B4 to Canon XL adaptor

Jean-Marc Plante · January 8, 2015

I am posting this in this section as I'm pretty sure it will get lost if I post it in SD camera systems topic page.

I am looking to fit a 17-112 Zeiss Digizoom on my XL2 and have heard of OpTex doing such an adaptor, but I can't find it anywhere.

I was wondering if anyone knows where to find specific adaptors at a reasonable price.

All in all, the rental house for which I work has a complete set of Digiprimes and zooms that are sleeping on the shelves, and are willing to let me use them for an upcoming short. I am trying to get a similar look as seen on 28 Days later without using a Letus Extreme/EFlenses combo and getting that ridiculous crop factor,and am working on pimpin' out my Camera (Ex. Canon FS-CF compact flash recorder) to make it much more easily worked-with and much more predictable then the electronic zoom and focus on the 20x fluorite kit lens.

Can anyone help me with this issue?

Edited January 8, 2015 by Jean-Marc Plante

Zac Fettig · January 12, 2015

I believe Optex is out of buisness. I know a bunch of places that specialized in Canon XL series have all gone under.

If you absolutely have to go this route, your best bet is to go on ebay, and get a B4-EOS adapter and then grab a EOS to XL adapter. Ideally a mechanical one (like the Novoflex or the Fotodiox one), instead of the ground glass Canon adapter.

If you just want to shoot on the XL2, it might make more sense to just get a manual XL lens. I was able to pick up a Canon 14X XL manual lens for $100 not too long ago. The 16x manuals sell fairly cheap too, only a little bit more (I've seen $130 commonly). Not many people want them, and the XL2 has fallen by the wayside. If you're willing to wait, I've seen an Optex modified Fujinon go for around $220 on ebay last year, but they don't come up for sale every day.

To be fair, 28 Days later was shot on XL1 and prototype XL1s. The XL2 looks a lot better.

Jean-Marc Plante · January 12, 2015

Thanks for the answer!

But I will never be able to get infinity focus if I destroy my flange by using two adapters, but i've thought about it....

I am wondering if there is a difference in the lens resolution between the manual 14x and the stock fluorite 20x lens on the XL2. Where do you see those at such a low price? The lowest priced 14X I saw was 169$ on Adorama via Ebay, and most 16x range at around 400-500$

And yes, Optex is out of business, I've sent emails and made calls from L.A., through UKs all the way to Australia and can't find ANYTHING.

Zac Fettig · January 13, 2015

You're right. You would have trouble keeping infintiy focus with the adapters listed above (unless you have access to a machine shop, but then you could just get a proper adapter machined). I forgot the FFD of the 2/3"-B4 mount (48mm) was so close to the EOS mount (44mm), that the EOS mount itself has to be pulled off to make it work. I was thinking of the 1/2" B4 mount ones (which are less, but I'm never sure how much less).

I don't have any tests handy. But there is a difference between the two lenses. The 14X is quite a bit sharper.

I did find a few clips. First a standard 20X auto lens:

14X. This was Canon's standard 14X 1/3" lens with a XL mount slapped on. Made in response to the Optex-Fujinons:

Someone with an Angie 12-120 adapted for XL (I would LOVE a Arri Bayo/Standard->XL adapter):

Ebay really depends on when you're buying. Every so often, somebody will pop up and actually want to sell something; as opposed to cashing in - those guys post the same thing at the same inflated price week after week. If you're patient, you'll get one for less. The reality is, the XL lens was kind of a dead end, and hence aren't worth that much. The old ones won't even work on the HD XL mount cameras.

I bought my 14X in June of 2013. I had the XL2 sitting around gathering dust, and thought it would be worth it if I was going to try upscaling the footage. I personally love it. Don't get to use it much.

Jean-Marc Plante · January 14, 2015

What I want to achieve looks more like this.

Clean, aberration free, HD Blow-up. The Reds bleed a little bit, but that's Canon common problem even amongst DSLRs.

The Sharper the lense, the better the result.

Zac Fettig · January 23, 2015

If it helps, here's a lens test I ran as soon as I got the 14x (The camera was about 6 years old at the time). All hand held. Way too much hand held and zoomed too far. No color correction.