Th13x3.5BRMU, a lens review

balster

balster

Active member
Hi Guys,

I have been busy the past few days reviewing the Th13x3.5BRMU.

Have a look and tell me what you think.
 
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Thanks very much! Id love to have this lens... But youre right, its hard to get one. And its expensive... Im looking forward to the new one. A option with extender werent bad...
 
Hmmmm...don't know. Here in the states, Chicago at least, you're putting way more money into a 300 than you could possibly get back. I don't see the client base for it here although your Africa trip has a TV network that may pay well for a two month road trip.

Seems to me changing lenses so often, in order to get a telephoto reach from the lens that came with the 300, you'd have to check back focus a lot while out in the field. Wouldn't that be a hassle? It was a pain in betacam but seems more so with critical HD.

Have a great trip, seems like it should be very exciting. Let us know how the lens performs. I am using my 300 on mid-range jobs but renting HPX2700 or HDX900 on the critical jobs.

Best regards,
 
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nedcam said:
Hmmmm...don't know. Here in the states, Chicago at least, you're putting way more money into a 300 than you could possibly get back. I don't see the client base for it here although your Africa trip has a TV network that may pay well for a two month road trip.

Seems to me changing lenses so often, in order to get a telephoto reach from the lens that came with the 300, you'd have to check back focus a lot while out in the field. Wouldn't that be a hassle? It was a pain in betacam but seems more so with critical HD.

Have a great trip, seems like it should be very exciting. Let us know how the lens performs. I am using my 300 on mid-range jobs but renting HPX2700 or HDX900 on the critical jobs.

Best regards,
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I hear you, for me it was a big decision but good glass is everything. In the end the difference is worth it to me, and believe me in terms of detail it's a big improvement. The stock lens has a small field of view which makes it impossible to use the 300 in certain situations. This would mean renting another camera and not getting my investment back. And in terms of mid range jobs, the 300 is at this moment the lightest "pro" shoulder camera. Perfect for this job! Last year I went to Africa with a EX1 - Zacuto rig, where the rig was 2/3 of the camera price. So yeah you have to invest...

Back focus has never been a challenge for me to be honest, and with the 1/3 fujinon lenses I usually end up on the factory marker.

On a side note, since I have the P+S Technik 35mm adapter for the 300 I also use it on some high end jobs. You would be surprised by the quality.
 
Hi Balster,

Two Questions:

• CAC: Do you need a separate CAC setting for the new wide lens? If so how do you do you get one and how do you change the CAC setting in a hurry?


• DUST: When you get back from Africa I'd like to correspond with you regarding the supplied lens: When you aim it into the sky, in the direction of the sun, do you see a lot of dust specs? I can't do a bright sky shot with my 300's lens and am planning on bringing it into the dealer and seeing if I can get a warranty replacement. It's been so cloudy in Chicago I haven't had a chance to bring it in to demonstrate it.

I once had this problem with a $15000 Canon wide angle zoom and when I brought it in the repair tech said a very fine desert sand had made it's way in past the seals, or it was dust from the manufacturing process that got loose. So when you point the supplied lens towards the sun, and I figure you will in Africa, I'd like to know if you see a lot of spots like I do. I realize we get what we paid for but clients often request sky shots and presently I can't do one, towards the sun, with the supplied lens. I tried to buy the 300 without a lens but they wouldn't let me.

Thanks,

Ned
 
nedcam said:
• CAC: Do you need a separate CAC setting for the new wide lens? If so how do you do you get one and how do you change the CAC setting in a hurry?
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A CAC setting is always changed inside the menu, so no quick button. However you don't change a lens in a hurry... There is no CAC for this lens. But it still smokes the stock lens.

nedcam said:
• DUST: When you get back from Africa I'd like to correspond with you regarding the supplied lens: When you aim it into the sky, in the direction of the sun, do you see a lot of dust specs? I can't do a bright sky shot with my 300's lens and am planning on bringing it into the dealer and seeing if I can get a warranty replacement. It's been so cloudy in Chicago I haven't had a chance to bring it in to demonstrate it.
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In my experience a wide angle always shows more spics and dust but I will have a look and report back to you. You can also use a bright light (redhead) in the store to show your problem.
 
You said: "You can also use a bright light (redhead) in the store to show your problem."[/QUOTE]

I want a clear sky to aim against to show my sales rep all the dust. A show room is too visually busy for all the specks to show.
 
Wow, quite a bit of difference in sharpness. I didn't expect that much of a difference.... It makes my wallet itch.

Ned, how has the 16:9 lens been working for you? Do have anything to add to your previous comments and thoughts now that you've been using it longer ?

I'd love to go with a lens like the 13x, but like you I have concerns with the ROI on this camera. The 16:9 lens is a more realistic option.
 
You mean the wide angle adapter made by 16x9 correct? I only used it once, it really helped but...I was doing run n' gun b-roll at an event that had low light and it robbed me of perhaps half a stop, which didn't help because I was already in +3db.

But as you can see by the photo on Balstar's blog his wide angle zoom is SO much wider, but I don't feel like putting that much $ into a 1/3" camera since in my market the clients won't pay top dollar for that package. He seems to be going high end with his DoF kit and primes but I find clients are just getting cheaper and cheaper lately. I would consider buying one IF it had a 2X extender and clients would start accepting 1/3" and P2 more around here.

If I was to land a decent length, high quality gig like the one he has coming up in Africa I would research renting one, in fact I just put that on my to do list.
 
I just dont get all of this? the 2/3" guys whinge about shallow DOF and then slap a wide angle on the front end, the shallow DOF guys shoot letus and stills cameras with 90% of the frame out of focus and us 1/3" 301 guys have a 4.5mm std lens and think that adding a lens that costs as much as our cameras makes sense.

Add into that in the UK that no body is actually making any new content that informs, educates or entertains and we get an industry that is going nowhere.

Sky have just said that they are doing football in 3d and I just cant understand why we have so much technology and nothing going on!!!
 
I don't understand this discussion about lens cost vs camera body. Lenses have never been cheap, 6k for a lens is very low end so I am happy with the performance. Since camera prices are dropping the comparison between lens and body no longer holds up in my opinion.
 
Gary,

I meant that much of my client base who do TV interview shows, they want the background real soft yet don't want to mess with DoF adapters. Those are the ones who don't want 1/3". I am collecting samples of various jobs to show them, much depends on how far I am from the subject and the subject is from the background. I'm referring to clients like History Channel, Discovery, Nova, etc., they all want a soft background.

Later,
 
nedcam said:
Gary,

I meant that much of my client base who do TV interview shows, they want the background real soft yet don't want to mess with DoF adapters. Those are the ones who don't want 1/3". I am collecting samples of various jobs to show them, much depends on how far I am from the subject and the subject is from the background. I'm referring to clients like History Channel, Discovery, Nova, etc., they all want a soft background.

Later,
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Another reason for getting a good lens, if you want your background to be soft you need to open the lens way up. This is where you separate the men from the boys... And the stock lens doesn't hold a candle to the fujinon upgrade options. if you have enough light and distance it's possible to get soft backgrounds on the hpx300.
 
I am interested in purchasing a Th13x3.5BRMU for the HPX300 but I recall reading a post that suggested that an updated iteration is in the offing? Is this common knowledge or did the statement simply fall from someone's wish list?

In response to the cost of lens Vs camera body, still and fine art photographers have been faced with that very differential for years; a fact that has not deterred them, myself included, from purchasing lenses whose cost often exceeded that of the camera body or, in some cases, several camera bodies. That said, those very same still lenses often found themselves mounted on new and improved camera bodies, a fate that may not be available for a lens designed strictly for a 1/3" camera. But for those of us who live and function in the here and now rather than the "what if" future, a 6K outlay that facilitates a desired "look" may make sense ... at least it does for me.
 
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Ron777 said:
I am interested in purchasing a Th13x3.5BRMU for the HPX300 but I recall reading a post that suggested that an updated iteration is in the offing? Is this common knowledge or did the statement simply fall from someone's wish list?

In response to the cost of lens Vs camera body, still and fine art photographers have been faced with that very differential for years; a fact that has not deterred them, myself included, from purchasing lenses whose cost often exceeded that of the camera body or, in some cases, several camera bodies. That said, those very same still lenses often found themselves mounted on new and improved camera bodies, a fate that may not be available for a lens designed strictly for a 1/3" camera. But for those of us who live and function in the here and now rather than the "what if" future, a 6K outlay that facilitates a desired "look" may make sense ... at least it does for me.
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I just got an e-mail form Fujinon, the lenses are available again with a two week lead time. No word on the price.
 
balster said:
I just got an e-mail form Fujinon, the lenses are available again with a two week lead time. No word on the price.
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Thanks for the heads-up. Do you know if there has been an alteration to the lens design or does it remain the same lens as in the past?
 
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