Shortest lens for XL2 at DVinfo.net

Krystian Dobak · August 18th, 2008, 10:24 AM

Hi everyone!
What's the shortest lens I can attach to XL2's body.
I want to buy Letus35 but with 20x lens my canon looks like a real cannon.
I want to keep the camcorder as short as possible.

Gabriel Berube · September 5th, 2008, 02:01 PM

Hey Kristian,

I haven't tried any of them, but seeing how much I've gotta zoom the Brevis MP.1 on my XL2 to focus on the ground glass without seeing any borders (about halfway through the 20X stock lens zoom range), I don't think putting shorter wide angle lenses like the Canon 3x XL or 6x XL HD is gonna work.

You could always try to find a used LetusXL if you can get over the huge light loss (more than the announced 1.5 f/stop if you ask me!), but IMHO it ain't worth it given the XL2's low-light sensivity isn't the greatest. I used to own one but couldn't use it much indoors without lots of compromises over lighting. Outdoors was a charm though, didn't need as much ND filters as with other rigs.

All in all, I prefered a somewhat cumbersome rig that didn't loose too much light to the huge light-loss the LetusXL offered. Don't let the "bazooka" look fool you, it ain't that bad :-)

Hope this helps!

Marco Leavitt · September 6th, 2008, 09:12 AM

I don't think the XL2 is such a great candidate for those adapters -- as you note, it's way long to begin with and when you put those contraptions in the front it's ridiculously long. Best bet is an adapter that does away with the stock lens altogether -- ç=http://www.pstechnik.de/en/digitalfilm-mini35-compact.php

August 18th, 2008, 10:24 AM	#1
Krystian Dobak New Boot Join Date: May 2008 Location: Swindon UK Posts: 11	Shortest lens for XL2 Hi everyone! What's the shortest lens I can attach to XL2's body. I want to buy Letus35 but with 20x lens my canon looks like a real cannon. I want to keep the camcorder as short as possible.

September 5th, 2008, 02:01 PM	#2
Gabriel Berube Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Lévis, QC, Canada Posts: 53	Hey Kristian, I haven't tried any of them, but seeing how much I've gotta zoom the Brevis MP.1 on my XL2 to focus on the ground glass without seeing any borders (about halfway through the 20X stock lens zoom range), I don't think putting shorter wide angle lenses like the Canon 3x XL or 6x XL HD is gonna work. You could always try to find a used LetusXL if you can get over the huge light loss (more than the announced 1.5 f/stop if you ask me!), but IMHO it ain't worth it given the XL2's low-light sensivity isn't the greatest. I used to own one but couldn't use it much indoors without lots of compromises over lighting. Outdoors was a charm though, didn't need as much ND filters as with other rigs. All in all, I prefered a somewhat cumbersome rig that didn't loose too much light to the huge light-loss the LetusXL offered. Don't let the "bazooka" look fool you, it ain't that bad :-) Hope this helps! __________________ Gabe Fotonik Studios

September 6th, 2008, 09:12 AM	#3
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I don't think the XL2 is such a great candidate for those adapters -- as you note, it's way long to begin with and when you put those contraptions in the front it's ridiculously long. Best bet is an adapter that does away with the stock lens altogether -- ç=http://www.pstechnik.de/en/digitalfilm-mini35-compact.php