XL2 and EF Lens Adapter / EF Lenses / EOS Lens

[Alan Craven]

Thanks Ron, for confirming what I expected about the Canon 35mm lenses.

I am still puzzled about the differing focal lengths quoted for 4:3 and 16:9 with the same lens.

My knowledge of optics (remembered from a first year university course nearly 50 years ago!) suggests these figures must be based on the horizontal field of view. My memory says that the actual size of the image of a given object at a given distance is independent of the format - it depends only on the focal length of the lens, as the angle of view is the same for all formats.

[Meryem Ersoz]

alan, for wildlife filming, you actually *don't* want autoexposure with these big lenses. one of the reasons to use these lenses, besides the obvious advantage of their long reach, is the fantastic shallow depth of field you can achieve with the manual focus. you want to be able to get razor sharp focus on the animal and let the background be what it will without autofocus hunting or flattening the image. the shallow DOF is very dramatic, and the manual focus is very easy to use on these lenses. you never have to argue with the servo. try it, you'll love it. making this move is expensive, though. you need to buy the adapter, the lens, and possibly a more heavy-duty tripod mount. plus a way to transport all of it, for hiking or overseas travel or whatever. it's a big investment. the lens itself is just the beginning......

[Jeff Miller]

I'm pondering the purchase of a Canon still camera and am trying to plan way ahead to the possibility of using it's lenses on my XL2. Does anyone use (or at least have more info then the canon website) the EOS lens adapter?

What I'm basically wondering is stuff like:
Will it run EF and EF-S lenses?
If you put an EF on there does it add to the focal length multiplier inherent of the adapter? How about the EF-S?
Any experiences, good or bad?
This is silly, but on BH it shows a battery next to it. Does the adapter require power?

Thanks, video people! :}

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Jeff Miller

Does anyone use (or at least have more info then the canon website) the EOS lens adapter?

Jeff, you're looking at the world's largest online XL2 user community. This place is filled with discussions about the EF Adapter. Just roll your sleeves up and dig in. All those threads are right here at your fingertips.

Will it run EF and EF-S lenses?

EF, yes. EF-S, no, as those lenses will fit only the Canon Digital SLR still photo cameras.

If you put an EF on there does it add to the focal length multiplier inherent of the adapter? How about the EF-S?

The focal length is not multiplied; but the resulting field of view is magnified by a factor of 7.8 times when shooting in widescreen 16:9 and 9.6 times when shooting in 4:3. And yes that's with then lens attached. No difference between EF and EF-S except of course that EF-S lenses are not compatible with the EF adapter.

See http://www.dvinfo.net/canonxl2/articles/article04.php

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

Hope this helps,

[Jeff Miller]

Thanks for all the info Chris! This will certainly keep me busy
PS I did search before asking, I guess I didn't look hard enough :}

[Ron Armstrong]

Check my website for different lenses on the XL1. All these lenses will work with th XL2 also.

[Meryem Ersoz]

jeff, do a search under "wildlife" to find the best info on EF/EOS lenses (there are several threads) for use with the XL2.

i researched this long and hard before i purchased the canon EF 70-200mm 2.8. i have to respectfully disagree with chris. it is actually *not* easy to cull this information from the dvinfo site. it's there, but it is kind of difficult to find, and there is no single, sustained conversation about using EF lenses with the XL2. you have to piece it together yourself. also, check out www.fredmiranda.com because they do extensive reviewing of EF lenses for dSLRs, including the "L" series EF lenses. (also the best place to pick up used EF lenses and Canon still cameras for cheap.)

it is well worth it, though, if you can afford a long lens. the nature/wildlife/outdoor footage you can get with the XL2/long lens combo is fabulous.

ahem, a wildlife forum would be the logical place to have such a sustained discussion!

[Chris Hurd]

I really appreciate your feedback, Meryem... perhaps now is the time to begin a Special Interest area dedicated to wildlife videography?

[Meryem Ersoz]

woo-hoo! excellent!

and if there is anything i can do personally to help you to get a wildlife forum started...

...just e-mail jeff sayre! heh!

no, kidding aside...i know the boys in the "wildlife videographers" thread who have been lobbying for a special interest forum will be thrilled to hear you're considering it. there are definitely people making money with their cams in this niche, and i think it will be happily received. thanks!

[Brendan Marnell]

By its very nature and location, both of which are extremely varied and often far from controlled conditions, wildlife videography is begging for frank and open discussion. Please let it happen Chris.

There's an infant DV industry out there waiting for a thousand video entrepreneurs.

[Steve McDonald]

A wildlife video forum would definitely be the fastest-growing one on the website. Every professional monkey-show video jockey would participate. You could expect to see links posted to some spectacular video clips.
Perhaps digital wildlife still-photography could be integrated into it, as many of us pack both kinds of equipment.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Steve McDonald

A wildlife video forum would definitely be the fastest-growing one on the website.

Done! See http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=111

This thread has been copied over to the new forum...

[Benjamin Heneberry]

ok, this may be a stupid question, but what the heck. i'm soon to purchase a canon XL2. i understand i can get it w/out the basic lens. would it make more sense (ie, be cheaper) to do it that way, get the adapter and put some EOS lenses on it? i was going to get the adapter anyway.

are there disadvantages to the EOS lenses? are the zooms better or worse? focusing problems? i'd like to play around a little with some super wide, "Gilliam-style" lenses, as well as slow shutter speeds, ala Christopher Doyle. with the adapter i can put every single EOS lens on it, right? or should i just not mess with it? am i asking too many questions?

[Doug Boze]

You'd save about $500, but to buy the 20x lens later would cost nearly three times as much. An XL-2 body only and EOS adapter together would save $80 off the price of a standard XL-2 setup. If you already have some EOS lenses, and have no intention of using any kind of wide-angle shot, that may work for you.

[Richard Hunter]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Heneberry

are there disadvantages to the EOS lenses? are the zooms better or worse? focusing problems? i'd like to play around a little with some super wide, "Gilliam-style" lenses, as well as slow shutter speeds, ala Christopher Doyle. with the adapter i can put every single EOS lens on it, right? or should i just not mess with it?

Hi Benjamin. There are several disadvantages to using the EOS lenses on the XL2, no motorised zooming for a start. And if you want wide angle, the multiplication factor (roughly 9 times) of the EOS adaptor will be the real killer though, every EOS lens will be telephoto on the XL2, even the wide angle ones. Chris Hurd has a page on the XL2 watchdog that explains all this in detail. I suggest you read it very soon and make sure you buy your XL2 with a good understanding of what the whole package is.

Richard