6x wide lens for the h1 and the fu-1000

[Philipp Steiner]

Hi,

Question about the Wide Angle Lens for the Xl-H1..
Is the zoom Ring still coupled to a Servo or can i make very fast Zooms with it..ok its only 6X but still would be cool for some shots.. also.. how does the Iris Ring feel? Professional? I mean, does it do nearly seamingless adjustments.. not with noticeable increments like on my old H1, which looks rubbish if your adjusting it during one shot...

are there any other lenses for the H1 which are build for HD.. I am not getting the best reviews about using xl-1 and xl-2 lenses..what i really want is Iris, Zoom and Focus on the Lens managable through Rings..

Isnt Letus working on a relay lens for its 35mm adapter?

and about the Fu-1000.. There is one on Americas Ebay.. this one to be precise..

CANON FU-1000 BLACK & WHITE VIEWFINDER XL2 XL1 XL1S H1 - eBay (item 350176991645 end time Apr-10-09 11:12:29 PDT)

A mate of mine is now in Miami and could pick it up.. but i am using an european XL-H1, Pal Version... Can i still use this Viewfinder.. Shouldnt be a problem i think but its better to ask?

Maybe you could also suggest a good Video light?

and whats a good small color monitor.. which also works well in daylight..shouldnt be too expensive though..

thanks alot in Advance,

phil

[Jeff DePonte]

Philipp,

I recently put together an XL-H1 package with these components. The iris ring on the 6x is stepless, and you can make minute adjustments on-the-fly. And, there are all the other benefits of this fantastic lens: no barrel distortion, completely flat image, awesome coverage. The availability of this lens was a prime factor in my moving to the XL-H1.

And, so was the FU-1000 B&W viewfinder. I've been in the business for quite a while, and could never understand how my colleagues could work with color LCD viewfinders. You would benefit from this informative review of the FU-1000:

The Canon FU-1000 Monochrome CRT Viewfinder for the XL1 / XL1S by Ken Tanaka

So, I buy my H1, and, while I'm waiting for it, I bookmark an FU-1000 on eBay. The camera arrives, I turn it on, take one look through the viewfinder, go back to eBay, and I click the "Buy it Now" button to purchase the FU-1000. It is worth every penny.

Best of luck!

Jeff

[Per Johan Naesje]

Hi Philipp,
there's difference between the signal setup for the fu-1000 for PAL and NTSC camcorders! So if you buy a NTSC-type, you have to modify it before it will work in a PAL-H1 camcorder.
I know because I bought one from the B&H in the US. Here is a link how this can be done:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-xl1...y-pal-xl1.html - thread #9 gives you the explanation!

[Nick Hiltgen]

The zoom ring is coupled to the servo, you cannot do snap zooms with the 6x lens. Letus (apparently) gave up on the relay lens, I guess it became more profitable to sell to the HVX crowd. Currently there is no other "HD" lens for the cameras besides the stock and the wide. The Canon 6x Wide really is the only one you should use, the screw ons and other lenses don't begin to compare. As far as other Canon HD XL lenses I've heard that the 14x works well and the 16x kinda works on the tight end but neither is "officially" HD.

I use the Marshall 7" monitor which was great 3 years ago when I bought it but is now overpriced and underwhelming compared to others on the market.

The FU-1000 is really hand if you have a professional set up and need critical focus, it's probably around 2x as sharp but it ads weight and of course is in black and white. I do not believe that an NTSC version will work with a pal camera but I cannot say for certain one way or another.

The only video light everyone seems to love these days (in my area) is the Lite-panels light it's on the expensive side but is dimmable and I believe is native daylight so you don't need to get an HMI on board kit. It's also LED so the bulbs last forever and battery drain is minimal.

Also for the record you don't need the power adapter for the fu-1000 on the xl-h1 just plug it into the other port and it'll power up itself.

If you're interested in buying a 6x lens with little use, I picked one up for a gig and don't find myself using it much anymore, drop me an e-mail through the site. Also if you're interested in a marshall monitor, same thing. (and if it turns out you need an NTSC fu-1000 I've got one of those too...)

[Philipp Steiner]

Thanks very much guys..

This is all very helpful.. Because i am getting more and more Camera Jobs i really need to update my Equipment.. ( I am actually doing editing as my main job ) And Focus was always an Issue for me with the H1.. So the Fu - 1000 should come in Handy.. but i would never buy it knew.. I have to pay in Dollars 2.971 at my cheapest Reseller in Town ( thats vienna/austria ).. so i would try the trick in the link, converting ntsc to pal.. thanks again for the Tip..

ok..maybe there is no snap zooming... cant have everything... the manual Iris is much more important for me.. i dont want to buy a new camera because of the snap zooming..

and buying a new camera doesnt look to good in general ..because i dont think Canon will release a XL-H2 too soon.. there is of Course the HPX-300.. very interesting.. but i am shooting Car races all the Time.. and rolling shutter doesnt look to good.. so i am thinking about the wide lens with the fu - 1000 and strapping a xdr on to it.. mainly to go Tapeless but also to get the 4:2:2... i think with this setup i should survive for 2-3 Years..
Actually i am producing about 100 Percent for SD.. so i could even survive with an XL-2 ;)

@Nick
I will get back to you...per e-mail

[Nick Hiltgen]

I actually picked up the 6x lens again today, while "snap zoom" isn't technically possible, with the zervo you can get REALLY FAST zooms which are right on the border of having a near snap zoom.

[Dale Guthormsen]

Philipp,

I had the fu 1000 on my xl2 and it was marvolous improvement.

I moved it to my xlh1 and it does make focusing far better. You just have to get used to seeing black and white.

If you get it here are a couple suggestions:
Once you have it all set the way you like mark the dials so if anything gets bumped you can put it back right without calibrating again!!
Once you have plugged it into the lower port, take some electical tape and wrap it around the plug and handle so it does not get accidently nudged out a bit. This happened to me and cost me 412 dollars!!! It was out just so slightly and I pushed it back in while it was on and running fine.

the distant future may be hd however I think the xl2 makes better images under low light conditions where you have no control over the light. I am ever so glas i did not trade off my xl2!!

[Marco Leavitt]

Hey, does anybody have some tips on calibrating the FU-1000? I read the Tanaka directions, and it leaves a lot of room for ambiguity. I mean, he says to start by turning up the brightness knob until you can just see the grey field. Trouble is, it ramps up so smoothly that leaves a lot of leeway. In general, I'd say the image looks much darker in the viewfinder than it does after I capture the footage.

[Philipp Steiner]

thanks for the advice..

[Dale Guthormsen]

Marco,

Here is what I did:

Start adjusting according to the white paper tanaka wrote.

Hook the camera up to an hd TV.

Adjust white balance

set the camera on manual, hold the exp lock until you get the camera's optimum exposure ( or use a light meter to make the setting you like). Adjust the camera to get the image you like on the TV ( I set up some colorful ojects for a still life picture on the table,

Now adjust the contrast so that the B&W image looks like you think it should be (I had to turn contrast up).

Now as it it focused perfectly, increase the peaking so when it comes in as bright as you need to recognise the focus.

I now then practice bringing in the peaking in so it is in perfvect focus on the tv and I know exactly how it should look for optimum focus.

I also use the peaking one on as I personally can recognise it more easily that using just the fu 1000 peaking by itself.

then go out, practice on shots and then come back and see how you did!!!

Even just the resolution of the view finder is twice as good as the original!!


Oh yea, if you put to much peaking down it is actually pretty easy to soften the image.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Dale,
Do you leave the peaking on on the camera also?
Bruce Yarock
Yarock Video and Photo

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Dale,
I also forgot to ask...

"Adjust the camera to get the image you like on the TV"

What adjustment are you talking about?
thanks
Bruce Yarock

[Dale Guthormsen]

Bruce,

Jer Johan recomended leaving the camera white balance off.

At present I set it to peaking 1 and use it in combination as I can recognise it better.

Try it both ways and you decide what you prefer.




By setting it the way you like it I ment the following:


Adjust the basic settings and presets so that the color is the way you like it and the color image on the TV is awesome. I prefer mine to be a little richer than most people, technacolor like if possible.

then go to the fu 1000 that you had already adjusted acording to ken's adjustments and made the peaking the way you like it.

Now I turn up the contrast so that the black and white image is the amount of brightness you are comfortable with so you know when your image is looking the same you know your color will be right.

when you turn up the contrast you may need to turn down the peaking slightly.

you can make the peaking so that just as it comes on the image (check the TV) the image is perfectly focused!!!


So far this is the only way I know to get it dead accurate.

If you bump any of the three dials your then can't trust it to be right and must rely on resolution which is ok, definitely better than the original. that is why I recomend marking the dials!!!


Let me know how you make out.

[Bruce S. Yarock]

Thanks, dale. I'll fool with it and let you know.
bruce Yarock

[Philipp Steiner]

Hi there..

Now i have my Wide Angle which is fantastic.. I just shot a Stretchlimousine this week and have to say. I would have failed with the Stock lens.

And i also have the Fu-1000 now, which was very kindly handed over to me for a very good price by Nick Hiltgen. I made the alterations as shown in the above link. Thanks again for the advice and the device works great. Its just me having to adjust to Black and White. Which is more difficult than i thought it would be. I feel like beeing trapped in a small room. :). Alway worried about White Balance. Focusing on the other hand is great.

Well, whatever. I do have a question.
Is it possible to also connect the color VWF to the camera at the same time as the B+W VWF.. I like to build things and i can certainly adapt the stock VWF to use it aside the Fu-1000.. But i dont want to blow a fuse for just trying out.

So do you think its possible?

cheers