Need a zoom lens

Shooter said:
I think there are two types of users with this camera in regard to "what lens question".

"Film Guys" and "Stills Guys" (movie converts).

Still guys are used to using Non Manual Lenses with electronic control of everything... including AF / AE.

Film Guys are used to manual lenses.

Film guys wont tolerate non constant aperture or inabilty to set an F-stop and know what it is. (eg via an adapter). Stills guys might tolerate these ( until they experience the "issues"they bring to motion picture work.

I said before..."its a conundrum wrapped in a puzzle and packaged as a Camera (BODY)".
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Well said so let me add:
I think there are three types:
"Film Guys" and "Stills Guys" and "Video Guys"

and the Video Guys want a zoom rocker, an ENG view finder and
One lens to rule them all, One lens to find them, One lens to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of lowlight where the Shadows lie...
 
vicrattlehead said:
Today we shot a national TV spot with the AF100 and the Nikon 17-55 AFS G DX f2.8 lens. FANTASTIC lens on the AF100 with the Novoflex adapter. We had a heap of great fast glass on hand, but the 17-55 and the Nikon 85
f1.4 AFD were the only lenses used...
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The 17-55 Nikon might be the answer for right now. Thank you for letting us know your experience with this lens. One question: does the focus ring keep going or does it hard stop?

timbook2 said:
Well said so let me add:
I think there are three types:
"Film Guys" and "Stills Guys" and "Video Guys"

and the Video Guys want a zoom rocker, an ENG view finder and
One lens to rule them all, One lens to find them, One lens to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of lowlight where the Shadows lie...
Click to expand...

Then there is the forth guy that comes from the worlds of all 3, stills, film, and video. I am one of these, I do lean heavier towards the film world tho. I learned a lot in the 16mm realm and the benefits of that discipline is huge. For me Manual Lenses are fine and actually preferred (film world). I do believe in constant apertures such as all the lenses should be an f2 or and f2.8 or what not with a few exceptions (film world). That said I don't necessarily need to know where I am on the lens at all times (stills word), I mean that's what the waveform is for (Video world), but the ability for all/most my lenses to act the same is beneficial (film world). This camera is the perfect video camera with film traits, and one needs to to meld their disciplines from all 3 worlds accordingly to get the best from the AF100.
 
Had planned on using the EOS Tokina 16-50 with the Birger adaptor but have decided to go with the Zuiko 12-60 based on this discussion. I like the extended range it offers and believe I can live with f/4 at the higher end - I can supplement it with a number of Nikon primes (50 and 85mm) if I really need f/1.4-2.0.

I believe Birger, undeliverable at this time, and double, triple or even quadruple the cost of other adaptors is greatly overpriced and that the makers are taking advantage AF100 users. I'm sure Novoflex and others have comparable EOS-M4/3 adaptors on the drawing boards at reasonable cost estimates.
 
Have you watched the video on what the birger mount does on red cameras? If it truly allows aperture control, IS and autofocus (mileage may vary), it seems reasonable to me. Isn't the reason all of our video gear is so pricey is because it's a niche market? The birger mount sounds pretty niche to me, I just hope it does all it says and the remote control isn't as pricey as the one for red. I mean if you want pricey, those Olympus f2.0 lenses take the prize, especially without built in IS, in my opinion.
 
snp said:
I believe Birger, undeliverable at this time, and double, triple or even quadruple the cost of other adaptors is greatly overpriced and that the makers are taking advantage AF100 users.
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And I believe this statement is grossly unfair and completely indefensible.

How can anyone take advantage of you, without your permission? You have all the power in that relationship. All you have to do is ... not buy it. Buy a Novoflex or other adapter. If Birger's price is too high and nobody buys it, it is they who will suffer.

Birger is developing something that doesn't exist on the market yet, at any price. And nobody is required to buy it. I, for one, am glad that a company has decided to invest tons of dollars into r&d to create something that many users will find quite appealing. To insult them for taking that effort is just plain rude.
 
Barry_Green said:
Birger is developing something that doesn't exist on the market yet, at any price. And nobody is required to buy it. I, for one, am glad that a company has decided to invest tons of dollars into r&d to create something that many users will find quite appealing. To insult them for taking that effort is just plain rude.
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I'm sorry, Barry - I didn't intend to insult either Birger or especially, you.

I keep hearing that users want iris control and not auto-focus, especially with still camera lenses. This is not a run and gun ENG camera that requires rocker zooms and auto this and that.

I think that if Panasonic and Olympus can create M4/3 electronic adaptors for a little over $100 and Novoflex can offer units for a little more, then the $700 figure seems a bit out of line with today's economics and the members of this forum. Problem is, there doesn't seem to be another alternative for EF lenses which is why I switched to Zuiko glass based a lot on comments from you and Kylekmd.

Thanks for your help.
 
No problem snp, I just bristle when the people who are trying to help, get complained about. I figure, hey, he's doing something nobody else is, we should encourage him, right?

The Panasonic and Olympus adapters are very different -- because they're from Four Thirds to Micro Four Thirds. Everything's the same, just the physical size of the adapter. It just has to pass the information through the electrical contacts and it's done. Whereas what Birger's doing is basically an entire computer -- it has to read the incoming requests from the AF100, and translate it into Canon protocol and then pass it on to the lens. It's an interpreting system, not just a simple pass-through.

If Novoflex or someone else wants to offer something comparable, hey, the market would welcome it. But right now I don't know of anyone who's even considering making an electronic translating adapter. All the novoflex and fotodiox and Ciecio7 adapters and all the rest, are simple mechanical things. It really is a horse of a different color, what Birger's trying to do.

Sorry for snapping!
 
Birger is what has kept me from going to the f2.0 zuikos. I realize the zuikos are faster than canon L glass but what gets me more excited is the canon glass is much more platform independent if other camera manufacturers come out with other interesting products, many of the canon lenses have IS, and it's much easier to rent canon glass for more specialized needs. The zuikos are limited to Olympus and panasonic. So birger is doing us a great service with options...can also use tokina, sigma, and tamron...pretty cool.
 
Newbie in the world of manual settings...

Newbie in the world of manual settings...

Hello everyone,
I bought a Panasonic AF101EJ a few days ago and I love it; the ability to work with manual settings is awesome. But I really need a zoom lens with push auto-focus in my work. I love to deal with manual settings but i don't always have the time to arrange the scene as I like... I owned a Lumix 14-140mm but he is quite ineffective for indoor shots. Olympus 14-35mm is too expensive for me at the moment. :cry:
I have two questions about Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 II Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens. Does it works on AF101 with push-auto focus? Can I use this lens for decent indoor shots? Panasonic does not mention anything on their website.
Or maybe is another suitable zoom lens for a decent price...
Anyone has some advise?
 
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For what you want to do (which is not really what the AF was designed for) the 14-140 is your only option at this point.



Hawk_XP said:
Hello everyone,
First of all, please be patient with my poor english.
I bought a Panasonic AF101EJ a few days ago and I love it; the ability to work with manual settings is awesome. But I really need a zoom lens with push auto-focus in my work. I love to deal with manual settings but i don't always have the time to arrange the scene as I like... I owned a Lumix 14-140mm but he is quite ineffective for indoor shots. Olympus 14-35mm is too expensive for me at the moment. :cry:
I have two questions about Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 II Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens. Does it works on AF101 with push-auto focus? Can I use this lens for decent indoor shots? Panasonic does not mention anything on their website.
Or maybe is another suitable zoom lens for a decent price...
Anyone has some advise?
Click to expand...
 
Well, I'm not asking for 14-140 constant f2.
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I am. Weighing less than 2 lbs and costing less than half a K. With OIS, auto focus and auto iris.

It's what's needed and wanted.
 
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and the Video Guys want a zoom rocker, an ENG view finder and
One lens to rule them all, One lens to find them, One lens to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of lowlight where the Shadows lie...
Click to expand...

Hallelujah, brother!
 
Really, my question was different and very specific. It is out of question to request auto here and auto there. Anyway, thanks to all for support.
 
It's not the camera that is lacking, it's the lense manufacturers. As more AF100s are sold along with F3s, dslrs, reds, etc. I think we will soon see some new cine/video friendly lenses.
 
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