Bad lense?

A. J. deLange · July 24th, 2006, 09:11 AM

Lauri,

The suggestion that we name it after your wall wasn't entirely serious but your comment got me thinking about the names of scientists whose work had some bearing on this problem/phenomenon: Newton (drew the first color wheel), Abbe (quantized the dispersive properties of glass which are responsible for CA), Airy (first Astronomer Royal after whom the form of an ideal lens's image of a point is named), Bessel (for the mathematical function which describes the Airy Pattern), Shannon (whose sampling theorem makes digital video possible), Seidel (who came up with a unified way of describing CA, spherical abberation, coma....) and lots more.

Steve Rosen · July 24th, 2006, 11:06 AM

There certainly has been a lively response to this concern about the "stock" lens.. some well informed, some bashing, some defensive...

When I first got my H1 last December I tested it with the 20x and the 16x and preferred the 16x primarily for handling reasons. As I wrote then, I found the 20x sluggish and unresponsive and particularly didn't/don't like the OIS. That was, and still is, my opinion.. I sold the 16x with my XL2, but have just ordered another one, again, primarily because of handling.

But, back to the 20x. The fact is that some really nice images have already been made with this lens (some by me, if I do say so myself).. Overall, I'm not as displeased about CA.. and I do believe that much of what is being attributed to the lens is endemic of HDV and 1/3" chips... So, where does that leave us?

In my case, shooting documentaries, mostely handheld, a small amount of CA, or whatever the hell it is, is not really noticeable at all.. For others, especially those who work w/ green screen or want to shoot pristine nature footage at the long end of the lens, it will be a problem..

I remember the American Cinematographer story over 35 years ago about the production of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - in shooting that film they deliberately chose lenses with chromatic abberations because they wanted the effect of shooting through hot desert atmosphere - and it's a "look" that has been immulated in many non-desert films since.. Pick the tool for the job.

I'm not excusing Canon for the 20x, I too wish there was another HD lens available for this excellent camera. I'm just saying that used in the right circumstances this little box is a pretty good deal for $9000.

Robert Sanders · July 24th, 2006, 04:10 PM

Here here, Steven.

Richard Hunter · July 24th, 2006, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. J. deLange

Lauri,

The suggestion that we name it after your wall wasn't entirely serious but your comment got me thinking about the names of scientists whose work had some bearing on this problem/phenomenon: Newton (drew the first color wheel), Abbe (quantized the dispersive properties of glass which are responsible for CA), Airy (first Astronomer Royal after whom the form of an ideal lens's image of a point is named), Bessel (for the mathematical function which describes the Airy Pattern), Shannon (whose sampling theorem makes digital video possible), Seidel (who came up with a unified way of describing CA, spherical abberation, coma....) and lots more.

and don't forget Murphy.

Chris Hurd · July 24th, 2006, 11:34 PM

Murphy is almighty, but don't forget Bayer's pattern and Nyquist's limit.

Here's how I knocked down a burning blue ring of fire with a simple custom preset:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72218

July 24th, 2006, 04:10 PM	#48
Robert Sanders Starway Pictures Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Studio City Posts: 581	Here here, Steven. __________________ http://www.starwaypictures.com http://starwaypictures.blogspot.com/

July 24th, 2006, 11:34 PM	#50
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Murphy is almighty, but don't forget Bayer's pattern and Nyquist's limit. Here's how I knocked down a burning blue ring of fire with a simple custom preset: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72218 __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

July 24th, 2006, 09:11 AM	#46
A. J. deLange Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: McLean, VA United States Posts: 749	Lauri, The suggestion that we name it after your wall wasn't entirely serious but your comment got me thinking about the names of scientists whose work had some bearing on this problem/phenomenon: Newton (drew the first color wheel), Abbe (quantized the dispersive properties of glass which are responsible for CA), Airy (first Astronomer Royal after whom the form of an ideal lens's image of a point is named), Bessel (for the mathematical function which describes the Airy Pattern), Shannon (whose sampling theorem makes digital video possible), Seidel (who came up with a unified way of describing CA, spherical abberation, coma....) and lots more.

July 24th, 2006, 11:06 AM	#47
Steve Rosen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Monterey, California Posts: 895	There certainly has been a lively response to this concern about the "stock" lens.. some well informed, some bashing, some defensive... When I first got my H1 last December I tested it with the 20x and the 16x and preferred the 16x primarily for handling reasons. As I wrote then, I found the 20x sluggish and unresponsive and particularly didn't/don't like the OIS. That was, and still is, my opinion.. I sold the 16x with my XL2, but have just ordered another one, again, primarily because of handling. But, back to the 20x. The fact is that some really nice images have already been made with this lens (some by me, if I do say so myself).. Overall, I'm not as displeased about CA.. and I do believe that much of what is being attributed to the lens is endemic of HDV and 1/3" chips... So, where does that leave us? In my case, shooting documentaries, mostely handheld, a small amount of CA, or whatever the hell it is, is not really noticeable at all.. For others, especially those who work w/ green screen or want to shoot pristine nature footage at the long end of the lens, it will be a problem.. I remember the American Cinematographer story over 35 years ago about the production of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - in shooting that film they deliberately chose lenses with chromatic abberations because they wanted the effect of shooting through hot desert atmosphere - and it's a "look" that has been immulated in many non-desert films since.. Pick the tool for the job. I'm not excusing Canon for the 20x, I too wish there was another HD lens available for this excellent camera. I'm just saying that used in the right circumstances this little box is a pretty good deal for $9000.