What servo zoom lens for AF100 that compares to new Canon XF305 zoom?

nedcam

nedcam

Well-known member
Strange situation. I have one TV show client that still insists on DVCPro & HDV tape for their b-roll packages, although they said this upcoming season they will accept SD cards (to go) instead of tapes. I suppose they will return my SD cards or bring their own. I have shot about 5-10 days per year for them over the last seven years so they aren't a great source of revenue but every now and then there's tremendous OT, DT, travel time, benefits, crew mark up and sometimes exciting adventures. The last few years I have rented HDV cameras but the problem is they usually shoot over the weekends and call at the last minute so nowadays it's harder to find someone on a Friday night who will rent their Sony Z7U, Varicam, etc. The two reasons they insist on being handed the media immediately upon the last shot are:

1) There is a network courier waiting for me to finish who will whisk the footage to the airport so there's no time to download. Historically there's barely time to label the last tape.

2) They do not want the videographer to have a back up copy of the footage due to the touchy subject nature, legal reasons and they just don't trust us DPs.

So...they told me some of their favorite local LA & NY shooters, who probably get 20-30 days shooting a year (I'm an outlier in the Midwest) are buying the Canon XF305 which advertises a zoom on it's three 1/3" chips. I imagine that these DPs are buying this model beacuse they won't need lens swaps. The specs are:

Canon 18x HD L Series Zoom, 4.1-73.8mm (35mm equivalent 29.3 - 527.4mm), f/1.6-2.8 What is the equivalent in M43? Their website is:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/professional_camcorders/xf305

My question to you all is: if I want to use my AF100 for this client and pass them off the SD cards, is there any smooth servo controlled zoom lens that has the equivalent of this range? These are not the types of field producers who would take kindly to the idea of lens changes, probably haven't seen a lens swap. If an interview subject leans in their chair and I need to zoom slow and smooth, I don't want to do it by hand and I don't like the little Varizooms, etc. I don't want to buy a camera for one client, besides you never know when a popular TV show gets cancelled so I'd like to adapt the 100.

Thanks,
 
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Simple answer: no. There is no 18x servo zoom that will cover an m43 sensor, and most definitely not one that would open to f/1.6. Just doesn't exist. You only get those types of lenses on tiny little sensors, not on great big sensors like the AF100.

You could maybe adapt a 2/3" ENG camera lens, with a doubler, and use a B-mount->m43 lens adapter, but for the cost of all that, you might as well just pick up an XF300 and guarantee yourself the ability to get the jobs.
 
Alternately, you could get an AC130A for a lot less, and have a camera that has more lens reach and a menu structure that's perfectly compatible with your AF100, so you'd know exactly how to work it and you'd have a matching two-camera setup at that point.
 
Thanks everyone. And Barry that's a good idea to stay within the Panny family for familiarity of menus. I looked at the spec sheet and couldn't find if it shoots in 4:2:2 which is one of the client's requirements.

Thanks,

Ned
 
This client has an odd set of requirements considering there are no cameras that shoot 4:2:2 to SD cards - wait, aside from the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera - and the XF### cams all shoot 4:2:2 to CF cards...

WAIT... just remembered the MicroP2 card adapter MIGHT allow the HPX250 to shoot to SDXC cards, but I know it nerfs SD card recording in some way...
 
nedcam said:
Thanks everyone. And Barry that's a good idea to stay within the Panny family for familiarity of menus. I looked at the spec sheet and couldn't find if it shoots in 4:2:2 which is one of the client's requirements.
Click to expand...
Ah... nope. You'd need an external recorder like the Nanoflash to get 4:2:2. That's not SD cards, it's compactflash. Mcbob's idea of the HPX250 might work, with a microp2 adapter and using SD cards... otherwise, just get the Canon and book the jobs...
 
Barry_Green said:
Simple answer: no. There is no 18x servo zoom that will cover an m43 sensor, and most definitely not one that would open to f/1.6. Just doesn't exist. You only get those types of lenses on tiny little sensors, not on great big sensors like the AF100.
Click to expand...
The XF305 has a crop factor of 7.1. The AF100 has a crop factor of 2.0. So to reproduce the same image created by an f1.6 lens on the XF305, you only need a 1.6 * (7.1/2.0) = f5.7 lens on the AF100, which is an easy constraint to satisfy. Shooting AF100 with a 14.5mm f5.7 lens would be optically equivalent to shooting the XF305 with a 4.1mm f1.6 lens; both would be optically equivalent to shooting with a 29mm f11.4 lens on a full frame camera. The hard part is getting the 18x servo zoom to fit the AF100. Matching the fstop is easy.
 
Razz16mm said:
The only reasonably practical ENG style servo zoom that would work is the Fuji Cabrio 19-90. It would be much cheaper to buy an XF305 however.

http://www.abelcine.com/store/Fujinon-ZK4.7X19-19-90mm-T2.9-Cabrio-Compact-Cinema-Zoom/

Or you could get a used B4 2/3" servo zoom an optical adapter. But it would still be cheaper to buy an XF305.

http://www.abelcine.com/store/HDx2-B4-PL-Mark-II-Optical-Adapter/
Click to expand...

I'm curious to know even if the optical adapter is used, how will the lens be powered? I don't see any power output on that adaptor. Pretty much all 2/3" cams have the lens input connector to power the servo zoom. You can still use it w/ out power by switching over to M mode. But that defeats the purpose of a servo zoom feature.

2nd issue is the MTF performance of 2/3" lens. They're pretty much designed for 2/3" sensor. Anything larger, I don't think it performs well. Probably can get away with MTF limitations by shooting at 2K or smaller. Hence, Fujinon Cabro 19-90 and 85-300 are currently the only two super expensive large sensor lenses to choose from. There's no lens hood on those. Got to use bulky mattebox and all sorts of accessories.
 
mcbob said:
This client has an odd set of requirements considering there are no cameras that shoot 4:2:2 to SD cards - wait, aside from the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera - and the XF### cams all shoot 4:2:2 to CF cards...

WAIT... just remembered the MicroP2 card adapter MIGHT allow the HPX250 to shoot to SDXC cards, but I know it nerfs SD card recording in some way...
Click to expand...

I recall Micro P2 allows SDXC cards for emergency situation, but up to only AVC-I 50 mode (4:2:0). AVC-I 100 (4:2:2) mode or higher has to be Panasonic's genuine Micro P2 cards.
 
You don't need a $350 cable nor a $5000 optical adapter. The power cable can be easily fabricated if you can solder and the mechanical adapters provide comparable optics compared to the Able Cine optical adapter. Buy a 18-20x 2/3" lens with doubler on ebay from $200 - $4000 depending on your preference (wider lenses are more expensive). Get a mechanical adapter for about $300 and make a cable for less than $50.

http://gearjones.com/2011/09/15/abel-cine-hdx2-vs-mtf-b4-to-micro-four-thirds/
 
Paul F said:
You don't need a $350 cable nor a $5000 optical adapter. The power cable can be easily fabricated if you can solder and the mechanical adapters provide comparable optics compared to the Able Cine optical adapter. Buy a 18-20x 2/3" lens with doubler on ebay from $200 - $4000 depending on your preference (wider lenses are more expensive). Get a mechanical adapter for about $300 and make a cable for less than $50.

http://gearjones.com/2011/09/15/abel-cine-hdx2-vs-mtf-b4-to-micro-four-thirds/
Click to expand...


Everything looks OK but when I read the article in greater depth: " On the other hand, internal lens doublers can sometimes be a bit lack luster. I’m sure many of you have experienced mushy, low contrast image that some internal doublers can produce. So beware"

This is definitely true even with the most expensive HD lens and on a native 2/3" body. I rarely use 2x or 2.2x unless absolutely necessary.
Two stops of light loss, conversion fr 2/3" RGB prism to single and other side effects are a concern. If absolute pristine image quality needed, I'll likely use the Fujinon Cabrio series over 2/3" lens.
 
I'm still trying to figure out what this prism adjustment is that AbleCine mentions. I can't see any difference in the Gearjones comparison and I've never seen a paper on the topic.
 
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