Canon 14x or 16x manual zoom lens?

[Jean-Claude Nouchy]

Hi,
I just bought a Manual 14x Canon lens from ebay cause of my limited budget and now i'm just curious on the main differences between the "old" 14x and the new 16x of the lens.

I'd say i'm almost a newbie that loves his Xl1s, video and CG in general and actually this 14x and the 3x i'm trying to have are just my Xmas personal self made gifts (no more money for holidays:})

I found this link (http://jkor.com/peter/tipstricks.html) really interesting and the whole website too... but i wish to have more concrete comparison between those two lens... i'm pretty sure i'll surely have loots of fun with the 14x and i wonder what i "miss" with the 16x...

the link above talks about servo zoom differences.. what are they changing the way i use it or advantages using it?


thanks in advance for all your impressions.





[after looking around the forum.....]

SORRY.... i really found lots of information i was looking for just doing some "search" in this forum... so i can consider my topic Closed... sorry again.

[Arthur To]

i need some help

anyone got info about which is better (in quality and DOF and stuff like that) and which has better glass

not the fact that the fujinon doesnt communicate with the xL..... more visual differences . and... a conclusion on which to buy

any input?


thx
arthur

[Jean-Philippe Archibald]

Don't forget to look at the Canon's 14 x manual lens. The Fujinon 14x was mostly used before the canon 14X hit the streets.

Both lenes are great, the 14X are fully manual and it have a manual iris control also but no built-in neutral density filter.

The 16 X can be switched from manual zoom to servo controled zoom (not focus) and have 2 built-in neutral density filters. However, the iris control must be done via the little wheel on the camera, like with the 16X stock lens.

In terms of quality, both lenes are equal I think. You should be able to find the 14 X for less money than the 16X too.

[Will Boggs]

I have owned all three of the lenses (Fuj 14x, Can 14x, and Can 16x). I hated the Canon 14x manual. I think I got a bad one because the back focus would never set right. However, I really liked the Fujinon 14x. It had a very nice picture quality and I liked the iris dial on the lens barrel. It is small too. More like a film camera zoom than a ENG type lens. The last lens I owned before I sold my XL1 was the 16x mechanical. That is a very nice lens as well. Canon more then made up for the lack luster 14X they threw at us. Great picture quality and a nice working peice of gear. Depending on your needs, the two lenses work in slightly different ways. The Fujinon would be cheaper, but used. If I were shooting a controlled film, i.e. controlled lighting, locations, actors, etc. I would feel fine using the Fujinon. Because you are going to need to manually set white balance, exposure and possibly use ND filters. Whereas the 16x is more of a run and gun lens because the camera body will do auto everything except focus. The exposure ring on the fujinon is a lot better then the Canon 16x because you can dial in anywhere along the latitude, half, quarter stops. The 16x uses the camera body dial and only sets exposure in steps. The coolest thing about the 16x canon is that the exposure registers at f1.6 at wide angle and STAYS there all the way through the zoom! Plus you get a little more reach than the 14x fujinon. I used this all the time because I could get incredible DOF. The internal ND filters in the Canon 16x are okay but for serious work I would put one in flont of the lens anyway. Over all, I would go with the Canon 16x over the Fujinon 14x. That is my own opinion.

Will Boggs
DustBowl Productions

[Charles Papert]

I've used the 14x Canon with absolutely no problems. Will, it sounds like you got a bad one, it's the first time I've heard complaints about it.

On the 16x Canon, the front element doesn't rotate so you can use a clip on mattebox; not so with the Canon 14x and I'm not sure about the Fuji?

Also in the case of the Fuji there is the issue of the camera not recognizing the lens; you can remove the "no lens" flasher in the viewfinder on the XL1s (not the XL1) but on either camera I believe that it will not save white balance settings when you exit shooting mode for playback or power down the camera, which is a real pain.

My personal recommendation is the Canon 14x; it's very good optically, a real iris ring and inexpensive these days. If I had experienced back focus issues such as Will has I'd be turned off also, however I haven't seen that on the multiple 14x's I've worked with.