Who is using the Sony Y telephoto lens? at DVinfo.net

Floris van Eck · May 29th, 2006, 06:03 AM

While the Sony Y wide-angle lens is discussed by members of this board very often, I have not read too many posts about the Y telephoto lens. This makes me think of this lens it not really useful on the HDR-HC1. However, I am planning to shoot a documentary in a nature reserve in The Netherlands. With wildlife, I always believe that your telephoto end is the most important. This way, you can stay at a safe distance from the animals and still get close-up footage of animals drinking, running, eating etcetera.

I hope there are people with the Y telephoto lens who can fill me in on this one. Will panning be possible when in full telephoto modus with the Y? Or will this result in a blurred and shocking image? Thanks!

Floris van Eck · May 29th, 2006, 02:55 PM

I am also wondering if this lens is zoom-through? I cannot find this information and this lens is never discussed anywhere.

Fredrik-Larsson · May 29th, 2006, 04:09 PM

When you have widest zoom you have "zoom-circle" so you need to zoom in a little to get rid of that. Then it's pretty okay. You should of course use a tripod if possible. I used it to shoot some airplanes and it went pretty okay.

Gian Pablo Villamil · May 29th, 2006, 05:26 PM

I used the telephoto Y lens to film an eclipse earlier this year. Also got some great moonshots.

The lens itself is fine - very clear. You have to be zoomed in partway for it to be focused, but that's fine, otherwise why would you be using it.

In terms of day-to-day utility, not so useful. I find the lens on the HC1 is already a bit biased towards the tele end, and 10x zoom takes me as near as I need to be towards most subjects. You will *have* to use a tripod with the teleconverter for it to seem smooth. Handheld is almost totally out of the question at extreme range.

In contrast, the wide angle is on the camera nearly half the time, and I even get a lot of use out of the century optics fisheye.

Go to a zoo, do some practising with the built-in zoom, see where it takes you.

Jamie Hellmich · May 30th, 2006, 07:07 PM

I have and have used the 2037Y lens quite a bit for nature shots. Works great with no visual defects other than some slight purple fringing in full telephoto and very bright full sun. It does give tunnel vision at wide angle though.

This was at full telephoto on a very bright day through my open truck window. Would have never got this "close" otherwise.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...h/DSC00199.jpg

This lens is a must in my opinion for nature videography and photography for my HC 1.

Use a tripod and your remote control to minimize camera movement.
Jamie

Pat Reddy · June 3rd, 2006, 10:06 AM

I bought the Y telephoto for a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii in early May. It's a great lens, but as others have pointed out, there is some purple fringing at full telephoto. I think that this is actually just the purple fringing from the built in lens itself. The Y lens does a good job of maintaining sharpness and not adding very many additional artifacts to the image.

You can minimize purple fringing in three ways. The first is not always possible. Avoid, for example, shooting birds on branches with a lot of sky showing through. I filmed some birds in Kona at full telephoto with good results and minimal purple fringing when the background was mainly dense foliage.

The second is to make sure as much of your target area as possible is in focus. The objects in the image that are usually full of purple fringing are generally not in the plane of focus.

The third thing to try is to avoid using the lens/telephoto combo zoomed beyond about 75 to 80% of full zoom. It is beyond this point that the purple fringing really starts to be a problem. So you end up with a focal length of about 750 or 800 mm instead of about 1000 mm. This is still quite a lot.

I used the Y on the HC1 with a good tripod, and I was very happy that I had it. Shot native and introduced birds on the Big Island and some good footage of lava enetering the sea at Kilahuea. In that instance, a 40 knot trade wind caused major shaking of the camera and tripod. I found that Gunther's "De-shaker" plugin for Virtualdub was very useful for removing most of the shaking in the image in post-processing.

Cheers!

Pat

May 29th, 2006, 06:03 AM	#1
Floris van Eck Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 993	Who is using the Sony Y telephoto lens? While the Sony Y wide-angle lens is discussed by members of this board very often, I have not read too many posts about the Y telephoto lens. This makes me think of this lens it not really useful on the HDR-HC1. However, I am planning to shoot a documentary in a nature reserve in The Netherlands. With wildlife, I always believe that your telephoto end is the most important. This way, you can stay at a safe distance from the animals and still get close-up footage of animals drinking, running, eating etcetera. I hope there are people with the Y telephoto lens who can fill me in on this one. Will panning be possible when in full telephoto modus with the Y? Or will this result in a blurred and shocking image? Thanks!

May 29th, 2006, 04:09 PM	#3
Fredrik-Larsson Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Malmö, Sweden Posts: 395	When you have widest zoom you have "zoom-circle" so you need to zoom in a little to get rid of that. Then it's pretty okay. You should of course use a tripod if possible. I used it to shoot some airplanes and it went pretty okay. __________________ The Russian Captain (upcoming feature) http://trc-movie.blogspot.com/ My movies http://www.larssonfilm.com/

June 3rd, 2006, 10:06 AM	#6
Pat Reddy Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Colorado Posts: 288	My experience with the Y I bought the Y telephoto for a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii in early May. It's a great lens, but as others have pointed out, there is some purple fringing at full telephoto. I think that this is actually just the purple fringing from the built in lens itself. The Y lens does a good job of maintaining sharpness and not adding very many additional artifacts to the image. You can minimize purple fringing in three ways. The first is not always possible. Avoid, for example, shooting birds on branches with a lot of sky showing through. I filmed some birds in Kona at full telephoto with good results and minimal purple fringing when the background was mainly dense foliage. The second is to make sure as much of your target area as possible is in focus. The objects in the image that are usually full of purple fringing are generally not in the plane of focus. The third thing to try is to avoid using the lens/telephoto combo zoomed beyond about 75 to 80% of full zoom. It is beyond this point that the purple fringing really starts to be a problem. So you end up with a focal length of about 750 or 800 mm instead of about 1000 mm. This is still quite a lot. I used the Y on the HC1 with a good tripod, and I was very happy that I had it. Shot native and introduced birds on the Big Island and some good footage of lava enetering the sea at Kilahuea. In that instance, a 40 knot trade wind caused major shaking of the camera and tripod. I found that Gunther's "De-shaker" plugin for Virtualdub was very useful for removing most of the shaking in the image in post-processing. Cheers! Pat

May 29th, 2006, 02:55 PM	#2
Floris van Eck Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 993	I am also wondering if this lens is zoom-through? I cannot find this information and this lens is never discussed anywhere.

May 29th, 2006, 05:26 PM	#4
Gian Pablo Villamil Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 138	I used the telephoto Y lens to film an eclipse earlier this year. Also got some great moonshots. The lens itself is fine - very clear. You have to be zoomed in partway for it to be focused, but that's fine, otherwise why would you be using it. In terms of day-to-day utility, not so useful. I find the lens on the HC1 is already a bit biased towards the tele end, and 10x zoom takes me as near as I need to be towards most subjects. You will have to use a tripod with the teleconverter for it to seem smooth. Handheld is almost totally out of the question at extreme range. In contrast, the wide angle is on the camera nearly half the time, and I even get a lot of use out of the century optics fisheye. Go to a zoo, do some practising with the built-in zoom, see where it takes you.

May 30th, 2006, 07:07 PM	#5
Jamie Hellmich Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ormond Beach, FL Posts: 105	I have and have used the 2037Y lens quite a bit for nature shots. Works great with no visual defects other than some slight purple fringing in full telephoto and very bright full sun. It does give tunnel vision at wide angle though. This was at full telephoto on a very bright day through my open truck window. Would have never got this "close" otherwise. http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...h/DSC00199.jpg This lens is a must in my opinion for nature videography and photography for my HC 1. Use a tripod and your remote control to minimize camera movement. Jamie