HPX 300 + Mini 35 Clips

M

Mark Smith

Veteran
I had a chance to try out an HPX 300 with a mini 35 adapter recently on a shoot for an ad agency client. The camera was my own and the PS mini 35 adapter and Zeiss lens package came from Duall Camera in NYC. Duall has the Mini 35 with the JVC lens mount which works perfectly on the HPX 300 with prime lenses. If I had to use the mini 35 with heftier glass like a zoom, I would want some rod support for the whole rig, but other than that the rig was an easy fit for the camera.

Here's a link:
http://o7films.com/hpx300_35/

I was more than surprised at how well this camera performed using this lens set up, actually I was kind of shocked at how good it was. I think the 300 is wayyy under- rated as a camera from what I see in the native files.
 
Mark Smith said:
I was more than surprised at how well this camera performed using this lens set up, actually I was kind of shocked at how good it was. I think the 300 is wayyy under- rated as a camera from what I see in the native files.
Click to expand...

Very nice to hear that, Mark... Thank you for posting those clips.

That makes me more confident about getting also an awesome image quality from the HPX300 along with the Letus35 Ultimate + Letus Relay Lens + ZF Zeiss primes we are planning to buy in a very near future...

Cheers!

Henry Epstein
 
Indeed. I was very happy with the results and this comes from some one who "does not love" 35 mm lens adapters in general.

Being able to record full raster 1080 AVC I is such a huge benefit.
 
I am sure it is very nice too but to me 90% of the image is out of focus, it is all very well to have shallow DOF for some shots but for most of what I shoot which is drama getting an actor to hit the same spot every time is just impractical, I also do corporates but losing 90% of the shot juts doesnt seem to make sense to me.

Shallow DOF is useful for some shots to get effect but I get very frustrated at some uses of it as it draws attention to the out of focus part of the image as this is the greater portion of the screen.

On the three clips to me;

1: Only the blue bottle tops are in focus
2: Only the middle section of the slide is in focus
3: Only the grey screen below the lab tech and fingers on the glove is in focus

And that is on the small screens, full size display would be very distracting.
 
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Shallow depth of field is the new "crushed black" as far as I am concerned and for many situations I agree its not such a good thing. In controlled situations, shooting scripted narrative or controlled setups it can be just the ticket. I looser documentary style situations shallow DOF can be the kiss of death.

However that said, deep depth of field which is standard equipment on 1/3" sensor cameras isn't optimum all the time either, so having the option of switching over to a mini 35 & prime lenses is an added plus. My point is that even with the lens adapter the HPX300 makes some really pleasing images, which has not been my experience using lens adapters on other cameras in the past.
 
Looks fantastic, Mark. Thanks for posting. To answer some of Gary's observations, do you have a clip you could post that favors a wider angle, but still using the Mini35?
 
Umm yeah, digging through the pile of pixels . I think I do have a clip someplace shot with n a 35 mm super speed. That was the widest lens I had available for this shoot.
 
Just saw the near finished cut of the piece these and a gazillion other clip were shot for. Its mostly 300 with lens adapter or stock lens with some 7D free hand shots salted in. The piece is good but sorry I can't post it at this time. Maybe in a bit.
 
Hi All,

Just used Mini35 on my 300 with zeiss lenses with Nikon mounts. Stuff looked great! Easy to work with and blown away with the codec. Great shoot...re-invigorating. Will post finished project when released by agency.

Tom
 
Check ebay FVESCo in denver is going ot of business. They were a good sized rental house and they have some mini 35 's up for sale.... about $4500...
 
Mark, you need the Mini35C. We do have several Mini35 for sale but they are the "400" model that won't work with your HPX300.

Unless you can find one on eBay or something, ZGC is your only option.
 
Ah but can the rear element of the 400 be changed to the mount for the JVC 1/3" cameras - same mount as the HPX 300--

Rest of it looks the same. as the mini 35 I have used with my HPX 300
 
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