solution that was trialed? Did I just waste a day of my life researching something there's an exhaustive FAQ on here or elsewhere? Why does this suck? What's the better or cheaper alternative? Where do babies come from?
I've gathered a little information and I am trying to get my ducks in a row before I try my own hand at doing this.
It sounds like a magic combination of great low light performance and long parafocal length for an affordable price, with very little compromise.
The reason for going this route instead of getting something more "intended" is very simple. Cost, and in some cases, "because there isn't anything else like it". The two focal length lenses that seem to be very popular for modding are the Fujinon 12.5-75mm f1.2 (!), and the Fujinon 7.5-105mm f1.4. I can not find anything close to that length coverage (65-390mm f1.2 or 39-546mm f1.4 35mm equivalent when using 1080p24 ETC on a GH2) at those type of aperture stops.
If you've never read anything about these Fujinon TV lenses, the reason for using ETC would be due to the fact that it has extreme vingetting when not using it. Take a look at Dave Speace's wonderful visual explanation of what is achieved with ETC here (this example uses a B4 mount 2/3" but the concept applies similarly): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5QQVp44C14
It seems the "all-star" of this process (the one who made it popular) is a gentleman by the name of Edwin Lee who appears to be based out of Hong Kong. He has some beautiful wedding footage filmed with the 7.5-105mm f1.4 that can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/24276500
From what old posts, and responses I can find, it seems that once upon a time ago, Ed was modifying these lenses himself, and selling them on eBay. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore, but non-the-less, there ARE many many many examples of these unmodded Fujinon's on eBay for insanely reasonable prices (under $200 a piece, often under $100 a piece) waiting to be modified for M43 useage.
The roadblock for folks seemed to be the fact that a simple eBay cheap-o $5 "C Mount to Micro Four Thirds" adapter won't do the job. Ed got around this by drilling/physically modifying the lens. I could not for the life of me find any write-ups about this specific process. I'm doubtful there ever was one, due to the fact that Ed was making a pretty healthy profit by doing these custom jobs.
There was, however, a gentleman by the name of Gary San Angel who discovered a bit of blue "painters tape" on the "Hawk Peng" (now selling on eBay as hawks_factory) c-mount adapter, would achieve pretty good results when adapting these Fujinon's. His write-up is viewed here: http://www.componentgeek.com/lenses-micro-four-thirds/c-mount-zoom-lens/fujinon-tv-zoom/
I believe Matthias Lein used this method on his 12.5-75mm 1.2 in the very promising cat video he shot here: http://vimeo.com/18433058
This method is laid out very simply, and I feel like I could manage. That sort of leads me to the question of "why didn't more people do this?". I know there are a few examples of people struggling to achieve infinity focus just because we're dealing with an inexact science of "jamming tape under an adapter", but surely folks who love to get down and dirty with software hacks on the GH2 wouldn't mind a little jury rig to get this type of lens for thousands less than alternatives.
So, what part of the story am I missing? Is this a good idea? Is the painters tape the best solution that was trialed? Did I just waste a day of my life researching something there's an exhaustive FAQ on here or elsewhere? Why does this suck? What's the better or cheaper alternative? Where do babies come from?