PL-mount for 7D with support for all lenses

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Malmer

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It is done! We've finally got our (the place where I work) PL-mount ready. The camera is modified quite heavily (and permanent) using a dust-free process and then the mount is attached to the camera. Has some nice features too, such as 19mm arri studio standard rods support. Can't see why we would go back to canon lenses now.

More info here.

Now for some pretty iphone pictures from our webpage :-)

7d1.jpg


7d2.jpg


7d3.jpg

A 16mm Cooke prime with a deep lens element, a matte box and some other stuff.
 
Yup. Much more stable that way. The original canon lens mount is only four tiny tiny screws. This is much better for the more heavy PL lenses. Also, it is more stable than the canon tripod hole. This guy also fits a battery pack if you want. Check the link for the details.
 
Well I only work there (programmer), so I don't set the prices, but $4000 is with a new camera house included, and the mount it precision hand made. Getting the back focus right has a very low tolerance for mistakes. The demand has been very high from the film industry. People who got word of what we were doing have been calling us from all over the world. Wanting to pay more actually. So we figured we'd put it up on ebay instead since we only have one (so far).

The target group for the mount is really people who use 7D in actual productions (such as TV-commercials) and then the actual mount price (minus the camera) is nothing. You get it back in one or two productions compared to working with film, but you can still use your precious PL-lenses with an actual focus ring and a follow focus. And the mount isn't just a mount but a whole rig that supports rods and stuff like that. We've tried more expensive, but crappy, plates with rods that attach to the bottom of the camera for more money than the overhead of this one (if you subtract the camera price). This one is rock solid and stable. Not the wobbliness of the original tripod attachment.

Oh, and warranty is void, but since the camera is quite cheap it doesn't really matter. Wouldn't sell anything that wasn't checked and working anyways. We do have to open up the packaging and modify the camera for it to work anyways.
 
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Yes, but look what you get for $1200 for the GH1:

http://www.hotrodcameras.com/products/basic/


That's a PL mount too, which looks completely finished and ready to go. I know they have already made a prototype for the 7D. Apparently no modification of the body is necessary.

I seriously doubt it will be $4000.00 when it comes to market.
 
Yeah, but -- the GH1 doesn't need to have the camera permanently modified to take PL glass either. Because of the lack of a mirror, the GH1 is a much easier product to use PL lenses with. If these guys are actually dismantling and removing the mirror and everything, they're gonna be exposed to some liability and they'd better be charging enough to cover the potential expenses and insurance and whatnot.

A 7D modification for PL is not a trivial task. At least now someone's finally done it.
 
Its more like $2000 for the mount as the auction includes the camera. One would also assume that this more or less one-off is probably going to go for more than a production version due to the volume difference.
 
Actually You can't do a pl mount for 7d without modifying the camera it is physically impossible unless you put in some optics and other junk and that will inevitably introduce artifacts and/or make it less light sensitive which defeats the entire point of using a pl lens. And it is hard to use the camera as a director's viewfinder if the exposure isn't the same. And those $1200 for the gh1 mount doesn't include the camera (nice mount though). And the gh1 has crappy compression and (not sure) I think not a full size sensor, which will mean you don't get the full frame given by the pl lens.

As for this one, it has IMHO a very nice build quality. Just lacks the black colorization, which was skipped due to the demand to get it out there.
 
Well,

Given that the 7D WITH the mount costs about the same as a DENZ director's viewfinder, I'd say this is a relative bargain for those with a true need for it. Looks like the market is going to cut two ways here...

1. People who have a bunch of PL mount lenses or need to rent them for their shoots are going to have a heck of a bargain.

2. Those who have no PL mount lenses are probably not going to see the value in spending double the price of their cameras to mount lenses that don't offer much added value to the camera itself.

Fair enough. ED glass is more than good enough for me...
 
Cool-

So I'm assuming that the canon mount/ body is machined down to fit the new mount, but did they also take out the mirror too?

Edit: I see from the ebay auction-
However, the optical view-finder and the still photo exposure meter is disabled in the process.
Click to expand...

So I guess either they're held up permanently or taken out.
 
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mcgeedigital said:
You obviously haven't priced PL glass recently.
Click to expand...

I am actually very aware of the of PL glass. But you cant argue that that price is insane as an opening bid for just a mount... for that money I could go to my local CNC shop and have them cut me 100 of them... you obviously haven't looked at RED primes I would never spend the same money on a mount as I would for a lens... lenses are complicated precise pieces of art... this is just a piece of metal.
 
Perry Wilson said:
I wouldn't buy that either...
Click to expand...

Perhaps not, but it does point to the fact that the price "for a piece of metal" seems to be a bit more expensive than your estimate of "100 for that price". However, the cost of making the metal mount pales in comparison to the cost of labor of developing the mount. It's not the metal or even the machining. It's the hours upon hours needed to make sure that things mate correctly, the focus is on the money, etc.
 
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The addition of all that thick aluminum bolted to the 7D might also act as a big heat-sink and help keep the camera cool, too. :-)

Not that there's anything wrong with that!
 
I understand that there was a lot of work put into this... but as a person who has been machining and fabricating everything from camera mounts to $200,000 motorcycles it bothers me to see people charging crazy money for something that cost $50 material cost and 2 CNC hours to make... yeah countless hours to find the right infinite focal point blah blah blah... all PL mount lenses abide by a single point formula. I could call Zeiss and find out exactly how far away the ass to their digiprimes needs to be away from the sensor for the focus points to be correct. If I had the start up money I would be making these items from everything from rails to mounts, handles and PL mounts... and would price them for the masses. For me it isn't about the money, it is the passion for the craft and pricing things right so other less fortunate people can share that passion and love doing the thing many of us on this forum wake up for.
 
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