Varicam Lens Recommendation

[John Sharaf]

David,

You would be making a big mistake to invest in anything other than an HD lens for an HD camera (like the Varicam). Because of the number of pixels jammed into the small imager of HD cameras, the circle of confusion which determines what is in focus is smaller than an SD camera and therefore requires a “better” lens. Believe me you are severely emasculating your Varicam to mount an SD lens on it. Contrast, chromatic abberation and sharpness will all suffer. The money you spend on an obscelete SD lens is wasted, the money you spend on an HD lens is better investment that the camera itself (as it will fit onlto your next 2/3″ camera too).

Both Canon and Fujinon make 16x or 17x HD lenses that are priced about $14K net. This is what you should be considering.

JS

[Erich Roland]

Keep your eye on the used market, and HD lenses can be found for 7-9k. HighDef.com and ebay are places they show up frquently.

Its a wallet hit for sure but I agree its smart money spent. You dont want to have to make excuses for the weak link in the system.

Erich Roland
http://www.dc-camera.com
HD camera rentals, Washington DC

[Thomas Kaufman]

I’d like to chime in with Erich — I bought a used HD zoom from KP Pro and it has been excellent. About half the cost of buying a new one and when the tech guys at Canon examined the they could find nothing that needed any repair or fine-tuning.

(Not associated with KP Pro in any way, just a satisfied customer.)

Thomas Kaufman, DP
Washington, DC

[Matthew Romanis]

You cold also try globalmedia.com though I cannot vouch for the quality of those lenses. Some doubt has been cast over the source of these lenses recently, if they actually meet factory spec, or are seconds. I know of two that were calibrated and rejected.