Sharpest lens for 300/370

[Run & Gunner]

After about a year and a half I'm pretty happy with the 370 - I just wish I could get sharper images out of it.

I see a few other 1/3 inch lenses out there and was wondering if there is a noticeable improvement over the kit lens - particularly the fujinon 20x. I know there was a pricey fujinon 13x that was meant for Jvc too but I think they ended production.

What's been your experience?

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

I'd like to know too, but I think getting a pixel-sharp lens on 1/3" chips is a bit of a tall order (expensive) to fill, given that tolerances have to be 4x as accurate vs. 2/3". On the 370 even if the backfocus is a tad off, the whole things goes OOF as soon as you zoom, and I have to check it all the time.

Heck, the stock lens even has focus shift along the zoom range, so now I've learned to set backfocus from z99 to z50, because z50 is where the "dip" occurs; everything wider has everything in focus anyway (20m depth of field at f/4) so perfect backfocus at is largely irrelevant there.

 

[Run & Gunner]

I've noticed the dip too and it's madening! Interesting technique to set the back focus midway.

I also noticed things get whacked in 85+ degree mid day sun : (

 

[Kolor-Pikker]

I've noticed the dip too and it's madening! Interesting technique to set the back focus midway.

Setting the focus mid-way was the obvious solution since I often use the camera at that zoom level.

I also noticed things get whacked in 85+ degree mid day sun : (

Big temperature shifts are definitely a culprit for bad focus. It's generally a good idea to reset focus when the weather changes, but is a PITA during winter, in particular.

IMO, if it takes a $15k lens to overcome these limitations, I'll probably wait out for the HPX600's release instead. The 600 + cheap lens will give a better image than 370 + expensive lens... and you'll have a better camera system overall.

I hope the same democratization that hit the camera industry happens for lenses as well, they still cost the same as when we had $40k+ tape camcorders, but now they are often more expensive than the camera itself. A hard sell to upper management when a 3lb chunk of glass costs more than their car.