XDCAM EX1 Must Have Accessories
 

I've just bought an XDCAM EX1.

Apart from a decent tripod and head (Sachtler DV6?), can anyone recommend a list of accessories that should also be in the bag?

Depends what you're shooting John. Safari or wedding? War or fox hunting? Porn or coal miners?

I think a starting point is a radio mic and decent shotgun+wind shield. Then there's an LED light, preferably running on the same battery type. I'd need a wide-converter but you may need tele. More SxS would come in handy, too.

tom.

I'll mainly be shooting wildlife, going to Africa and Antarctica this year.

What do you guys recommend for a microphone for this type of usage?

I'm also interested in filters. Does everyone use a UV filter for protection? What about polarising filters? Any recommendations for manufacturers?

As far as add-on lenses go, this seems to be a topic of much debate and there doesn't seem to be a product out there which gets universally good reviews. Anyone disagree with this? I'd be happy to hear any comments on a good WA or telephoto lens for the EX1 if they exist.

You might need a UV as protection if flying mud or dust storms come your way, but at all other times leave it off. It's been discussed much here.

A good starter mic is the Senheisser K6/ME66 along with the most excellent Rycote Softie.

But wildlife shooting? Wouldn't an interchangeable lens camera have been more up your street? As you say, the Fujinon 14x on the EX1 is facing troubles, and converter lenses for it are not a happy combo at present.

tom.

I've found more chromatic aberration than I would like at the extreme telephoto end of the EX-1 lens so I also might be reluctant to pick it as a wildlife camera.

The EX-3 with a 2/3" zoom lens would give you incredibly long lens shots though.

Hi Tom,
Can you please recommend just such a light?
Malcolm

No, sorry Malcolm. I only recommend items I've tested and which pass my entrance exam. The last LED light I bought I returned, and am still using the Sony 20-DW2.

One solution that I know works (haven't tested it myself) is the Beboob LUX-12 LED lamp with their Coco-EX adapter for the U60 battery.

I am using the Coco-EX with my 20W PAGlight M with softstart feature, but am afraid of killing my battery too fast.

As for filters, the best thing you can have is ND grads, helps keep contrast under control. The Lee filter system is terrific, you can get a wide angle hood with filter slots on it to take grads/ploas. I used to use Lee resin grads but they kept getting scratched and had to be replaced at £50 a go. So I bought 2 Tiffen grads at £250 a go! But they're glass so should last. I carry a .6 soft and .9 hard and a pola.
As has been said, that lens is very short for wildlife though.
Steve

Yes, I realise the lens is an issue but I had to stretch to afford the EX1 so something similar with a removable lens was out of the question.

What do you think would be the best of the add-on telephoto lenses for wildlife?

None of them, I think you're gonna lose tons of quality whenever you put a big chunk of glas in front of the lens. Seems such a shame to have an image quality like the EX and junk it with a telephoto attachment. You'd get much better results with a Canon XL-H1 with a 300mm stills lens on front. Just my opinion.
Steve

And that wonderful HDV codec handling blowing leaves and grass and rippling water?

The EX3 might be a solution depending on where things go with lenses and adaptors and such.

Yes Craig, but I think the image even from a Panavision Genesis would be pretty naff with a telephoto attachment on the front of the lens. The chromatic abberation and image softening would surely be horrendous. I'd rather have HDV.
Steve

Why would one not want to keep a UV filter on permanantly for protection? It's not like it's going to shift the colors..... is it?

ANY piece of glass in front of the optics will cause a degradation of the image due to reflections and refractions off the surfaces of the accessory glass. Even very expensive AR coatings only mitigate the problem. There is NO free lunch.

Thanks Bill :)

I guess one would only want to use it in hazardous situations.

Back in the day.... on stills cameras..... folks liked to tout the uv filter on the front of a lens as standard procedure.

I really wonder how much you would see this "extra glass" on the EX1?

I suspect a UV filter would do very little harm, a telephoto attachment, different matter.
Steve

Bill puts it neatly. And Jonathan, in still camera days UV filters were covering (say) 50 mm lenses. The same field of view in our digital video comes from using something like a 6 mm focal length. You can immediately see the d o f diffference and appreciate the damage adding two extra 'unclean' surfaces bring to the party.

tom.

Thanks Tom.

So guys the question is:

Yes or no? Would you use it on the EX1 for protection?

I'm very diligent on checking my lens for dust.

Will a Letus degrade the image also?
 

So if using any add-on telephoto adaptor will visibly degrade the image quality, what happens when you use something like a Letus Extreme?

Everyone seems to rave about them but I can't see how they too would not cause significant image degradation.

They do cause image degradation. And loss of light. Seemingly the benefits make it worthwhile for some applications.
And I wouldn't use UV filters on lens, just one more piece of glass to cause flare and optical problems.
Steve

Yes Jonathan - use a UV for protection. Protection from sticky-fingered children at parties, from sand-storms on your local beach, if you want low shots from Juda Ben Hur's chariot and from pollution in a chemical factory.

If you're a wedding filmmaker, shoot stage plays or film a million more common things you simply don't need UV 'protection' in my view - I feel it does a lot more harm than good, and I regularly prove it to students.

John, 'significant image degradation' is done all the time, and it's all in the name of art. It's mainly done in post (think grads), but simply using a long lens and shooting through Chinese smog degrades the image, where a shorter lens used up close will give a 'cleaner image' but maybe not the image you're trying to promote.

tom.

I use this as per recommendation from Ryan Avery at Schneider
http://www.schneideroptics.com/ecomm...D=681&IID=5714

It's not a UV filter. Clear and so far I haven't seen any issues.

Right-o....... clear it is.

I see that Rycote make the Softie in both a normal and a short hair version. They recommend both for camera-mounted applications although they seem to suggest that the short hair is the preferred option.

Does anyone have any experience with either type? Specifically, does the long hair version cause any problems with the lens?

this filter is hard to find and both adorama and b&H did not have one in stock when i went shopping for a filter for my EX1.
i ended up getting this one with the thinnest brass ring at under 2.5mm thick.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...#goto_itemInfo

paul

I got it at Adorama a few months back. None of the DVInfo sponsors seem to carry it. Surprised you didn't find it at the above though.

i went to adorama last thursday and they were out. they did have a piece that didn't look pristine. i asked if they made a thinner filter; afraid of everything discussed over here with the large zoom range, and my favorite salesguy there showed me that b+w slim uv. comparing the 2 on a white sheet of zerox paper, the "whiteness" looked identical. i tried looking at the filters at weird angles and i saw no difference in color shifts from the store overhead lights. the slim b+w actually uses the same glass as the schneider, namely schott, think zeiss still own them or the other way around.
lastly, i bought the uv as the brass ring was the thinnest.

then i went uptown to b&h and they too didn't have that clear filter as well.

hoya used to make a thin clear in their Pro1 digital series that claimed to have nearly 99.97% transmission. hoya said that schott glass used by b+w, schneider, and heliopan only goes up to 99%. not sure if any neutral lab did that test. sounds like marketing.

one thing though on the filters with the mrc or as other brand calls it, multi coating. they make cleaning the filter very difficult.

paul

Any thoughts on the 77mm Tiffen Clear?

It's about to be sent.....

jonathan,

if you have the time, just put the EX1 on a tripod and take some shots of things with blacks, whites, and reds.
put the tiffen on and do the same.
if you cannot tell the difference on a rather large hdtv, then you fujinon is protected and nothing is lost.

i know that tiffen used to be a new york company based in long island, but i am pretty sure the silica for the glass is from asia. it could very well be hoya glass.

see if the lens itself is thin, as thick rings may introduce vignette and flare at wide angles.

paul

Wow Paul. Thanks!
The dealer is awaiting delivery on it and then will ship.
I'm wondering if I should put the breaks on it and go with a B&W?
I have no access to a big HD monitor and am about to head to Asia for the next few years. I need one good filter. Now what?

Filters Pix
 

jonathan,

photo has the $88 hoya top of the line uv at 3mm thick
the $113 b&w uv slim MRC coated at 2.5mm thick.
the ring is solid brass and the hood shade does not touch the slim filter, i check with flashlight.

paul

jonathan

took these screen grabs using the low q 1440x1080 at 30p EX1 setting with B&W filter.

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.ph...o_displaymodes

paul

I've got the Rycote softie.
It does appear in the shot when shooting wide, however, i recently got one of the Rode SM5 shock mounts ands this has cured the problem as well as isolating the mic from unwanted sounds.

http://www.videogear.co.uk/images/uploads/SM5.jpg

Paul.

So is it the short-hair or long-hair Softie you have Paul?

Paul,

Your website is down (Bandwidth Limit Exceeded); apparently publishing urls draws a heavy toll...

George/

Not my website,just a pic of the mount i use.
Google it and you'll find it no problem.

The website link is not my website.

Paul.

Nice work Paul.
Gotta like the "thin"

That's the funiest thing I've heard all day. Any raw glass is going to have less than perfect light transmission. Schott glass (used by European filter manufacturers) is the purest glass on the market which is then enhanced by coatings. We (filter manufacturers) use coatings on filters to enhance light transmission as it passes through the filter. The difference in light transmission is based on a combination of the glass quality and coating technology.

B+W filters are made with a special Multi-Resistant-Coating (MRC) that resists scratching from cleaning and dust. This is the most durable coating in the industry. B+W filters also use a brass ring instead of aluminum to prevent cross threading due to changes in heat and cold.

Ryan Avery
Schneider Optics

ryan,

any difference in using the schneider "clear" with MRC over the "UV" ultra slim with MRC which i bought for our Sony PMW-EX1 cam?

will the clear allow for more resolution over the UV?

a lot of us here with EX1 wants to know from the Schott glass folks....


thanks

paul