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2/3″ Prime Lenses with HPX500
Hello HPX500 Users-
I’ve been reading that some HPX500 users are skipping the whole 35mm adapter issue and using 2/3″ prime lenses directly. I’m looking for feedback on Canon’s FJs series of primes (5mm -55mm). Am looking for comparisons with experiences with shooting with a P+S Technik adapter and 35mm primes.
I want to eke some more quality from the 500 for features and spots. I’ve been shooting with the Fujinon zoom that shipped with it and can’t deal with the enormous breathing when racking focus and the back focus that seems to need adjusting every 10 minutes.
I’ve found very little info on 2/3″ primes and would love to hear your experiences.
Michael Skinner
Pendragwn Productions
Washington, DC -
5 Replies
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While I have not used the Canon primes, I have shot extensively with both Zeiss Digiprimes and the Pro35 with Zeiss Super Speeds on my HPX500.
The idea of skipping the whole Pro35 rig and not loosing 2 stops of light was attractive enough for me to try it (mostly for interviews).
In the end, I prefer the Pro35. Having the 35mm target really gets the shallow focus that i desire.
HTH.
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Art Aldrich
OTEK TV
Leader, NJFCPUG
http://www.njfcpug.org
http://www.otek.tv -
Thanks for the quick reply. I had hoped that the 2/3″ primes would achieve a shallow DOF. They are rated at something like T1.4.
Any other reports?
Best,
michaelMichael Skinner
Pendragwn Productions
Washington, DC -
You might try a post in the Cinematography Forum.
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.5 QT7.5.5 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 2 (FCP 6.0.5, Comp 3.0.5, DVDSP 4.2.1, Color 1.0.3)Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN
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Well, the imager size of your camera is the important thing, and in your case, it’s 2/3″. It’s my understanding that most guys with small format cameras, like the HVX200, are trying to deal with the unwanted extra depth of field inherent with 1/3″ or 1/2″ chip blocks.
So, throwing the backround out of focus should be a pretty simple operation with your HPX500. A matte box with some neutral density filters of varying strengths is a much cheaper option than prime lenses.
Having said that, I did attend a Sony Cine Alta workshop years ago where we shot some scenes around a campfire that were purposely under-exposed. Some primes were brought out, and they blew away the high-end Fuji HD Zoom lens that was mounted on the camera. It wasn’t just the extra stop or two, the quality of the image was much, much superior. So, I think image quality is what you’re buying with primes. If you’re just wanting to run the lens wide-open, there are simpler solutions. Also, working with fixed focal lengths lenses is not very fast.
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The HPX500 has built-in ND filters. When we want less depth of field, we dial in some ND and open up the exposure.
John
MacPro 8-core 2.8GHz 8 GB RAM OS 10.5.5 QT7.5.5 Kona 3 Dual Cinema 23 ATI Radeon HD 3870, 24″ TV-Logic Monitor, ATTO ExpressSAS R380 RAID Adapter, PDE enclosure with 8-drive 6TB RAID 5
FCS 2 (FCP 6.0.5, Comp 3.0.5, DVDSP 4.2.1, Color 1.0.3)Pro Tools HD w SYNC IO, Yamaha DM1000, Millennia Media HV-3C, Neumann U87, Schoeps Mk41 mics, Genelec Monitors, PrimaLT ISDN
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