What Lens to buy for the F330?

[Brian Bang Jensen]

Max.
If you want to get the cheapest HD lens, you are going to change you order to the kit PDW F330K.
This kit includes the ½ inch Canon auto focus HD lens VCL-719BXS. KH19x6,7
If you order the lens as a separate item
you are going to pay at least 4-6000$ more for camera and lens…

The price difference between the body only PDW F330L and the kit PDW F330k is only around 4K. so you actually get a lens for 4K!!!!!!
If you look at Scott’s prices, you will se that the cheapest lens cost 8K for the KH19x6,7

[Carlos Osterling]

I might be getting a XDcam 350. I am not sure about the lens. My budget is low, about 12,000 for the lens. What can I get in that range without CA and soft borders? Thanks guys.

[Michael Knight]

Hi Carlos.

We're using a Fujinon HSs18x5.5BRM...awesome in some respects, but spendy.

Mark Falstad (who shot the brilliant Iditarod docko that Sony featured at NAB last March) told me he likes wide angle lenses for HD work, and that Canon lenses (to his mind) are somewhat better in their color rendition.



Michael.

[Peter Dorr]

I will buy a F300 shortly. It's on offer with or without the default k-lens.
What do you guys recon is the best buy? So far I did prefer Canon lenses (great quality and great service), if possible I would like to stick with that brand.

Is the standard lens up to it or should i immediately invest in a slightly better one?
My main recordings are...Over the shoulder interviews, small movies, company introduction and nature. So I do need quite a spectrum (wide-zoom)

Thnx for your advise.
Peter

[Michael Knight]

Hi Peter.

There is quite a lot of excellent info in other threads about Canon lenses.

I'm not super familiar with how to search this forum yet, but give it a try.

For example, check this thread: Half inch HD lenses and quality issues

And this one: Fuji or Canon? - where Rob Stiff has some good things to say about one of the Canon lenses for your sort of work.


Michael Knight

[Jonathan Ames]

If I might suggest, glass is where it all happens. We selected Fuji glass for our feature pilot El Papel but it all depends on your use of the camera. We find the ENG lens to be a very good lens for that type of shooting. Tight with superior contrast and little breathing, we used it all the time when we wanted a video ook to content we are using on the serties. On the other hand, don't forget you can use 2/3" primes with it as well via a $700 adapter whihc open a while set of new doors to you. There's very little compromise other than remembering to multiply the mm size by 1.37. The 2/3" glass is incredibly reliable and fills in the gaps in the 1/2" line up. We used a 5, 8, 12, 20 and 40 prime lens set along with a George Lucas 10X100 zoom and a 15X CineZoom and there wasn't a shot we couldnt get. So, my humble suggestion is to look at the 330 or the 350, both good cameras although I like the 350 better, and then buy a lens you'll use most given the style of shooting you do and rent the best glass you can to fill in the blanks. Perhaps the best investment you can make is in the 1/2" to 2/3" adapter ring. i promise, new doors will open to you.

[Michael Knight]

Peter - just in case you haven't seen my posts elsewhere, it is vital to have the sturdiest possible tripod/head set-up for your XD CAm.

As for lenses - we opted for the Fujinon HSs18x5.5BRM which we use with a Varizoom controller when on the tripod.

Our work is similar to what you mention - documentaries, some shoulder work, and nature.

The HSs series of lenses is Fujinon's best quality glass.

However, we did have some focus issues at certain f-stops/focal lengths, and the lens is currently back with Fujinon for testing (though to be fair, there's a chance that the back focus was inadvertently set incorrectly prior to delivery and this wasn't 'caught' in our pre-flight tests with the [too small] chart supplied with the lens manual).

It's also possible that ours was one of the "pre-production" lenses - one of the first to ship - and Fujinon has since been replacing those ones. We'll know for sure in a day or so.

Having said all that - the lens really is superb, and given that Tv channels in the States are all moving to HD it seems, at least to us, to have been the only logical way to go...specially since we were starting from scratch and could fully utilise the disc-capture media with which we can ingest directly to our Mac and edit in Final Cut Pro - all in-house, no additional decks required.

All the best.

Michael Knight

[Phil Bloom]

just dont buy the 330k with the auto focus canon lens!

[Phil Bloom]

I am sure I already know the answer to this, but when you look at the focal length of lenses 2/3 and 1/2" the 1/2" always are lower, which I would normally equate to being wider. e.g. a fujinon 2/3" is 20x8.6 whereas it's 1/2" version is 20x6.4. In practice do they have the same wide angle of view when mounted on the respective 2/3" and 1/2" cameras?

If you mounted the 20x8.6 on the 1/2" camera would you then get 31.2x13.41? or something like that?

[Alister Chapman]

It would still be a 20x8.4, but the Field of view on a half inch camera would be narrower than on a 2/3 inch camera (the lens would be less wide on 1/2"). If you put a lens with a focal length of 10mm at 2/3" lens on a 1/2" camera you get a 2/3" equivalent of a focal length of 13.4mm (1.34x). The lens is still a 10mm lens though.

There are some handy focal length calculators here:

http://www.usa.canon.com/industrial_bctv/ERC/

[Phil Bloom]

so

side by side,

one dsr 450 with the 2/3" 20 x 8.4
one f350 with the 2/3" 20 x 8.4 using the adaptor. same shot, full wide

is the shot wider on the dsr?

[Alister Chapman]

Yes the DSR shot will be wider, 1.34x wider.

[Scot Olson]

Yes it is.

[Phil Bloom]

so in essence the lens will then be the equivelent of 13.44mm then

[Bob Willis]

No, it would be 11.3mm.
8.4 X 1.34 = 11.26