I bought a XF100 as soon as they were released and have been experimenting with it out in the wild. At first I thought I would be hampered by the relatively short zoom but having seen a friend getting outstanding bird video on a small Sony camera coupled to a Canon EF lens, I decided to give it a go.

Yes it is possible to get great video but it takes a little playing around, I am not able to use the full zoom on the XF100 but who cares, I am after really telephoto shots.

My set up uses a Canon EF 400mm f5.6 lens (relatively cheap and light) and it is coupled to the camera using a DMF Showtime Adaptor. One of the great features of the XF100 is the pre-record function, just hit the record button when the action starts and you have the previous 3 sec of video.

The most important thing is being able to flip both the horizontal and vertical scans, so it makes it very easy to use the adaptor. Currently I am using the cameras 1.5x extender to get rid of the vignetting but I think if I move to a faster lens, maybe 300mm f4 it will solve the problem.

The adaptor comes in 2 models, one for Canon and one for Nikon lenses

Here is one example. Little Grebe fanning eggs - Canon XF100 & DMF Showtime adaptor on Vimeo

Hi Bob,
looks very good.

On what distance you are from this scene?
Can you post a picture of your whole camera with this added equipment?

regards,
Wil

Hi

I'm also interrested in pictures of your setup. I'm going to get a new camcorder sometime in the future but don't know what kind of camera it will be as there are so many parameters to take into consideration. Weight/size is one of the parameters, and if a XF100 with some kind of tele adaptor will fix the limited zoom range of the camcorder this will be an interresting option.

Where can I find more info about the DMF Showtime Adaptor? Cost? Where to buy it?


Regards,

/Bo

You can see the complete setup here Canon XF100 + 400mm setup IMG_4387 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingbar/5976579503/in/photostream)

There is also an email for further info on the adaptor on the flickr page. It is made in Taiwan and unfortunately his website is all in Chinese but try googling "DMF Showtime", the contact is Frank Wu.

I have posted further short videos here Canon XF100 + Canon EF 400mm f5.6 lens + DMF Showtime adaptor on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/channels/226606#27393257)

The setup is very light but I am considering getting a Canon 300mm f4 lens to use in place of the 400mm as I believe (hope) it will eliminate some of the vignetting I have been getting.

The adaptor comes with a red dot sight but unfortunately it is difficult to see as the cameras mic blocks part of the vision, it will easily be fixed by raising the sight.

This girl http://www.youtube.com/user/hikasiaorg has a lot of bird videos using the adaptor with a small Sony 550 (?) camcorder but the image is reversed. It will give you an idea of the quality of the adaptor

Hi again

Sorry if I bother you with stupid questions, but is the DMF adaptor just a tool to mount the Canon EF lens in front of the camcorders lens, or is it a type of DOF (depth of field) adaptor that projects the image on a ground glass?


Regards,

/Bo

Bo,

There is no ground glass, it is a metal tube with a lens - thats all

Bob

This is Frank Wu's youtube site

http://www.youtube.com/user/dmffrank

Hi

Okidoki, sounds pretty simple!


Regards,

/Bo

OK, I'm sold! Where can I buy a DMF Showtime adaptor? I did some Googling & it appears to have been around for 2-3 years but I cannot find a price or where to buy one.

You can contact Frank Wu for details

wu frank <dmfservice@gmail.com>

These are some of my latest clips shot on a Canon XF100, focal length aprox 3000mm

Little Grebe with chicks 20th August 2011 on Vimeo

Thanks Bob.

Fascinating piece if kit. Where is this kit in Europe?

I found this, which may be of interest. Do read both pages of this 2008 blog.

http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?15679-Showtime-35mm-Adapter&

Grazie

Grazie,

Thanks for the link to that blog, it was fun reading those crazy entries.

As far as I know the kit is only available direct from Frank Wu. I had fantastic service, paid on Paypal and had it Fedex to Hong Kong within 24 hours.

Personally I don't mind the comments on the blog as it means that only a few of us worldwide are able to obtain these results.

There is absolutely no other way I could have obtained the shots of the Little Grebe without this adaptor.

Bob