XDCAM EX1 Must Have Accessories at DVinfo.net

John Gilmore · May 13th, 2008, 12:48 AM

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?

Tom Hardwick · May 13th, 2008, 02:14 AM

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.

John Gilmore · May 13th, 2008, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

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.

Tom Hardwick · May 13th, 2008, 05:15 AM

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.

Leonard Levy · May 13th, 2008, 09:09 AM

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.

Malcolm Hamilton · May 13th, 2008, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

Then there's an LED light, preferably running on the same battery type. tom.

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

Tom Hardwick · May 13th, 2008, 10:29 AM

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.

Piotr Wozniacki · May 13th, 2008, 10:34 AM

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.

Steve Phillipps · May 13th, 2008, 10:46 AM

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

John Gilmore · May 13th, 2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

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.

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?

Steve Phillipps · May 13th, 2008, 01:17 PM

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

Craig Seeman · May 13th, 2008, 01:30 PM

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Phillipps

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

Steve Phillipps · May 13th, 2008, 01:36 PM

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

Jonathan Bland · May 15th, 2008, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

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.

tom.

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?

Bill Ravens · May 15th, 2008, 09:57 AM

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.

May 13th, 2008, 12:48 AM	#1
John Gilmore Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 103	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?

May 13th, 2008, 10:34 AM	#8
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	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. __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

May 13th, 2008, 02:14 AM	#2
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	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.

May 13th, 2008, 05:15 AM	#4
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	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.

May 13th, 2008, 09:09 AM	#5
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	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.

May 13th, 2008, 10:29 AM	#7
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 4,711	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.

May 13th, 2008, 10:46 AM	#9
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	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

May 13th, 2008, 01:17 PM	#11
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	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

May 13th, 2008, 01:36 PM	#13
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	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

May 15th, 2008, 09:57 AM	#15
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	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.