Mixing Lenses,Adapters And Cameras?

[Rabi Syid]

hi

this is my first post here. just wanna say hi. i am shooting a feature in december and it is still undecided what equipment i am going to use.

i know definatley i am getting a canon Xl2. i can afford one but would like 2. i could probably afford one P+S adapter also and an optex adapter. could i ,lets say if i got and xl1 and 2 and put different adapters on them. for the x1 the OpTex B4 to XL Optical Lens and for xl2 the P+S.

i can already hear people telling me no for this one as mixing 16.9 with 4.3(plan to convert it to 16.9) wouldn't go.

ok heres another one. what if i bought two xl2's and one P+S and Optex adapter. could this work. i mean i have a couple of big scenes that maybe i should just rent the stuff out for but. i want a second camera for the less requiring shoots(to save time) is there any way i could get away with buying an xl1 and and xl2 and mixing the footage. eg. for long ext. shots i 'll use the opetex adapter and upclose shots will use the P+S becuase it looks better.

one last thing. are there any cheap good 35mm lenses i can buy. i wanna sell this film so it has to look good in conjuction with either the P+S or the Optex. if not i'll have to rent each time and thats expensive.

thank you all.

[Barry Green]

The P+S is going to give a *very* different look than the Optex. You're not going to want to try to mix mini35 footage with anything else. The grain, the texture, the highlight flares, the overall effect of the mini35 will be very different.

The Optex B4 adapter will give you access to high-quality lenses, but without changing the character or flavor of the video. The mini35 changes both. So they won't intercut well.

Depending on the length of your shoot, you may be better off to just rent a mini35 for the second camera. And if you intend to intercut footage between them, you most definitely want to have two XL2's. I don't know how well an XL1 would intercut with an XL2, but I'm betting it won't work well at all.

[Rabi Syid]

is there a lense i could buy to go with the ones i will rent- say the cooke 4's.

thanks

[Barry Green]

You cannot share lenses between the Optex B4 and the mini35... they have different mounts that are not interchangeable.

If you get a couple of mini35 units (rented or bought or whatever) then obviously they can share the same lenses, regardless of what cameras they're mounted on. Just make sure you get the same mount for the mini35's... (mini35 units can be configured with Nikon, Canon, Contax, or PL mounts, and maybe more).

[Rabi Syid]

thanx

[Charles Papert]

I just took advantage of the "look" difference of DV with and without the Mini35 on a commercial last weekend. We shot the testimonial-style footage on dolly track with the Mini & DVX100a with lenses ranging from 35 to 135mm, then pulled off the adaptor and shot with two stock DVX setups handheld to get documentary-type footage. My sense is that it will "feel" like 35mm intercut with 16mm. Certainly the images have a different quality from what I saw on the monitor.

[Rob Lohman]

XL2 => $4500
mini35 => $10000

So that's around $15000 (or $20000 with two XL2's) which is
a pretty steep number. Are you really sure you want to invest
that kind of money? Have you ever used the mini35 before?

Personally I would rent at least the mini35 if I could.

[Holly Miller]

Not to mention his intent of purchasing 35mm motion picture lenses. $20,000+

[Dave Frank]

Don't listen to the naysayers! Buy the mini35!!!!

That is unless your film will be shot in like a week or two.

This is what I did. I got a XL-1s, a used mini35(300 series), Nikon mount, and a set of 4 Nikon primes. When I am done shooting(the film went a month over schedule), I will sell off the mini35, the mount and the lenses. In reality, I will probably be eating 1000 bucks(minus the money I made with shooting commercials with the mini35 on the side). Compare that to renting the rig for two weeks or so. It just is more economical this way. Now, if your shoot is short, or you must have Cooke/Arri cine lenses, than never-mind. But if not, consider buying. Especially if you can make some money with it.