Will someone please make a lens turret for the AF100?

G

grimrebes

Well-known member
I love using my nikon and c/y primes on my AF100. The other night I was on a shoot that would not have been possible for the low light level of this very private upper east side social gathering. But switching the lenses fast was a challenge.

And then, the next morning, I had a director in my edit suite talking about using Vilmos Zsigmond's Aaton which had a lens turret on it, and he said it was a marvel to use during magic hour.

So there it is. Any thoughts?
 
grimrebes said:
I love using my nikon and c/y primes on my AF100. The other night I was on a shoot that would not have been possible for the low light level of this very private upper east side social gathering. But switching the lenses fast was a challenge.

And then, the next morning, I had a director in my edit suite talking about using Vilmos Zsigmond's Aaton which had a lens turret on it, and he said it was a marvel to use during magic hour.

So there it is. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I have some ideas, maybe I could mock something up in CAD?

Are you looking to use micro four thirds lenses or nikons?
 
It certainly can be done.

But the first one will be expensive. Contact me if you want to discuss in detail.
 
That'd be sooo cool...

I miss the clunk and snap in to place of turret cameras. Makes me happy just to think about it.
 
Er... well, that's interesting... I doubt it could be done easily for m43 lenses, but the longer flange focal distance of a Nikon or Canon or PL (or other similar deep-flange lens) could mean that such a thing might actually be possible.

I should point out though that while turrets were popular back in the '20's through, oh, when did we give up on turrets, the '60's? 70's? They haven't been really used on movie cameras for quite a while. I've had many turret cameras (including a 35mm Konvas, a 35mm Eyemo, a Super16mm Filmo, several Beaulieus, -- wait, was the R16 a turret? Not sure now, think it was) and there have been lots of bolexes and even the original Arri IIC was turret, but ... modern turret cameras aren't common. And by saying that, I think there aren't any, but I might be wrong.

That would be kind of cool and retro though, and I wouldn't mind having three primes all loaded up and ready to go by swinging the turret... and it's probably even a bit more practical on an AF100 because the sensor is sealed, as opposed to the exposed gate on a film camera.
 
Well the micro 4/3rd wouldn't work on a turret. Not one designed by anyone other than panasonic. Their lenses need both proper distance from the image plain, which is literally flush with the existing mount, and the electronic contacts would be a pain. I'd bet it'd be too cost prohibitive.

I'm looking to use my nikon and c/y zeisses. If I had to pick one, I'd rather go with the c/y mount, but I am sure there is a way to create an interchangeable intermediate mount on it.

I'd love to see what you could put together, CAD or otherwise. I'm sure others here would be equally interested.

I will say you should factor in the mount attaching to where the top handle attaches (my personal preference), or to a set of rods, since the weights of three lenses will be too much for the existing mount to hold.
 
My logic is this, if you can't have a big ass zoom faster than a 2.8 without breaking the bank and your back with the weight, there is no harm in having a 3 or 4 lens touret for exactly the same reason.

I have a 10-20 Sigma nikon mount, a 50mm c/y zeiss, an 85 c/y zeiss, and some other mid range zooms floating around. It won't be pretty, but it'd sure do the job. Any if the camera is locked off, you could change any other lens (provided you have steady, careful hands) without losing the shot.

I'm sure it'll look bizarre, but frankly, that's fine by me.
 
I'm actually morbidly interested in this idea... I mean, working with primes is... well, it's rather "primetive" (heh). There's a reason zooms became the ubiquitous standard on Super 8 and video cameras, because working with primes is a tad tedious. So having three on at once, heck... I'm thinking I kinda like this idea.

I'll take mine in Nikon mount, please...
 
Well Barry, I'm feeling pretty accomplished to have brought an idea forth that peaks your interest.

Not that I could build one... If only my father still had his machine shop in his garage...

I shoot lots of documentary style material. Rarely is it documentary on an academic level, but in the utility of shooting a non-repeatable event, the end product becomes irrelevant. I love using fast primes, and would rather fancy the ability to work in low, low light conditions with 3 or 4 ranges of primes to work with. Or two primes and a mid range zoom. ::drool::
 
grimrebes said:
I love using my nikon and c/y primes on my AF100. The other night I was on a shoot that would not have been possible for the low light level of this very private upper east side social gathering. But switching the lenses fast was a challenge.

And then, the next morning, I had a director in my edit suite talking about using Vilmos Zsigmond's Aaton which had a lens turret on it, and he said it was a marvel to use during magic hour.

So there it is. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Ahh yes, reminds me of the good old days back in film school.

Barry_Green said:
I'll take mine in Nikon mount, please...
Click to expand...

+1
 
The Beaulieu R16 nominally had a turret, but in the most commonly seen configuration, it only had one actual lens mount installed on it, and was locked down. That was probably necessary to handle the heavy Angenieux 12-120mm that was almost ubiquitous on that camera. I'm not sure I actually ever handled one with a legitimate three-lens turret, although I know they were made. But I fondly remember the Bolexes and B&H Filmos I used. Not so good were the big tube-era RCA B&W TV cameras we had in our college studio -- there was a four (or was it five, even?) lens turret operated by a big handle at the rear of the camera. It was pretty much impossible to change lenses without emitting a giant "kerchunk" that would echo throughout the studio and into the mics on the set.

- Greg
 
This is a silly comment, but contains some truth.. In the olden times, before there were any good zooms available, cameras had turrets so you could switch focal lengths quickly - even my first Eclair NPR had a 2 lens turret, and all Arri's did. A turret with three relatively small, fast primes could be an interesting compromise.. I don't think Panasonic, Sony or Canon are likely to jump on that one though.
Click to expand...

I posted that in November. As I said then, zooms marked the demise of the turret, especially in 16mm. Also, anyone who used an Arri back then (even 35mm) knows that it was designed to be handheld. The mirror housing formed a grip and the lenses had butterfly wings on them so you could easily follow-focus with your fingers. It's a 50 year old design that would work with the "primes" fetish now. Heavy though - the current lenses aren't as light as those old Schnieders.
 
My first guess at the design would be that its attached at the top handles spot? Im thinking that instead of a rod support design as personal preference but either way I am interested in seeing if this can be done as well.
 
Last edited:
My first guess at the design would be that its attached at the top handles spot? Im thinking that instead of a rod support design as personal preference but either way I am interested in seeing if this can be done as well.
Click to expand...

If you study the designs of the turrets used by large cameras, like the Arruflex, you'll see that the turret is conical. That design allows the use of wide angle lenses - the other 2 lenses point away at an angle so as to not interfere with the angle of view of the wide without making the turret itself too large. For instance, on the Bolex, which had a flat turret, you had to pull long lenses in order to use a 10mm. I think it would be very difficult to reverse-engineer a conical turret on the AF - the weight would be prohibitive, and it would probably necessitate cutting away the starboard side of the camera to keep the optical center of the shooting lens close enough.

Realistically, it is a job for Panasonic, and there isn't much in it for them.
 
Mac said:
If you study the designs of the turrets used by large cameras, like the Arruflex, you'll see that the turret is conical. That design allows the use of wide angle lenses - the other 2 lenses point away at an angle so as to not interfere with the angle of view of the wide without making the turret itself too large. For instance, on the Bolex, which had a flat turret, you had to pull long lenses in order to use a 10mm. I think it would be very difficult to reverse-engineer a conical turret on the AF - the weight would be prohibitive, and it would probably necessitate cutting away the starboard side of the camera to keep the optical center of the shooting lens close enough.

Realistically, it is a job for Panasonic, and there isn't much in it for them.
Click to expand...

I picked up a turret based 8mm today at the local camera shop to study the design. I have some Nikon Primes (50mm, 85 and a 35) Im going to study a bit further. Ill post any progress here.
 
For years I dragged around an Eclair NPR which had a two lens turret. It was quite handy to have a wide (5.9 Angenieux or high speed Zeiss) for quick use. I would love to see a sliding (left to right) turret for the AF 100. Ideally, it would take Nikon, Leica M or R lenses, and Zeiss PL mount or even an Uber Birger Mount that would take two Canon EF primes. For interview situations, it would be quite nice to be go from a 20mm to a 50mm or 85mm quickly (between questions). Price?....for a quality machined piece...I would go one or two K.
 
Very interesting idea. Would be good if it worked - Im with Barry, load up three primes and click - click - click.
 
Turrets..60 year old solution ...not for me.

I cant see any advantage at all to mounting three fixed primes to a modern camera ... so I am for using superb variable primes. ( Thats why they were invented)

I have had experience with turret cameras ( ARRIs in combat mode). Very clunky!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top