EF Lens adapter / EF Lenses / EOS Lens

John Mason · July 9th, 2003, 03:35 PM

I use the XL1s and 100-400mm zoom lens to film wildlife and I am very impressed with the results. If you would like to see an example copy and paste "http://uk.geocities.com/diversandavocets/Avocet_Preening.mpg" (1.7 MB) into your browser address line and hit enter (as it is on a Geocities server you may need to try more than once to successfully download). It shows an Avocet preening and was filmed with the zoom at 400mm.

I have also filmed Rock Ptarmigan on Scottish montane plateaux where the wind rarely falls below 10 mph and have managed to capture lots of footage with no discernable camera shake. As Adrian said you need a good tripod and head to minimise shake and I wouldn't even consider filming while zooming in and out.

The stills produced by the XL1s because of their small size, no larger than a video grab, are only good for displaying on the internet (unless you want to print thumbnails) and although I have hardly used this function I don't notice any great difference between a photo and a good video grab.

Keith Loh · July 9th, 2003, 04:34 PM

That preening video was great quality.

Dylan Couper · July 9th, 2003, 05:56 PM

If shake is an issue, look into Canon's line of image stabilizing EF lenses Not cheap but will fix that problem.

Nigel Moore · July 10th, 2003, 02:07 AM

Adrian

I'm glad you've tried the 70-200/2.8L, because that's what I'm planning to use.

It's a weighty beast. Comes with its own collar for mounting to the tripod when using it with an SLR.

Which leads me to my point. Where do you mount? Lens, cam or both? I figure that the weight of the lens is not much different to that of the stock lens that comes with the XL1-s, but I'm wary of putting undue strain on the adaptor.

And what head/tripod combo did you use? (John, your thoughts on this would be appreciated)

Bill Ravens · July 10th, 2003, 07:29 AM

who cares about built in image stabilization. the available software stabilizers work just as good, if not better. check out boris red(expensive) or dynapel's video stabilizer. both work quite well and remove any hint of instability. they won't work majic on horribly held footage tho'. That's up to you to not drink anything the night before that gives you the shakes today.

John Mason · July 10th, 2003, 09:42 AM

Nigel,

I chose the Mamfrotto 351MVB tripod legs and 516 video head after consulting other posts on this forum. It is not everyone's favourite combination, as you will see if you do a search, but I do not regret the choice.

To answer your other question, Manfrotto make a plong especially for the 516 head which is basically an extended version of the standard quick release plate. I use this when working with the Canon 100-400mm zoom and XL1s. One end connects to the lens collar mount and the other connects to the camera tripod mount (with the aid of a spacer as the respective mounts are not on the same plane). See the Optex site for info and prices.

Thanks Keith but if I am honest, I would have to admit that the quality owes everything to the equipment used and nothing to do with me. I am a complete amateur at this and a good day is when I remember to switch on the microphone.

Chris Korrow · July 10th, 2003, 07:17 PM

Can anyone tell me about how long the battery lasts in the EF and if there is a rechargeable equivalent?
Thanks, Chris

Nigel Moore · July 11th, 2003, 11:09 AM

John, thanks for the info...I'll certainly look into that!

Bill, check this out...for Premiere & AE. A cut-down version will be released with premiere pro

Bill Ravens · July 11th, 2003, 12:18 PM

yeah....i saw that site last week. Looks pretty good. the biggest problem with any of these software stabilizers is how they handle the edges...zoom or crop. for my $$$, the Boris Red motion stabilizer works best, but, it's expensive. I have a fundamental resistance to anything from Adobe...don't much care for anything that acts/thinks "elitist".

Jeff Donald · July 11th, 2003, 06:22 PM

The battery lasts a long time, for me, over a year with heavy use. I have never seen a rechargeable replacement for the 2CR5 lithium battery.

Robert R Gallegos · July 12th, 2003, 09:20 AM

I have the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS Lens and wish to fit it on the Xl1s due to its depth of field control. Is there an adapter available to fit the lens on the camera?

Has anyone tried this?

Jeff Donald · July 12th, 2003, 09:46 AM

Yes, there are several. Canon makes the EF XL Adapter and has info on their site. This adapter allows the Image Stabilization (IS) to still work.

Other adapter are available. You may want to read this thread about a new adapter that has a few advantages with regard to image magnification.

This article on DoF and how it relates to DV may be of interest also.

Nigel Moore · July 12th, 2003, 10:44 AM

Robert,

A couple of posts relate to a setup like you're thinking of:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=10639

Don Berube · July 12th, 2003, 02:45 PM

Hi Robert,

The Canon EF adaptor is well worth it, it is solid and does not shimmy around at all...

One excellent lens to use with the EF adaptor is the Canon EF 28 - 135mm f3.5-5. IS USM lens. About $440 or so. A near 1000mm at full tele WITH Image Stabilization and a very sweet looking image for the price.

- don

Chris Korrow · July 12th, 2003, 04:47 PM

Thanks Jeff, Many blessings to you for all your hard work at keeping up on this list. Chris

July 9th, 2003, 04:34 PM	#212
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	That preening video was great quality. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

July 9th, 2003, 05:56 PM	#213
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	If shake is an issue, look into Canon's line of image stabilizing EF lenses Not cheap but will fix that problem. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

July 10th, 2003, 07:17 PM	#217
Chris Korrow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whidbey Is, WA Posts: 326	EF Battery Can anyone tell me about how long the battery lasts in the EF and if there is a rechargeable equivalent? Thanks, Chris

July 11th, 2003, 06:22 PM	#220
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	The battery lasts a long time, for me, over a year with heavy use. I have never seen a rechargeable replacement for the 2CR5 lithium battery. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

July 12th, 2003, 09:20 AM	#221
Robert R Gallegos New Boot Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 17	Canon EF Lens for XL1s I have the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS Lens and wish to fit it on the Xl1s due to its depth of field control. Is there an adapter available to fit the lens on the camera? Has anyone tried this? __________________ Sincerely, Robert R Gallegos

July 9th, 2003, 03:35 PM	#211
John Mason Tourist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Falkirk Scotland Posts: 3	I use the XL1s and 100-400mm zoom lens to film wildlife and I am very impressed with the results. If you would like to see an example copy and paste "http://uk.geocities.com/diversandavocets/Avocet_Preening.mpg" (1.7 MB) into your browser address line and hit enter (as it is on a Geocities server you may need to try more than once to successfully download). It shows an Avocet preening and was filmed with the zoom at 400mm. I have also filmed Rock Ptarmigan on Scottish montane plateaux where the wind rarely falls below 10 mph and have managed to capture lots of footage with no discernable camera shake. As Adrian said you need a good tripod and head to minimise shake and I wouldn't even consider filming while zooming in and out. The stills produced by the XL1s because of their small size, no larger than a video grab, are only good for displaying on the internet (unless you want to print thumbnails) and although I have hardly used this function I don't notice any great difference between a photo and a good video grab.

July 10th, 2003, 02:07 AM	#214
Nigel Moore Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Switzerland Posts: 358	Adrian I'm glad you've tried the 70-200/2.8L, because that's what I'm planning to use. It's a weighty beast. Comes with its own collar for mounting to the tripod when using it with an SLR. Which leads me to my point. Where do you mount? Lens, cam or both? I figure that the weight of the lens is not much different to that of the stock lens that comes with the XL1-s, but I'm wary of putting undue strain on the adaptor. And what head/tripod combo did you use? (John, your thoughts on this would be appreciated)

July 10th, 2003, 07:29 AM	#215
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	who cares about built in image stabilization. the available software stabilizers work just as good, if not better. check out boris red(expensive) or dynapel's video stabilizer. both work quite well and remove any hint of instability. they won't work majic on horribly held footage tho'. That's up to you to not drink anything the night before that gives you the shakes today.

July 10th, 2003, 09:42 AM	#216
John Mason Tourist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Falkirk Scotland Posts: 3	Nigel, I chose the Mamfrotto 351MVB tripod legs and 516 video head after consulting other posts on this forum. It is not everyone's favourite combination, as you will see if you do a search, but I do not regret the choice. To answer your other question, Manfrotto make a plong especially for the 516 head which is basically an extended version of the standard quick release plate. I use this when working with the Canon 100-400mm zoom and XL1s. One end connects to the lens collar mount and the other connects to the camera tripod mount (with the aid of a spacer as the respective mounts are not on the same plane). See the Optex site for info and prices. Thanks Keith but if I am honest, I would have to admit that the quality owes everything to the equipment used and nothing to do with me. I am a complete amateur at this and a good day is when I remember to switch on the microphone.

July 11th, 2003, 11:09 AM	#218
Nigel Moore Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Switzerland Posts: 358	John, thanks for the info...I'll certainly look into that! Bill, check this out...for Premiere & AE. A cut-down version will be released with premiere pro

July 11th, 2003, 12:18 PM	#219
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	yeah....i saw that site last week. Looks pretty good. the biggest problem with any of these software stabilizers is how they handle the edges...zoom or crop. for my $$$, the Boris Red motion stabilizer works best, but, it's expensive. I have a fundamental resistance to anything from Adobe...don't much care for anything that acts/thinks "elitist".

July 12th, 2003, 09:46 AM	#222
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Yes, there are several. Canon makes the EF XL Adapter and has info on their site. This adapter allows the Image Stabilization (IS) to still work. Other adapter are available. You may want to read this thread about a new adapter that has a few advantages with regard to image magnification. This article on DoF and how it relates to DV may be of interest also. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

July 12th, 2003, 10:44 AM	#223
Nigel Moore Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Switzerland Posts: 358	Robert, A couple of posts relate to a setup like you're thinking of: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=10639

July 12th, 2003, 02:45 PM	#224
Don Berube Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Boston, MA (travel frequently) Posts: 837	Stick with the Canon adaptor Hi Robert, The Canon EF adaptor is well worth it, it is solid and does not shimmy around at all... One excellent lens to use with the EF adaptor is the Canon EF 28 - 135mm f3.5-5. IS USM lens. About $440 or so. A near 1000mm at full tele WITH Image Stabilization and a very sweet looking image for the price. - don __________________ DONALD BERUBE - noisybrain. Productions, LLC Director Of Photography/ Producer/ Consultant http://noisybrain.com/donbio.html CREATE and NETWORK with http://www.bosfcpug.org and also http://fcpugnetwork.org

July 12th, 2003, 04:47 PM	#225
Chris Korrow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whidbey Is, WA Posts: 326	Thanks Jeff, Many blessings to you for all your hard work at keeping up on this list. Chris