i am wanting to purchase the Varizoom remote pan/tilt system, but i need to remotely control the iris as well because these will be mounted on a wall. is this possible at all yet? is there some kind of manual motor for the 16x manual lens?

Sorry, no. The new Canon 16x manual lens does *not* include a geared ring for iris control (instead, iris is controlled on the camera body and there's no way to operate it remotely).

The former Canon 14x manual lens and the Optex-converted Fujinon 14x lenses do, however, feature geared iris rings. Contact VariZoom and ask for Tom McKay. He is developing a remote which will operate a geared iris ring on lenses so equipped. Hope this helps,

which do you think is the better lens, the canon or the optex? thanks for your help.

See the Guide to XL1 Lens Options on the Watchdog for the pros and cons of each lens. I have a Fuji-Optex for sale and you can still find the Canon 14x for around $900 or so.