Guy Meachin Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Two questions if anyone can answer them for me: Anyone know the difference between XL1S DM and the XL1S? Think it could be the mic. Secondly, without forking out £1000 for the proper Canon Wide angle zoom lens for the XL1, can I buy a good wide-angle SLR lens I can use on my XL1S with the SLR lens adaptor? Cheers :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 3, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2004 Hi, > can I buy a good wide-angle SLR lens I can use on my XL1S with the SLR lens > adaptor No. To explain it more completely: the issue with this is sensor size. Picture a 35mm stills film frame, which is the area that the SLR lenses are designed to project their image onto. It's, what, an inch by two? The CCD image sensor in your XL-1 is I believe a quarter of an inch diagonally, making it a bare few millimetres square. Therefore, it will only pick up the very centre portion of the SLR lens's image, making the SLR lens seem much more telephoto (zoomed in) than it was on a stills camera. This is an issue with 35mm and 16mm film as well; the smaller 16mm frame results in a smaller angle-of-view for the same lens than you'd get in 35mm. It's the same lens with the same focal length; it just gives you a narrower view. The reason this matters to you is that because video image sensors are by and large pretty small, you need a VERY short focal length lens to get a wide angle of view. This makes video lenses complicated and expensive, because to get a really wide view on a small-sensor camera such as the XL1, you need a lens in the three to four millimetre range. It isn't physically possible to have the lens four millimetres from the CCD assembly since the three-chip RGB colour splitter assembly is in the way, so you end up with a complex retrofocal lens design to simulate the same thing using clever optics. In short, the shortest focal length lens ever made in EOS mount was, as far as I am aware, the wide-angle one produced specifically for the XL1. You can use SLR lenses, but it's only really useful for wildlife photography and the like, where you need a very long zoom indeed. This feature of the XL1 is of limited use for anything else. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ultra Definition Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Get a good wide angle adapter. Century optics make good ones. You can also rent Mini 35 adapter which will allow you to use 35 mm lenses; 35 mm wide angle lens will be a 1/3" CCD wide angle lens. Within a year there may be available a lot cheaper version of that type of an adapter. Canon may come out soon with a new HDV camera to replace the XL1(s). Check eBay for Canon bargains. I think that the English eBay site allows you to do international search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 3, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2004 Hi, This mini35 thing is great (and it is, I've used it) but it's worth pointing out that a PL-mount lens to fit it will cost significantly more than the XL-1, which is a bit scary. I'm waiting for one which will use off the shelf SLR lenses, which should be perfectly good enough if a bit of a pain to focus pull. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Gross Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Hi, This mini35 thing is great (and it is, I've used it) but it's worth pointing out that a PL-mount lens to fit it will cost significantly more than the XL-1, which is a bit scary. I'm waiting for one which will use off the shelf SLR lenses, which should be perfectly good enough if a bit of a pain to focus pull. Phil Just to note, the Mini35 is available now in PL mount, Nikon mount and one or two others (Leica?). The problem is that rental houses only every buy it in PL mount to go with their lenses. But if you purchased your own ($8k) you could get a relatively inexpensive set of Nikons to mount on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Meachin Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 Wow! Thanks for those brilliant replies! I've been studying Film an Video for 3 years now and only in the last sixth months I've realised I want to get myself into the world of cinematography! Since even at degree level it still isn't at the level I would expect. I have started reading Blain Browns book on cinematography and I can honestly say it's the best book I've ever read. Absolutely fascinating, and has opened my eyes up to so much! I'm really excited about attempting to enter the world of cinematography, it seems such an incredible subject to learn and be a part of. Up until now I have mainly been interested in photography and I now realise cinematography is a step forward from taking stills. I recently met Brian Tufano who is a real gentleman and a great inspiration. What a great website this is that I can come and speak with people in the business that I want to be in. Another quick and simple question? Not. How can I go about breaking into the industry other than making my own films? How did you do it? Cheers, Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 3, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2004 Hi, > Mini35.... $8k Yaright! I wouldn't want that, either, I'd want a Pro35, although actually I'd want a variant on it that fit my camera. And I don't think there's enough zeros in the universe to describe what one of those costs! This is the point at which I start sketching things out and considering machine-shop costs. If anyone's got a knackered 1/2" video mount lens lying around with at least the relay group intact, I'm in the market... Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Gross Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 The Pro35 costs about $24K, or about the same cost as your possible DSR-570 package costs with accessories. As for a beat up 1/2" lens, the giveaway Fujinon 14x that used to come bundled with the DV500 or the DVC200 are all over the place, usually selling for $200-$300 in very good condition. And if you contacted some of the lens repair houses such as Focus Optics I'm sure they have some remains of lenses sitting on shelves that they'd sell you for postage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Phil Rhodes Posted March 3, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted March 3, 2004 Hi, Now utterly offtopic for this thread, but what the hey - my knowledge of optics is exceedingly limited. However, from what I know, I should be able to dismantle the zoom elements off the front of, say, one of those 14x lenses, and use the relay group as a macro adaptor on its own, which would be more or less suitable to line up on a groundglass. Does anyone know enough about the way these things work to confirm or deny this impression? Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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