Guy Mcloughlin
Forum Replies Created
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…You have to STOP thinking about lenses in terms of a 35mm Full Frame Still Photo camera, because it makes no sense for other formats, especially when looking at film and video formats.
A 165mm Super-Angulon Lens is an Ultra-Wide lens on an 8×10 inch large format camera, and a medium telephoto on a 35mm Full Frame camera.
The Micro 4/3 format is very close to the size of the standard 35mm Motion Picture format, so you should be thinking of Micro 4/3 lenses the same way you would when using a 35mm Motion Picture camera.
AbelCine has a very good interactive FOV tool that helps to understand the relationship between lens focal lengths and camera formats.
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AVCHD requires a computer with a fairly powerful processor. I would not consider using anything less than an Intel i5 or i7 processor. The new Mac Mini would fit the bill.
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How heavy is your standard set-up ?
i.e. Once you add on monitor, rails, follow-focus, a large lens, battey pack you could be over-weight for a smaller tripod head
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I learned early on that you MUST use a NLE that can read the meta-data from the SDHC card and do a proper import if you want to have long contiguous videos with no audio dropouts.
So for Vegas users it means ALWAYS use DEVICE EXPLORER to import any footage. ( either directly from the camera, which can be slow, or using a SDHC card reader, which is what I use )
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You have to import your video files using an editor that understands how to read the meta-data on the SDHC card. Copying the files manually creates the audio gap problem.
I use the Device Explorer feature with Sony Vegas to import all my clips, which automatically builds multiple 4 GB file segments in to one long video file with no audio gaps.
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My previous post has a link for the ciecio7 Canon FD M4/3 Adapter, and at the bottom of the ciecio7 eBay page there is a video that shows how to properly mount an FD lens to the adapter so that the manual iris will still work correctly.
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If you can afford it, I would buy the Olympus 14-35mm f/2.0 lens ( $2,300 US ) or the Nikon DX 17-55mm f/2.8 lens ( $1,500 US ).
Otherwise, you can buy Nikon AI-S manual focus lenses:
24mm f/2.0 ( $400+ US )
50mm f/1.4 ( $200+ US )
85mm f/2.0 ( $200+ US )Another option is Micro 4/3 AF primes:
12mm f/2.0 Olympus prime ( $800 US )
25mm f/1.4 Lumix prime ( $600 US )
45mm f/1.8 Olympus prime ( $400 )…I love the speed of prime lenses, but zooms can be very handy.
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I was trying to decide between buying Canon FD lenses or buying Nikon AI-S lenses, so I wanted to try both before making a decision. In the end I went with Nikon AI-S because they will fit just about any kind of camera body. ( 2 years from now I might be using a Sony or Canon camera body )
The FD lens adapter I tried out is this one:
ciecio7 Canon FD M4/3 Adapter $80
…Which is one of the best I’ve ever used. Very SOLID design, machined out of one piece of aluminum, and features a built-in tripod mount. The fit is very tight, so nothing moves once it’s on the camera.
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[Will Hommeyer] “Maybe it’s not a huge problem but it must effect the image when it moves as you zoom & focus.”
Hmmm… So far I haven’t experienced any movement with my Voighlander Nikon F adapter and Zeiss ZF lenses.
I also owned the ciecio7 FD adapter for a month when I was considering Canon FD lenses, and that M4/3 mount was the tightest adapter I’ve ever used. I almost thought that it was maybe too tight, as the fit was ROCK SOLID before fully rotating and clicking in to place.
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The AVCHD CODEC is actually a lot better than you think it is. There have been lots of folks who bought an external recorder because they thought it would make a big difference, and then found that the internal AVCHD CODEC is great for just about anything, even green-screen work. It does require good software and a powerful CPU ( Intel i7 is the top choice ), but once you are set up things go smoothly.
Which lens adapter do you own ?
There is a huge range of Micro 4/3 adapters that go from quite crappy ( $30 – $50 ) units, to the mid-range ( $90 – $200 ), to the heavy duty professional. ( $200 – $400 )
I bought the Voightlander M4/3 to Nikon F mount adapter which is VERY SOLID, though at some point I am going to spend $400 on an Adaptimax M4/3 adapter to use with Nikon G lenses like the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 which is a fairly big lens for M4/3 cameras.