2/3 lens on an EX-3? at DVinfo.net

Bill Ward · September 11th, 2010, 10:52 AM

Has anyone had some experience using the Mike Tapa or Fuji powered adapter on the EX-3 to mount full-sized 2/3 HD lenses?

Other than the enlargement issue, how did the better lenses look/handle compared to the standard EX3 kit?

Steve Phillipps · September 11th, 2010, 11:01 AM

Funnily enough Bill I was wondering the same thing. I'm going on a recce/shoot next week where we'll take an EX3 to save weight (as it is mostly a recce) an suggested we use the company's HA22x7.8 Fujinon. I have the adapter that allows 2/3" lenses to be mounted on 1/2" cameras, and presume I can stack it with the EX-1/2" adapter that comes with the camera. I'm sure it'll be fine without the extender on but what it'll be like with the 2x I'm a bit more unsure about.
Steve

George Griswold · September 11th, 2010, 12:54 PM

Other than making the whole rig front heavy the benefits are many. The zoom works much better than the stock EX lens, the grip is better. Consider the crop issues if you need to work at the wider end of things. I have a 5.2 Fujinon that I use on the EX-3 and it works great. The powered adapter is worth it so the zoom functions and sends data back to the camera. There is a 3rd party cable that works to power the zoom at a fraction of the cost.
I did not run scientific tests, but the IQ was better across the range of focal lengths.

Take both and see what works best.

George

Bill Ward · September 11th, 2010, 06:19 PM

Yeah, I've got a Fuji 12 x 4.5 HD lens that I like a lot...that stay pretty wide, even with the crop factor. As I was shooting with the EX3 two weekends ago and cursing the awful handheld ergonomics of that camera, I was soon wondering how it would perform with a real ENG style lens.

Oh, and one of the after market shoulder mounts, and a battery brick for balance.

Rupert Smith · September 14th, 2010, 02:49 AM

Steve
I have used an HJ22 with the EX3 and was very happy with the results , the only thing I found was that wide open it was unusable and really had to keep in between f4- f8, which was a pain in low light filming badgers! The extender wasnt too bad in that range not as bad as I had expected, but of course you still have the dreaded Jello effect which does become noticable even on some big sticks.

Steve Phillipps · September 14th, 2010, 03:17 AM

Thanks for that Rupert - how were you attaching the lens? Via the 2/3" to 1/2" and the 1/2" to EX adapter combined?
Steve

Bo Skelmose · September 14th, 2010, 07:13 AM

[QUOTE=George Griswold;1568353] "There is a 3rd party cable that works to power the zoom at a fraction of the cost."

I guess this just is a lens cable to supply power to the lens. Who is the manufacturer ?

I have the Fujinon 2/3 lens adapter and it seems as if there are quite some cromatic aberation when filming against the lightdirection.

Bo.

Derek Reich · September 14th, 2010, 07:59 AM

The manufacturer of the cable adapter is Jony Jib. They sell the cables through eBay, or you can look them up and contact them directly.
Their cables are very well made, and work perfectly.... and they are very responsive and quick to ship. I have been using one of their cables to power my SD Canon 20X broadcast 2/3" lens on an EX3 for some time (the lens looks incredibly good.... in many instances, better than the stock EX lens)
Jony Jib also can provide adapter cables to connect the stock EX lens to aftermarket broadcast zoom controllers like Fuji and Canon. These also work flawlessly.
I use the Sony 2/3"-1/2" adapter (with the supplied EX 1/2" lens adapter) as it was almost half the price of the Fuji 2/3" adapter with the power socket for the lens. It was worth the savings to me to just use Jony Jib's adapter to get servo zoom power to the lens. One caveat though: with this setup you do not have auto iris (who cares) or record start/stop power to the lens. Since I use my Fuji broadcast zoom controller when on a tripod, this is no big deal as the record start/stop works on that. If I'm hand-holding (which is kind of pointless, really, when the EX with IS does a better job here) I have programmed the custom function button (I think it's #4?) just under the lens mount to serve as record start-stop. You get used to it, and everything functions quite well this way.

Rupert Smith · September 14th, 2010, 09:17 AM

It was the mtf non powered ex to 2/3 adapter Steve, which has no glass. Also tried an HJ40 on it and boy was that front heavy!! Very hard to get a good balance on the sticks but it worked ok again being careful with the iris range.

Bo Skelmose · September 14th, 2010, 03:33 PM

Hi
Could not find the power cable at jonyjib - do you have a stock number for that ?

Derek Reich · September 16th, 2010, 08:19 AM

Send me an e-mail and I'll forward you John Huffman's contact info. (I don't know if I should post his e-mail here without his consent or not)
He'll hook you up with what you need.

John Godwin · September 17th, 2010, 02:48 PM

It appears Bo asked the same question I wanted to ... who to get adaptor cables from. I have a Fujinon @13x4.6BRM-28 (which is a 1/2 in lens that cost about two Ex-3s) that looks great on the EX-3 but has a 12-pin connector cable. I'd really love to get power to at least the zoom.

Could you also send me the gentleman's address?

Thanks,
John

========== edit

Called them and the cable is on it's way. Thanks for the info that they make them ...

Derek Reich · September 21st, 2010, 08:41 AM

Search 'Jony Jib' on eBay, and contact them directly. The owner is John Huffman, and if they don't already have the cable you are looking for, they will make one for you. You might have to provide a schematic of your lens if you have one.
If you can't find his contact info on eBay, e-mail me and I'll get it to you.
Trust me, it's worth the effort.

September 11th, 2010, 10:52 AM	#1
Bill Ward Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 580	2/3 lens on an EX-3? Has anyone had some experience using the Mike Tapa or Fuji powered adapter on the EX-3 to mount full-sized 2/3 HD lenses? Other than the enlargement issue, how did the better lenses look/handle compared to the standard EX3 kit?

September 11th, 2010, 12:54 PM	#3
George Griswold Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 218	2/3" lens on EX-3 Other than making the whole rig front heavy the benefits are many. The zoom works much better than the stock EX lens, the grip is better. Consider the crop issues if you need to work at the wider end of things. I have a 5.2 Fujinon that I use on the EX-3 and it works great. The powered adapter is worth it so the zoom functions and sends data back to the camera. There is a 3rd party cable that works to power the zoom at a fraction of the cost. I did not run scientific tests, but the IQ was better across the range of focal lengths. Take both and see what works best. George __________________ George T. Griswold, Jr. www.videonow.info New Orleans

September 14th, 2010, 07:59 AM	#8
Derek Reich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Washoe Valley, NV Posts: 304	The manufacturer of the cable adapter is Jony Jib. They sell the cables through eBay, or you can look them up and contact them directly. Their cables are very well made, and work perfectly.... and they are very responsive and quick to ship. I have been using one of their cables to power my SD Canon 20X broadcast 2/3" lens on an EX3 for some time (the lens looks incredibly good.... in many instances, better than the stock EX lens) Jony Jib also can provide adapter cables to connect the stock EX lens to aftermarket broadcast zoom controllers like Fuji and Canon. These also work flawlessly. I use the Sony 2/3"-1/2" adapter (with the supplied EX 1/2" lens adapter) as it was almost half the price of the Fuji 2/3" adapter with the power socket for the lens. It was worth the savings to me to just use Jony Jib's adapter to get servo zoom power to the lens. One caveat though: with this setup you do not have auto iris (who cares) or record start/stop power to the lens. Since I use my Fuji broadcast zoom controller when on a tripod, this is no big deal as the record start/stop works on that. If I'm hand-holding (which is kind of pointless, really, when the EX with IS does a better job here) I have programmed the custom function button (I think it's #4?) just under the lens mount to serve as record start-stop. You get used to it, and everything functions quite well this way. __________________ www.zooprax.com

September 16th, 2010, 08:19 AM	#11
Derek Reich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Washoe Valley, NV Posts: 304	Send me an e-mail and I'll forward you John Huffman's contact info. (I don't know if I should post his e-mail here without his consent or not) He'll hook you up with what you need. __________________ www.zooprax.com

September 17th, 2010, 02:48 PM	#12
John Godwin Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 190	It appears Bo asked the same question I wanted to ... who to get adaptor cables from. I have a Fujinon @13x4.6BRM-28 (which is a 1/2 in lens that cost about two Ex-3s) that looks great on the EX-3 but has a 12-pin connector cable. I'd really love to get power to at least the zoom. Could you also send me the gentleman's address? Thanks, John ========== edit Called them and the cable is on it's way. Thanks for the info that they make them ... Last edited by John Godwin; September 18th, 2010 at 09:08 AM. Reason: New info

September 11th, 2010, 11:01 AM	#2
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Funnily enough Bill I was wondering the same thing. I'm going on a recce/shoot next week where we'll take an EX3 to save weight (as it is mostly a recce) an suggested we use the company's HA22x7.8 Fujinon. I have the adapter that allows 2/3" lenses to be mounted on 1/2" cameras, and presume I can stack it with the EX-1/2" adapter that comes with the camera. I'm sure it'll be fine without the extender on but what it'll be like with the 2x I'm a bit more unsure about. Steve

September 11th, 2010, 06:19 PM	#4
Bill Ward Major Player Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 580	Yeah, I've got a Fuji 12 x 4.5 HD lens that I like a lot...that stay pretty wide, even with the crop factor. As I was shooting with the EX3 two weekends ago and cursing the awful handheld ergonomics of that camera, I was soon wondering how it would perform with a real ENG style lens. Oh, and one of the after market shoulder mounts, and a battery brick for balance.

September 14th, 2010, 02:49 AM	#5
Rupert Smith New Boot Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6	Steve I have used an HJ22 with the EX3 and was very happy with the results , the only thing I found was that wide open it was unusable and really had to keep in between f4- f8, which was a pain in low light filming badgers! The extender wasnt too bad in that range not as bad as I had expected, but of course you still have the dreaded Jello effect which does become noticable even on some big sticks.

September 14th, 2010, 03:17 AM	#6
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Thanks for that Rupert - how were you attaching the lens? Via the 2/3" to 1/2" and the 1/2" to EX adapter combined? Steve

September 14th, 2010, 07:13 AM	#7
Bo Skelmose Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 495	[QUOTE=George Griswold;1568353] "There is a 3rd party cable that works to power the zoom at a fraction of the cost." I guess this just is a lens cable to supply power to the lens. Who is the manufacturer ? I have the Fujinon 2/3 lens adapter and it seems as if there are quite some cromatic aberation when filming against the lightdirection. Bo.

September 14th, 2010, 09:17 AM	#9
Rupert Smith New Boot Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 6	It was the mtf non powered ex to 2/3 adapter Steve, which has no glass. Also tried an HJ40 on it and boy was that front heavy!! Very hard to get a good balance on the sticks but it worked ok again being careful with the iris range.

September 14th, 2010, 03:33 PM	#10
Bo Skelmose Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 495	Hi Could not find the power cable at jonyjib - do you have a stock number for that ?

September 21st, 2010, 08:41 AM	#13
Derek Reich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Washoe Valley, NV Posts: 304	Search 'Jony Jib' on eBay, and contact them directly. The owner is John Huffman, and if they don't already have the cable you are looking for, they will make one for you. You might have to provide a schematic of your lens if you have one. If you can't find his contact info on eBay, e-mail me and I'll get it to you. Trust me, it's worth the effort. __________________ www.zooprax.com