Let's talk glass: Lenses for the AF100!

very cool barry, i have not shot with an 85 1.4 before, been a dream for awhile haha. will have one this week so once the camera comes it will be nice to try. as for the 16mm photo you posted, is this the nature of the particular lens. cause i have a 17mm for the camera, not a fisheye, will it not work? thanks.
 
Not sure what you're asking -- are you asking about the picture of the lens vignetting? That's a lens for a 16mm movie camera, not a 16mm focal length lens. It was a 10mm-100mm lens. If you have a 17mm lens that's made for m43 or APS-C or full frame, it will work fine.
 
The AF100's sensor is 18.9mm wide.

The Four Thirds standard calls for a 17.3 x 13mm sensor. That's not what the AF100 uses. It uses an oversized sensor. It still uses a Micro Four Thirds lens mount, but its sensor is wider and shorter because it's a 16x9-shaped sensor. The Four Thirds specification calls for a sensor that's 4x3-shaped. The AF100 never uses that 4x3-shape, it's always and only ever 16x9-shaped.

Panasonic makes oversized sensors even in their GH1/GH2 models. Olympus uses the Four Thirds standard of 17.3mm, but Panasonic doesn't. They use 18.9 x 13mm. That way they can retain the same image diagonal whether you're shooting 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9.

However, the AF100 shoots only 16:9, so there is no circumstance where it will be using the smaller 17.3 subset. It is always using the full 18.9 mm.
 
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So, af100's sensor is 21.68mm diagonal.
Which leaves about 4mm out of S16 image circle from the corners.
Normal16 has diagonal of 12.7mm.
Your 10-100 can be converted to S16, which will make it 12-120.
Conversion expands it's image circle about 15%.

If you would do the same to a lens witch is originally S16, resulting image circle would be 16.7mm. Still missing 2.5mm from every corner...
Looks like I would use pair of EF-S: 17-55/f2.8 & 18-200 or 55-250.
Is there / will there be an adaptor to use EF-S's?
 
Panasonic makes oversized sensors even in their GH1/GH2 models. Olympus uses the Four Thirds standard of 17.3mm, but Panasonic doesn't. They use 18.9 x 13mm. That way they can retain the same image diagonal whether you're shooting 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9.

Does this mean that zuiko lenses are going to vignette more than Panasonic ones? Going to buy a zuiko 11-22mm.
 
Uh.... well, that's a good question. However, the answer is that the Zuiko lenses are probably just fine. They're designed to cover the 22mm image circle of the 4:3 format, and Panasonic's whole plan was to keep that diagonal the same size.

Look at this image from the dpreview GH1 review:
sensordiagram.jpg


There you can see how the wider sensor still fits within the same image circle that the 4x3 shape of the 17.3 x 13 sensor requires. The 4:3 frame is 4000 x 3000, and is represented in cyan. The 16:9 image is wider, at 4352, but shorter, at 2448. It's represented in the yellow box, and it still fits within the circle.

So, the answer is: no problem. The sensor's width is designed to fit within the image circle that all Four Thirds lenses project inherently.
 
My order is in for the AF100 for documentary projects next year.
I am in search of best zooms.
I have been using the 14-140 with the GH1/13 with great results but it fails in low light.
Has anyone used the Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 as that would cover my kind of work nicely?
Duclos rates the 17-35 highly but not the 17-55mm as it has no manual aperture rings, adapter needed.
The Tokina 11-16mm, the Nikon 17-55mm (and the 80-200mm 2.8) would be a very nice doc kit.
 
DVX100Shooter said:
The only lenses I currently have right now are for my Nikon D90. Will they work on the AF100?
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Yes, they should work - all you need is a Nikon adapter. There are basic adapters that only provide a basic lens mount, and there are other adapters which allow you to adjust the aperture using either a ring or a knob. Some of the brands that come to mind are the Fotodiox, ceico7, Voightlander and Novoflex. I don't think all of these have the aperture capability, but could be wrong. Just don't expect any autofocus capabilities with these.

I've had good luck with the Novoflex MFT/NIK which allows for aperture adjustment via a built-in ring.
 
I've been looking at:

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8
Sigma 24-70 2.8
Tamron 70-200 2.8

These zooms pretty much cover the whole range, are good quality for the $, and all have manual focus.

Add a couple primes:
Lumix 20mm f1.7
Nikon 35mm f1.8 dx
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Particularly the 20mm to fill the gap between the zooms.

That's what I'm looking at: fast primes and reasonably fast zooms. With most of these lenses, they get reasonably sharp for DSLR raw shooting, so it's highly likely that with the AF @ 1920x1080, they should be way sharp enough. I really like the zooms, because I feel like all of them being f2.8 gives about the best low light in a zoom and covering essentially the whole range, it don't get much better. Just need to find a good Nikon->4/3 mount with aperture control.

Buying em all new comes out to about $3200. Kinda pricey, but get a few used and buy em over time, I'll be set. Reason for so many is my long term plan has two AF100s in it, so they would have to share :D !
 
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I am looking at the following lenses to use with the Birger EOS mount. Some I have, some I will purchase.

Canon 16-35mm f2.8 L series
Canon 50mm f1.4
Canon 24-105mm f4.0 L series
Canon 70-200mm f4.0 L series
 
TheReverend said:
I've been looking at:

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8
Sigma 24-70 2.8
Tamron 70-200 2.8

These zooms pretty much cover the whole range, are good quality for the $, and all have manual focus.

Add a couple primes:
Lumix 20mm f1.7
Nikon 35mm f1.8 dx
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Particularly the 20mm to fill the gap between the zooms.

That's what I'm looking at: fast primes and reasonably fast zooms. With most of these lenses, they get reasonably sharp for DSLR raw shooting, so it's highly likely that with the AF @ 1920x1080, they should be way sharp enough. I really like the zooms, because I feel like all of them being f2.8 gives about the best low light in a zoom and covering essentially the whole range, it don't get much better. Just need to find a good Nikon->4/3 mount with aperture control.

Buying em all new comes out to about $3200. Kinda pricey, but get a few used and buy em over time, I'll be set. Reason for so many is my long term plan has two AF100s in it, so they would have to share :D !
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I recommend renting a Sigma zoom before you buy it. I absolutely love Sigma primes and own a 30mm and Sigma just loaned me a 50mm to evaluate for them on our video project. That said, I owned two of their zoom lens and was not really happy with either of them, and sold them on eBay. I am going to be giving them my feedback on their zooms as well, and they are VERY interested in their lenses being used for video. (Working on getting them to loan me the new 85mm so I can compare it with the Bower I have).

From what I understand is that it is really hit or miss with their zooms. We replaced the ultra wide zoom we had with the Canon 10-22 and the Tokina 11-16 and both of these lenses absolutely SMOKE the Sigma in every way. They may have some good zoom lenses, I've just not hit them yet.

Pertaining to night shots, I was using a camera that I felt really maxed out at ISO1600 and at this setting, F2 was really what I needed at a minimum to get good night shots. That said, given the footage I've seen with even the GH2 at ISO3200, I'm thinking you are right, that F2.8 is probably going to work out okay for night shots (especially with found light). I will be definitely testing out the Tokina as soon as my AF100 comes in.
 
grimepoch said:
I recommend renting a Sigma zoom before you buy it. I absolutely love Sigma primes and own a 30mm and Sigma just loaned me a 50mm to evaluate for them on our video project. That said, I owned two of their zoom lens and was not really happy with either of them, and sold them on eBay. I am going to be giving them my feedback on their zooms as well, and they are VERY interested in their lenses being used for video. (Working on getting them to loan me the new 85mm so I can compare it with the Bower I have).

From what I understand is that it is really hit or miss with their zooms. We replaced the ultra wide zoom we had with the Canon 10-22 and the Tokina 11-16 and both of these lenses absolutely SMOKE the Sigma in every way. They may have some good zoom lenses, I've just not hit them yet.

Pertaining to night shots, I was using a camera that I felt really maxed out at ISO1600 and at this setting, F2 was really what I needed at a minimum to get good night shots. That said, given the footage I've seen with even the GH2 at ISO3200, I'm thinking you are right, that F2.8 is probably going to work out okay for night shots (especially with found light). I will be definitely testing out the Tokina as soon as my AF100 comes in.
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Thanks for the heads up! Have you used the 24-70 specifically? I've just read reviews and been fairly pleased with what I've seen.

We actually will be using these cams in an indoor/stage environment fairly frequently as well as many other various uses. Because it's a stage situation with audience, zooms are highly necessary. And stage lighting will vary down to fairly low lit at many points which is why they have to be fast. Basically we will have an AF at cam1 with the Tamron at 180mm probly ISO800 and F4-6 to have a wide depth of field. The other AF will be the walking shoulder cam down by front of stage getting some sweet DoF shots (hopefully) with the 24-70 Sigma. We may buy one and use it and then decide whether to get a second after the first has proven himself in the "stage" environment. We'll probly be the first church in the nation to try it out! :D

I'd be open to other choices, but budgetary concerns are an issue. Only got so much to go around, ya know.

As to low light/night shooting, I feel like the primes will be used for that, outdoor/artsy, as well as interview stuff. Priority lenses with this kit for our needs are: 70-200mm, 24-70mm, 20mm. The rest seem like added variety. I really think that either the 35mm or 50mm will be a huge staple as well. Plan is to get these in stages of course.
 
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Yeah, I can understand the need for zoom shooting low light stage material. I've shot a few concert shows and music video pieces where the stage was mostly lit by cans. The big thing is experimenting with ISO3200 on the AF100. Given I was really limited to ISO1600 on all my tests, it made using zooms very difficult. Stages tend to be very dark OR dominated by single colors at times, like red only, and we ended up using primes just to get them faster. That said, our primes at the time only went up to 50mm so that wasn't sufficient either. I've got an 85mm F1.4 now so next time I get contracted to do a shoot, I will be testing that as well.

One thing I've done is crop and zoom some, which is obviously not ideal, but at the time looked better than the noise. I've not had experience with that particular Sigma zoom so if you are seeing good reviews on it, then I'd say might be good to try.

I really want to try the 25mm F0.95 as that hits my sweetspot for the sensor size on the AF100 for FoV.
 
I would be interested in the Tokina 11-16mm Canon EF mount, if I could find one available. What's with that? The last time I looked on Amazon there was a new one for sale via 3rd party listed for $1800; yeah right! Aside from the price gouging, do you think the lack of availability is related to use in video?

Also, I noticed there is also a Tokina 16-50MM F/2.8 ATX Pro DX EOS mount lens that seems to fill the intermediate niche and would seem to me to be the perfect wide to medium tele range for the AF100. Anyone have experience with this lens and can speak to it? It also seems to get very good reviews (avg 4-5 rating on both Amazon and B&H) and is priced reasonably at $550-600. Some people mention a bit of CA, but I would think this would be less of a problem with something like the AF100.

UPDATE: Just checked Amazon and this morning there are 9 11-16mm Tokinas in EF mount available via Norman Camera for $649. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a very volatile supply of this lens. Is the lens this good to warrant this frothing of prices?
 
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jpmulligan said:
I would be interested in the Tokina 11-16mm Canon EF mount, if I could find one available. What's with that? The last time I looked on Amazon there was a new one for sale via 3rd party listed for $1800; yeah right! Aside from the price gouging, do you think the lack of availability is related to use in video?

Also, I noticed there is also a Tokina 16-50MM F/2.8 ATX Pro DX EOS mount lens that seems to fill the intermediate niche and would seem to me to be the perfect wide to medium tele range for the AF100. Anyone have experience with this lens and can speak to it? It also seems to get very good reviews (avg 4-5 rating on both Amazon and B&H) and is priced reasonably at $550-600. Some people mention a bit of CA, but I would think this would be less of a problem with something like the AF100.

UPDATE: Just checked Amazon and this morning there are 9 11-16mm Tokinas in EF mount available via Norman Camera for $649. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a very volatile supply of this lens. Is the lens this good to warrant this frothing of prices?
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The 11-16 is a fantastic lens. Philip Bloom highly recommends this lens for APS-C/H & 4/3s cameras. Here is a direct comparison on the GH1. http://vimeo.com/8607482

[video]http://vimeo.com/groups/24036/videos/9936681[/video]
After watching this video, I'm thinking tokina 16-50mm is probably a good idea...
 
I have the TOKINA 11-16mm/F2.8 & the TAMRON 17-50mm/F2.8 and like them both a lot for the price point. The constant aperature is nice too.
 
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