Is this the new servo lens for FS700?

[Peter Walsh]

I was at B&H in New York on the weekend and a sales associate told me he believes this will be the new servo lens available for the FS700. It is the E-mount kit lens on the new NEX-EA50UH (scheduled for October release).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/887069-REG/Sony_nex_ea50h_Sony_NEX_EA50_Camcorder_with.html
Looks like the servo lens will be similar to the current FS700 kit lens in that it is 18-200mm at 3.5. It will have constant aperture and of course the convenience of the servo, but it appears to be slow and have that goofy little iris wheel and thus not a proper three-ring lens that so many users prefer. If this is what is coming for FS700 owners, my reaction is: meh. I was hoping for something better considering the quality of the camera itself. Curious of any thoughts or reactions you may have.

[Chris Medico]

If you want a constant aperture ENG/CINE style lens for a FS700 or any other S35 sensor camera there are high quality options out there.

The new Fuji lens has true manual controls as well as an attachable servo.

19-90mm (ZK4.7x19) | Premier PL Series | PL Mount Lenses | Digital/Film/Cinema | Optical Devices | Fujifilm USA

[Peter Walsh]

Thanks Chris. I appreciate the heads up. I just did a little recon on the Fujinon Cabrio lens. Very sweet...but it looks like it costs $38,000. That a budget buster. That Sony option in October is looking better!

[Chris Medico]

The kit lens isn't fast but it is a good value for what you get. I am considering selling my non servo version and buying the servo version when they become available.

If you want high optical performance and mechanical rings in a package that doesn't change shape as you focus and zoom it becomes very costly. As much as I wish awesome glass was cheap unfortunately it isn't.

[Peter Corbett]

B&H had it listed for $3,500 for a bit, then it jumped to $4,500. At 3.5K I would have taken a punt on it if I had known.

[Will Thompson]

Is the only difference between the FS700 kit lens and EA50UH kit lens the servo motor? Or is the servo model really constant 3.5 aperture? They look completely different.

[Chris Medico]

It is the same as the kit lens. f/3.5 to f/6.3.

[Juan A. Diaz]

My reaction is "great news", tempered by "how much are they going to charge for it?", once it is actually available on it's own. For those wishing it was constant aperture, consider the physics of light - it would have had to be either 1) much less zoom range, or 2) much, much larger in order to achieve a constant aperture.

If your camera does not spend it's whole life on a dolly, tripod or SteadyCam vest, then a servo zoom lens that fully supports Sony's Active Stabilization is incredibly useful. For the cinema guys, probably no so much. But in the real world, sometimes you just can't dolly to the position you need to be in, and often there is no "Take 2".

The EA50 itself is not particularly interesting in it's features, given that it's more or less a NEX-5n shoehorned into an e-mount camcorder body...

However, the new body shape of the EA50 looks to be absolutely fantastic - the forward mounted 3.5" LCD, and permanently attached handle with extra zoom and REC buttons are what the FS700 should have had from the start for superior ergonomics. The FS700's back mounted LCD is a farce, and it's a real shame to have to use a low resolution DP4 just because you can't see the camera's own high resolution screen from many positions when doing hand held work. Ahh, the price of slow motion...

Would love to see a EA700 - FS700 sensor, electronics & slow motion features in an EA50 body!

[Peter Walsh]

I too will likely buy the new servo and sell the existing kit lens, (although I am getting used to it). I hope there is a market for them. We won't be alone.

[Jeremy Hugues]

Originally Posted by Juan A. Diaz

Would love to see a EA700 - FS700 sensor, electronics & slow motion features in an EA50 body!

Same Christmas wish here.

[Alister Chapman]

But how will it focus because the existing 18-200 is a varifocal and the focus changes as you zoom. Will Sony be clever and add additional software to the power zoom lens to track the focus as you zoom, which in turn will need some form of back focus mechanism.

[Peter Walsh]

Based only on the photo, I think Sony will have to be clever. I've never seen a servo lens that has the glass protrude and retract from the main barrel as DSLR camera lenses do. But who knows? It's a whacky world these days. I'm keeping an open mind and hoping it is a step up from the kit lens. My feeling is that the FS700 will be my production camera, and my EX3 will remain my EFP camera. In time, as more aftermarket third party do-dads become available for the FS700, I will find a way to migrate them together.
And then there is matching the picture.....

[Juan A. Diaz]

In this video of Dan Chung interviewing a Sony rep, you can clearly see the barrel of the new 18-200mm servo lens extending as he works the zoom rocker:

BIRTV 2012 - Sony NEX EA50 large sensor video camera on Vimeo

But this of course goes back to physics... the lens would have had to be much larger to support internal zoom with that range of focal lengths on a e-mount size sensor. Apparently Sony decided to keep the size of the lens small, and have it do something I don't think has ever been done on a video lens before. Who knows, perhaps this will keep the price in check as well, because servo zooms for other formats tend to be ferociously expensive.

[Peter Walsh]

Hmmm, not sure what to make of that lens. Price will be a factor. I like the ENG layout of that camera but they lost me at no ND filters. Thanks for posting that video. It was interesting.

[Chris Lawes]

Any news on wether this lens will be available by itself for use with the FS700?