Matthew Sonnenfeld
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FS100 is a good option for low light but I find it personally to be impractical ergonomically and generally quirky. Of course it all boils down to what your needs are. For an interview situation, holding focus with manual lenses is not an issue as it is relatively locked off. Unless you are using AF lenses, of which there are few for an interchangeable lens camera, this issue is common across the board. The only option is a more ENG specific camera with useable AF.
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This will probably be a strong lens to have in the arsenal once it hits: https://www.43rumors.com/samyang-16mm-f2-0-for-mft-priced-ay-449-shipping-in-july/
I’d really take a hard look at vintage glass and adapters. You will find a ton of old manual Canon FD, Nikon F, Minolta, Pentax, Zeiss, and Leica, for some really great prices. Then all you need are the proper adapters. None of these adapters would require the electronic communication for any of the aforementioned lenses and therefore they will be pretty cheap. As per the manual MFT glass, take a good look at the SLR Magic glass. It is available at Adorama and really there are some very nice offerings. Don’t let the name of the company fool you. They are not just “toy” lenses anymore.
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These are relatively new items still and I have not yet seen them in the wild personally. Given Promise’s experience with Thunderbolt RAID arrays though, I see no reason to be worried about taking the chance. The technology between the two systems is probably very similar.
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In short, it will perform pretty poorly.
That’s not to say that you can’t get good performing glass and the AF100A anyway. You just need to look to used glass and an adapter. Take a look at some old Canon FD lenses. Easily available, cheap, easy adapter to get. You can also look at some old Nikon F glass. These will be more expensive than Canon as they still work on current Nikon Cameras and Canon FD do not work on current Canon cameras, but that means they will be a better long term investment. You can also look for used Pentax, Zeiss, Leica, Olympus, and Minolta, and just get the correct lens adapters.
Realistically though, you may be better off with a Canon XF300 or a Panasonic AC160. These cameras will give you greater options more of the time and if you want DOF you can always move back and zoom in. It’s a pretty handy ENG trick and it works just fine typically. From a practical standpoint, I think you will be happier in the long run if this is the type of material they will be used for.
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I am currently using an Io XT for Premiere, Media Composer, FCP, and monitoring my audio through the DB25 with no problems. It is for analog audio output, not for input. The Io XT has no analog input, but very much as 8 channel balanced 24bit/48khz analog output via DB25.
It sounds like the Io XT is probably more of what you need. It is unfortunately given the price difference of the two items, but if you need the analog audio, that is what you will have to do unless you can find another way.
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The thing about the Panasonic and the Olymous MFT lenses is that they are all electronic, without exception, so in that sense yes, the quote is correct.
What you were told is not entirely true either however. The MFT mount is not simply to mount adapters to full frame, APS and Super35 lenses. There are many fully manual MFT mount lenses that will work brilliantly on the MFT BMCC. Look to the Voigtlander Nokton series. These include 17.5mm, 25mm, and soon to be a 42.5mm. They are all fully manual lenses, all the f0.95 (SUPER FAST) and all designed specifically for the MFT mount. There are also some great offerings from SLR Magic such as the 12mm Hyperprime.
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Andrew, if the Zeiss ZF 50mm is the lens you want, it will be fine on the MFT BMCC.
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Peter, what you’re saying implies that the ZF series will not work on a camera without Nikon communication. It will work, but without the electronic features. As a cinema lens it will perform no differently when it comes to control of manual focus and aperture.
The ZF lenses are manual lenses with electronic features. Not electronic lenses with manual features. This is a crucial difference. In the case of the passive mount, any functionally manual lens, meaning manual focus (not focus-by-wire) and manual aperture, will function as normal. Any feature having to do with electronics will not work but that will have absolutely no effect on normal lens function and usage.
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Purely having electrical contacts does not make it an electronic lens. Sometimes these contacts are for relaying lens data. For example, all new Leica M mount lenses have electrical contacts but these are very much manual lenses. That does not make them dysfunctional on older M cameras. Even film cameras began having electrical contacts for metering because the camera could more accurately judge the metering by knowing the characteristics of the lens. But that did not mean that they could not be used on older cameras. Were this the case then the Zeiss ZF lenses would not work on anything without Nikon contacts. The contacts tell the camera which lens is being used, nothing more.
This is a big difference than a fully electronic lens. Tell tale characteristics of this would be no manual aperture ring, autofocus capability even if there is a manual focus switch, infinity spinning focus wheels. Any combination of these will typically mean that it cannot work on a passive mount and requires power.
Simply turning the lens over and looking for contacts will not tell the whole story.
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There have been no MFT BMCC’s that have shipped so no one will have had the opportunity to try. If you have the correct adapter such as the ones linked to below, there is no reason that they should not work.
or
https://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-Adapter-Minolta-Olympus-Panasonic/dp/B003EAVULQ
The Novoflex is a much better adapter though the Fotodiox is the better of the budget options.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera, RED Scarlet-X, Panasonic HPX170, Canon 7D
2011 Macbook Pro 17″, 2.3 Ghz Quad Core, 16GB RAM
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The College of William and Mary