That little red light by the power dial is tiny. You have to kind of train yourself to look for it each time you put the camera away (or when you change the lens).

Hi Scott,
I'm from Italy, and finally I received my 3x wide lens and formatt fm-500 matte box.
It's a wonderful setup and I can confirm there's no vignette using 3x wide lens, matte box filming in 16:9!!!

Bye

Michele

Actually, the reason we see so few reports of using the XL2 with a matte box is because matte box manufacturers only just started producing camera plates/rods supports for the XL2.

At least this was the case for Chrosziel who only announced their XL2 rods support just last month and in fact I'm not even sure they're shipping yet (they are however, available now for order).

I can confirm, that the Chrosziel support rods and camera plate for the XL2 are available. I got mine about 2 weeks ago.

EDIT: I just had a look at the date of your post, Christopher, so I guess you are aware, that the Chrosziel stuff for the XL2 is availbale by now. I better read carefully before I post a reply!

I have used the Cavision mattebox with the 3X lens and was very happy. It did not vignette. I recently sold it on ebay and the buyer wrote back that he was very pleased (he was also using it on a 3X).

I also have a used 3X lens in mint condition I may sell if anyone is interested. We just dont use it that much, it was probably used a dozen times.

Greg,
I am interested in your 3x lens. How much are you asking?
Thanks,
Tony

I have noticed some threads on the 3X not maintaining focus after pulling back from telephoto (backfocus issue?) Some said they sent it back to Canon for calibration to the XL2. Didn't seem to be a problem on the XL1/s. Anyone know if they recently bought a 3X and have had issues? Possibly some new batches have been modified. This is an issue I can't deal with given my fast pace of shooting, so if anyone can chime in, it would be appreciated.

I recently shot a documentary and 80% of it was shot with the 3x. I didn't have any problems.

Jay

Ed,

I got my 3x a month ago and no problems. It is a great lens!

Kevin

No issues here either...



ash =o)

Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

I had problems with the 3x on mine. It was fine outdoors or when the lighting allowed for a f5.6 or so. But when in lower light settings at f1.8 to f3.2 I would zoom, set critical focus and zoom out. The image absolutely went soft and a minor tweak on the focus pulled it in. Textbook backfocus issue.

I was borrowing it so I could not send it off for calibration to see if that fixed it. Having said that I must say that the wide end of this lens, when properly focused (which was easy in good light) looked amazing. I'd love to try another one if someone will loan me theirs!

For those without issue.....did you buy it new from Canon since the XL2 was released or are these 3x units you are using old stock from xl1 days?

For those without issue.....did you buy it new from Canon since the XL2 was released or are these 3x units you are using old stock from xl1 days?
I bought my 3x when I bought my first XL1 years ago. So I guess that would be considered "old stock."

Jay

I bought my 3x when I bought my first XL1 years ago. So I guess that would be considered "old stock."

Jay

Jay,
It worked great immediately or did you have to send to Canon for a backfocus adjustment? Also....you have no issues even in low light with the iris wide open? That is where I saw the problem. I shot some stuff outside and that all came out great. But I was always at f5.6 and above so the backfocus issue didn't rear it's ugly head there.

I really thought the 3x was a great piece of glass and would love to use it again if I can straighten out this one problem that I "personally" saw.

mine works fine. i bought it way after the xl2 came out. the guy at the store said it was sent after the xl2 was distributed so i assume it was calliberated or something.

Jay,
It worked great immediately or did you have to send to Canon for a backfocus adjustment? Also....you have no issues even in low light with the iris wide open? That is where I saw the problem. I shot some stuff outside and that all came out great. But I was always at f5.6 and above so the backfocus issue didn't rear it's ugly head there.

I really thought the 3x was a great piece of glass and would love to use it again if I can straighten out this one problem that I "personally" saw.
No, It's never seen Canon since the day it left. I've had no issues in low light. The doc I referred to was shot in low light (usually with the auto gain).

Jay

It happened a few weeks ago and i still have not figured out what the problem was. I was shooting with the wide angle lens fine one day, then two days later I was on another shoot and it would not respond! I had no focus, zoom, or iris control at all with the lens. I am located in canada and the quickest that Canon said they could have it repaired is 4 weeks! I can't afford to send it away that long because i have shoots every week. Has ANYONE found this problem or heard of it!? I wish i was in the states so i could take advantage of the XL2 users club, we don't have that in Canada and it really really sucks right now...

Never had it happen but sounds like repair is the only option... maybe find an adapter to tide you over...



ash =o)

If you haven't already, remove the lens and take a look at the gold contact pins in the mount. There's a slight chance that you have a bad contact due to dirt or a small foreign object. The fact that you've lost all functions suggests that it's either the power contact or the ground contact. If they all look okay, not much else you can do except send it in for repair.

Happened to me 1 month after I got my 3X

Did you accidentally remove it with the camera turned on? You blew the lens's main fuse.

Should be covered under warrenty.

i don't beleive i blew the cameras main fuse, cuz it works fine with my 16x manual lens and a borrowed 3x wide i tried out last weekend. The contacts look to be clean...i guess i'll have to try and send it in on it's own, cuz i can not afford to send the whole camera in to be repaired.

Not the cameras fuse, but the lenses. I don't know anything about the fuses on the lens, just repeating and clarifying what Mathew said

My 3x developed the same problem today. I was shooting outside, and all of a sudden there was no zoom. I switched to my 20x, and it worked fine. When I got home tonight, I tried again, and realized that the zoom ring itself didn't work either( or the focus ring).
I checked the gold contacts and they look ok. Maybe I have a blown fuse also. I'll call Canon tommorrow.
Bruce S. Yarock

I've just got my 3X zoom back from repair after it threw it's hand in on the 16th July displaying all those faults mentioned eg no zoom, or focus. That repair, by Videotech near Manchester, took about two weeks, the lens being received back on the 28th. I was told a circuit board had failed. I didn't expect it to be turned round as quick as that.This was done under warranty. I'm very surprised to see so many of these lenses developing faults. On that day I was videoing at a motor race track up here in Scotland and had been swapping between the 20X and 3X but I can't remember if I changed lenses without powering down the XL2. I got the 3X lens at the beginning of the year from Warehouse Express after a lengthy wait which I assume was them waiting on new stock coming from Japan.
I'm going to get back in touch with Videotech tomorrow and see if they can give me a more detailed failure report.

I brought mine to an authorized Canon repair facility in North Miami called "southern Photo". Very nice people, but had to leave it so they could diagnose the problem. I'll call them monday and mention the circuit board issue...Thanks Duncan.
Hopefully I'll have it back soon.
Bruce Yarock

Update...
Southern Photo just told me that the 3x has to go back to Canon. Apparantly they've been having some problems with a bad batch...
Bruce S. Yarock

Duncan and Bruce,

Any chance your serial numbers are sequential? Might be interesting to note where the 'bad batch' lies.

Just off the phone to Videotech. They had to replace the main PCB, which Canon UK supplied to them very quickly! Could it be that there is an known fault with a batch of these boards. This lens serial number is:0200228A.
I'd like to know why it failed and was it caused by changing the lens with the XL2 powered up??
Regards
Duncan Ross

Changing the lens with the power up can fry the camera fuse and/or the lens fuse. Always power down before changing lenses. ALSO NOTE. If you 'mis thread the lens'... you can damage the CCD block assembly, which is an expensive repair. Always 'match the red dots'.

Richard,
I'll post the serial # as soon as I find where I filed away the receipt....
Bruce yarock

I had the same problem with my XL1s recently using the standard 16X lens, I got the " check lens" message in the viewfinder, I could only zoom out but not in, auto focus had quit and auto iris stopped working. I loosened the lens and quickly retightened but this did not fix the problem. This problem occured before I loosened the lens so therefore was not caused by me.
The camera was sent back to Jessops who quoted me a minimum charge of £435 for repair. Luckily the camcorder is only 10 months old and has now been sent back to Canon for repair under warranty.
I know that it states in the instruction book that you should not remove the lens with the camcorder powered up, could this be a design fault on the part of Canon, the message in the viewfinder does not say " Power off camera and check lens".
If you notice the lens contacts have been "stepped" 2 of them are on a different level from the others, this looks to me as if Canon have designed the contacts so you can't accidently short the power contacts and cause this type of problem.
In short, I think this is a generic problem with the electronics in the Canon lenses and not caused by operator error, much like the " remove Tape" error with the XM2/GL2 camcorders.

I spoke to a " Stills" cameraman who works for our local newspaper, he uses a Canon with lenses that are compatable with the XL1 & XL2 camcorders with the same configuration of contacts, he changes lenses regularly without switching off his camera and has had no propblems.

he changes lenses regularly without switching off his camera and has had no propblems.Regardless, the owner's manual recommends against this practice, therefore DV Info Net recommends against it as well.

Hello folks ,
i`m intersted to buy a canon 3x wide lens , and i would be greatful if someone show me where i can find a clips shot with this lens on the web.
thanxx.

See these pages:

http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article10.php

and:

http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/articles/article38.php

Those are still images, not video clips, but they give you an idea of the 3x field of view.

The 3X lens is a quantum leap up from any adapter. I highly recommend it...



ash =o)

thanx Chris and Ash :)

my 3x wideangle lens suddently stopped working. I can´t zoom ind and out and the manual focus doesn´t work either. It seems as there are no contact to the camera. The original 20x zoom works OK.
Can anybody tell me what to do?
Thank You.
Per

Prolly a blown fuse, have to have it serviced... this can happen randomly but is usually do to removing or placing the lens while the camera is on.



ash =o)

Thank You for a fast answer.
My lens is sent to the servicecenter.
Per

I'm planning on purchasing the Canon 3x lens. BUT, the main reason I'm doing so is to allow me to film someone in front of a greenscreen. I need to be able to film the person in front of the greenscreen from head to toe with a little bit of space for walking two to three paces in any direction.

My reason for wanting to buy the 3x is to reduce the amount of space that I need to have from the front of the camera to the person. Right now with my 20x stock lens, it's exactly 13 feet.

Could anyone tell me from your experience with the 3x lens what distance the above could be reduced to?

I'd hate to buy the $1,200 lens and it not accomplish my goal.

I own the Canon 3x wide lens, but I don't have an answer for your question right now; I'll try to have one later, though. Thus far, the Canon 3x wide lens has done everything I've wanted it to. It really has provided me some beautiful wide angle shots. It also does a great job reducing shake, compared to the 20x opitcal zoom lens. But I highly doubt you'll regret paying the cost, it's well worth it.

Thanks Douglas,

I appreciate the offer. I have not had any luck with finding a place that rents the Canon 3x. Otherwise, I'd be happy to just rent one for the day to try it out.

The distance from my XL2 to the area where I'd like to put/build the greenscreen is 13ft. But with the 13ft, I have no room to step forward at all, let alone two to three paces forward.

I'm sure you are right though about not regretting the purchase, even if it does not work. I'm sure it's a great lens!

Easily done. The 20x lens has a minimum focal length of 5.4 mm and the 3X 3.4 mm. Thus the same size image obtained at 15 feet with the 20X will be gotten at 15 x 3.4/5.4 = 9.44 feet.

Thanks A.J. -

Using the formula you provided above, 13 feet would be slightly over 8 feet. That's good news for my project... bad news for my checking account.

[I had originally posted 15 feet in my question, but was able to measure it later for the true number of 13 feet]

Hello, my name is Jeff McElroy, and I am an aspiring entrepreneurial indi filmmaker / high school senior.

I just got my XL2 kit a few weeks ago and I am the happiest kid in the county.
I am in a bit of a spot however; I am financially dependent on my parents… and beggars can’t be choosers, if you know what I mean. I made it clear before the purchase that the accessories were going to cost about 1/3 of what we spent on the camera itself. With that harsh reality noted, I need to be highly specified in what I need, as not to spend money on unnecessary products.

Never passing up the chance for capturing antiquity, I have already gone and done three stupid things with my baby:

a) I filmed Hurricane Wilma out of an open 2nd story window…

b) I was knocked into by a 300 pound football player while filming a game on the sidelines, and finally…

c) I agreed to a documentation job that just so happens to be set in my worst nightmare:
a dusty, greasy, smoke-filled hazy car garage.


In this third little project, I quickly discovered that my 20x lens fails miserably with tight interior shots. The car is completed around Christmas, and I am documenting conceptualization, construction, and the capabilities of the finished product. Kind of like those awful biker building shows on Discovery HD (American chopper, etc), only this wont suck.

To get to the point… I need to get a wide lens.
I am debating weather or not to achieve these kinds of shots via an EF adapter and suitable lens, in lieu of the big 3x one that screws straight into the body (which I cant afford right now).

Would that be cheaper than simply buying the 3x, or even an adequate substitute? I don’t want any fisheye or distorting effect* or anything like that.
*I am aware of the given focal length distortion, but am not sure if it will screw up what I am trying to do here.

I absolutely need to find a solution before this Christmas, as I will then be shooting interior shots of the very small vehicle.
I have no intention shooting anything with a telephoto lens, so I don’t know how practical it would be for my purposes to invest in the EF route. If this is not a good idea anyway, are there any other solutions to this problem of not being able to get wide shots?

I am sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am sorta’ young and I need help.
Understand that I am kind of limited due to my young age, disheveled priorities, and available resources, but my spirit is certainly very willing to accomplish great things cinematically!

Hi Jeff. Rest assured, you are not the first to feel the need for a wider lens on the XL2!

You basically have 2 choices, the 3X Canon lens or a wide angle converter. The EF adaptor doesn't work for you because all EF lenses become mega telephoto when fitted to the XL2 (due to the sensor size being so much smaller than a 35mm film image).

If you can live without the 20X zoom range, your best option is the 3X lens. From the way you describe the project, this sounds like the way to go.

Alternatives are the 0.7X and 0.6X converters from Century Optics. These allow you to retain more zoom range than the 3X lens (the 0.6X is not zoom-through however) but reduce image quality a bit and add a lot of weight to a camera that is already front heavy (no big deal if you are using a tripod though).

Richard

I prefer by a large margin, the 3X. However, if you are in a situation where you cant switch lenses often, you can check out the CPO stuff. I dont like the .7x as much but it is zoom thru...



ash =o)

Ive seen mention of this here before, but never saw any replies. I'm curious if any has experimented with putting one of the wide angle adapters onto the 3x lens to see see just how wide it would go?

I've got a Century Optics .6x adapter that works very well for me. There is a bit of distortion at the outer edges but it's not very noticable. I made the decision to go with the adapter over the 3x lens for two reasons: The price (of course) and because, under the conditions I usually work in, it's a little more convenient than swaping lenses.

Jeff, go with the Canon 3x. It is a fantastic lens. And, it is 72mm like the 20x so you can swap filters. I used it to video a small ships engine room. Excellant results. Bob

So often I had the same question, months and months, but I can never find freakin image comparisons....So now that I have the 3x, I will help you out..I posted two images, both shot in the exact same spot and situation (low light, in my studio, just fluorescent lights, in other words, nasty lighting). Both shot in 24fps, 16:9 and manually focused on the chair.

The 20x: http://www.designgraphik.com/mike/z/24p_20x.jpg
The 3x: http://www.designgraphik.com/mike/z/24p_3x.jpg

These are straight exports after capture from Premiere. I have yet to get super sharp shots with 3x. But from reading everyone else's posts about the 3x and with it being wide, you wont get that. But on my Canon SLR with the 10-22 lens, its still fairly close in comparison to my regular 18-55 lens....so who knows. If anyone sees this 3x shot and thinks its way "unsharp', please let me know so I can hit up Canon. If it looks normal, then I guess that's the best we gonna get with it!

I just ordered a used .6x Century on ebay recently too. Im going to test putting this on the 3x lens to just see how wide I can get the xl2 to go without insane distortion. Centurys site mentions the .6x on the 3x will make it a 15mm (in 35mm terms). Thats wider than my SLR 10-22 lens (about 16mm in 35mm), which shoots super awesome wide shots: http://www.designgraphik.com/imagex/11102005.jpg (SLR SHOT).

Hope this helps, and ill post some examples of 3x with .6x when it arrives and if it works!