Browsing Category Lenses on m4/3

Reviews and tests with a number of legacy lenses as well as current lenses for the micro four thirds system.

indiSYSTEM Bulldog and GH2 ETC test from Snow Storm to California Dreaming

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Snow Film Test Challenges with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip

Most of my short films come out of making something out of nothing. This instance is no exception. This past weekend it had snowed in Philadelphia and I thought it would be a great opportunity to shoot a test with the Panasonic GH2 camera and indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip rig using a few of my legacy zoom lenses. I first set up my Schneider Variogon 18-90mm c-mount lens with GH2 and indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig. I tested everything indoors pulling focus with my Chrosziel follow focus and 80mm SNAP! Gear fitted snugly on the lens and felt pretty good to go but as soon as I stepped out the door it was a different story. I could barely see the GH2 LCD screen with the snow falling everywhere and white brightness all around and I had forgotten my variable ND filter so I was getting utter crap. The camera and rig were getting icy and wet and I was just about to call it quits when I remembered I brought Tim Ovel’s hacked GH13 with me in my bag as a backup. It had the Panasonic 14-140mm lens and I set the lens to autofocus and kept trudging onward. Since my gear was wet anyway I set the GH2 and Bulldog rig in the fresh heap of snow and took a few quick snow pics of the gear. I then gave the GH13 and Panasonic 14-140mm a quick spin on the Bulldog as I walked back through the falling snow. The 14-140mm lens in AF mode allowed me to press record with out worrying about looking at my snow filled LCD screen leaving me with at least some usable footage.

When the snow finally stopped I decided to go back out to give my legacy lenses one more try on the Bulldog rig. This time I wanted to shoot with the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens which was the first legacy zoom lens that I purchased for the GH1. It’s not a perfect lens by any means and is riddled with some of the problems that many c-mount zooms have on the m4/3 system but I was thrilled by the character of the lens and the ability to see it in action with the new GH2 ETC mode. It really shines with it’s sharpness, contrast and color around the 20mm to 50mm focal range. The 8mm wide end has heavy vignetting and edge distortion and at 62mm, the longest reach of the lens, you’ll see a couple metal edges of the interior of the lens in your shot. Despite these issues, I was just thrilled to finally use this lens with the new GH2 Extended Tele Conversion mode. The GH2′s ETC is really bringing to life many of these smaller c-mount zoom lenses and primes because you can finally fill most of the frame of the sensor and record using the full resolution of the camera. Another nice feature of the Angenieux 8-64mm c-mount lens on the GH2 is that it gives the indiSYSTEM Bulldog that steadicam feel because the rig is so light weight. I’ll talk a little bit more about this lens in more detail in a separate post. You can pick out the Angenieux 8-64mm footage pretty easily. It’s all the Philly footage shot right after the snow storm.

Aloha Winter Notes

With the challenges of the snow and with footage that was varied and shot with different lenses I decided I would have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how I can put this all together. To help me in the process I decided to look over some test footage I shot with the GH2 over the holidays. I was in Southern California and spent some time with family in Oceanside, CA. Oceanside is a small beach town just on the outskirts of San Diego and home to an eclectic mix of of surfers, folks who love the beach and military personel who live and work near Camp Pendelton. There’s a beautiful pier at Oceanside and I did a few tests with the GH2 and Contax G 28mm lens using the indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip. Looking at this warm beach footage and the joy of seeing my nephew and his love for his “Aunty Gayle” as he dragged her around the beach pier just made me think of the Hawaiian song “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi”. It is just the song that comes to mind that always makes me long for home especially during a Philadelphia snow fall. The song was written in 1951 for the remake of the movie “Bird of Paradise”. I thought it would be a perfect song to connect these two winter stories together. One of my favorite versions of this song is by Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho whom I admire greatly. Their version of “Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi” with Tia’s beautiful voice and Daniel’s wonderful counterpoint with ukulele is quite evocative and filled with a childlike innocense and spirit of longing and reminescense. Their newest collaboration `ikena won them both a Grammy for best Contemporary Hawaiian album.

Here are the words to this beautiful piece.

Ku`u Lei Awapuhi
- Words & music by Emily Kekahaloa Namau`u Taylor

E ku`u aloha e (e o)    I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au)   Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe    Return to me

Auhea la `oe e ke aloha   Where are you, my love
‘Awapuhi pala o ka ua noe   Like the ginger, covered in the misty rain
A eia no me au     Here, I am with you
I ka poli o ke aloha    In love’s sweet embrace

E ku`u aloha e (e o)    I call, my beloved (answer)
`Auhea la `oe (e ia no au)   Where are you (Here I am)
A huli aku au ia `oe    Return to me

Aloha Winter
a gary san angel film test

Cameras:
Panasonic GH2
Panasonic GH13

Lenses:
Panasonic 14-140 f/4.0-5.8 lens
Contax G 28mm f/2.8 lens
Angenieux 8-64mm f/1.9 lens
Schneider Variogon 18-90mm f/2.0 lens

Rig:
indiSYSTEM Bulldog
indiSYSTEM BallGrip

Music:
Ku’u Lei ‘Awapuhi
Tia Carrere & Daniel Ho
Hawaiiana

Location:
University City, Philadelphia
Oceanside, CA

indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB will soon be an essential part of the indy music video

Tim Ovel is at it again. First he democratized the follow focus with the indiFOCUS by creating a high quality independent-built follow focus unit that could be used on camera stock lenses without the need for gearing. Next he changed the slider scene with the indiSLIDERpro allowing you to purchase a slider that does not bend or flex for the price that you would have once paid for renting one. Now, Tim has changed the jib crane landscape forever with his new indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB.

The indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB is practically a jib arm in a bag. It’s a portable jib arm that folds down to 38″ which is about the size of an average tripod and when fully extended you have a little over an 8′ height extension with the camera plate attached. Most jibs are out of the price range of the average indy filmmaker. They are traditionally bulky and heavy and a super pain to set up and transport.

The indiGO-JIB is quite the opposite. In fact, you can mount the jib arm on an inexpensive Manfrotto 503 fluid head. You can balance out the your 10 pound camera in just a few minutes and counter weight your camera with either standard plate weights or purchase the 4 liter water containers that you can fill with water or dirt.

Imagine being able to take a jib with you to the wilderness and beyond. The sky’s the limit with the indiGO-JIB and for $349 it’s a jaw dropping incredible price. Simply put you can not be with out the indiGO-JIB on your next film. Seriously, this jib is designed so well with adjustments to give you the proper counterweight and the ability to get some creative shots that you would not be able to do with your average jib arm. I have a feeling this little guy will be snatched up by folks from the indy filmmaker on a tight budget to the heavy hitter industry DP.

I had a chance to use the indiGO-JIB for a high profile music video. The director asked me to not show the footage until the MV comes out in May so I thought I’d share some footage of our pre-shoot. I had a team of youth and young adults work with me on the shoot. They are a part of the Tech Apprenticeship program at the Asian Arts Initiative which I run every Sunday to train students in theater and film production work. They are a little green but they did a stellar job and it goes to show you don’t need to be an expert to use one.

The 8′ indiGO-JIB with my Gitzo sticks extends the arm to a reach of 12′. I needed to get even higher so I placed my sticks and jib on top of a few cafe tables which gave me an additional extension giving me a total height of 14.5′. What jib arm do you know that can easily be placed on top of a cafe table and still be rock steady?

We used the Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode with the Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens. This is such an ideal combo on the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB because it is so small and lightweight. In normal creative film mode the Navitar 6mm 1/2 c-mount lens is quite small and you get a very large peep hole effect when you look through your viewfinder but in ETC mode it fits the frame perfectly with only a little vignetting and a slight soft edge. Because this is a flat field lens you can get incredible sharpness when moving the jib from a very tight extreme close up on your subject to that of a very wide establishing shot.

I had forgotten to bring a field monitor so I merely stopped down to f/4 and used a ladder to check focus at 14.5′ high and then brought the jib arm down to 2′ off the ground and our subjects were in focus as we moved the jib from ground to ceiling. It’s an incredible lens on the GH2 and combined with the indiGO-JIB is perfect for doing music video work because it gives you incredible range. With the indiGO-JIB you have fluid movement and wonderful shots to discover as you use it from extreme close up to long shot.

I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to test out the prototype version of the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB for a little over two months now and it has been nothing short of amazing. I know it will crack a smile from the big boys because is can do so much in this little frame. I’m sure we’ll see it being used on reality tv sets, narrative films and even more music videos. I mean why not? We’ve dreamed of doing these shots since we started watching movies.

Well here it is folks the democratization of the jib starts today. Damn it Tim! You did did again! Filmmaking is supposed to be expensive and unattainable. LOL! No really, kudos Tim Ovel for making another wall crumble.

Now people go out and make your dream films a reality!

Pre-Shoot test for Music Video

Filmed by Youth from the Tech Apprenticeship Program at the Asian Arts Initiative

Camera: Panasonic GH2 in ETC mode

Lens: Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mountRig: indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIBCrew: Ty Givens, Uyen Le, Mary Seng, Kaitlin Dugan, Johnathan Bennet

With Music:

“I Got My”

Magnetic North / Taiyo Na

indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB – Steve Calvarese

a gary san angel film test

Why Do We Suffer
Written and Performed by Steve Calvarese

Rig: indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB prototype
Lens: Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens
Camera: Panasonic GH2 Extended Tele Conversion (ETC) Mode

This Winter I have been training a group of teens and young adults in both technical theater and filmmaking at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia. What makes the process unique is that I invite local artists in the community to perform in our classes. The tech team designs lights, works the camera and shoots a short live video for each participating artist. At the end of the day, the trainees get a real world tech experience and each artist gets a filmed version of their live performance.

For this session, I was fortunate to have Philly based Spoken Word artist Steve Calvarese perform a new monologue he was working on called “Why Do We Suffer”. In this piece Steve brings home some insight on the plight of the homeless. I wanted the camera to represent the POV of someone who is scared to look in the eye of a homeless person. For this shoot, I wanted to test out the new indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB which is a portable light weight jib arm perfect to use for a small DSLR camera.

I wanted to see if we could use the indiGO-JIB in more of a steadicam fashion which would allow me the ability to have quick lateral camera movement as well as varied low to high fluid camera angles perfect for what we needed to make Steve’s piece work.

I wanted to also pair the indiGO-JIB arm with the Panasonic GH2 and the Navitar 6mm f/1.4 c-mount lens in Extended Tele Conversion (ETC) Mode. The Navitar 6mm c-mount lens in ETC mode fills the frame with no vignetting and is a flat field lens so you have edge to edge sharpness from lanscape to macro. It is one of the smallest lenses I’ve used on the GH2 and one of the widest and sharpest. I’ll be posting a follow up post on both the indiSYSTEM indiGO-JIB and Navitar 6mm c-mount lens very soon. In the mean time, you can at least see a little bit of the jib arm and lens in action here.

Artists Notes:

“When writing “Why Do We Suffer”, I wanted to address the sociological phenomenon “invisible minority”. What the mass media projects as “experimental reality” leaves the viewer to question if these people exist. A lot of times, the answer is no. We ignore these people on our daily encounters. They are kept hidden because they are perceived as deviants in society. As a result, we become complacent with this being the new norm. I also wanted to gear away toward minority being strictly a race issue. In doing so, I break the story into three different parts: homelessness, being Muslim, and someone living in jail.

In the video, I embody a homeless person who is telling his/her story of how he/she is perceived as a bum. Because of this label, certain stereotypes are evoked. One of the more common ones is a person having a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia. Since this stigma is implanted into our minds, we keep our distances. I think partly because we are fearful of not knowing what might happen if we approach him/her. We then marginalize these people by blaming it on culture. As an artist and an individual who encounters homeless people almost everyday, I wanted to unmask this preexisting stereotype and others alike by telling a story about a person who is just like us. Regardless if the person is homeless, he/she has a story that needs to be told. I am hoping that our views will shift and that we see homelessness not as a disease, rather a lifestyle resulting from poverty.”– Steve Calvarese

Why Do We Suffer

Written and Performed by Steve Calvarese

Part I

Can someone give me a sign please?
if they could mind read
and if the blind can see
then possibly, they’ll see
my Sharpie
isn’t dark enough to write
the words
What’s the meaning of life, uh?
trying to be heard
but they’re not bold enough to free me, from the hurt
my net worth,
a piece of cardboard
telling my thoughts from the core
of my stomach
I can barely stomach
these infinite minutes
counting like seconds
to breathe
out of poverty
just another target, trying to pass go but this isn’t monopoly
everyday of the week
I suffer from this weak
economy
please, before I finish
I want you to listen
for a small fraction of a second
a victim, from the world promises
falls in fractions, of my image
isn’t what the world sees
my hands, bleed
from praying,
saying the cause is public housing
minimum wage
traps us in chains
displacement, misplaces our names
from our face, facing
race and racist comments
for being homeless
like the cause for property value going down
I just close my eyes lids
I’m invisible, as it is
to begin with, the physical
we are out of it
another swallow of oxytocin, some klonopin
to ease their pain, but we are the ones who are sufferin’
it’s all a hustle isn’t it
musclin’ until life drags us in
under the system, wonderin’
if they’ll ever wake out of it
© 2010

[Lumix GH1 and Computar 25mm test] Sidewalk Notes (Prototype)

When you’re walking around on the sidewalk, you always see messages people write in the cement before it dries. When I was walking back home from school one day, I noticed that there were these messages engraved into the cement sidewalks. I knew they there, I just never really looked at them. Luckily I had my Lumix GH1 with me so I decided to record these messages on video. It was evening, so it was a little dark, but the computar lens is so great that I can take images in the dark at a faster shutter speed. But as I stated before, it was still early evening. Unfortunately I did not have a tripod with me, so the video turns out to be a little shaky.

It’s a short video, but all the messages recorded were found within a 30 yard range. What’s so important that the person just had to make their mark onto the cement and show it to the whole word? Spontaneous impulse? Pride? Love. Some were easier to decipher than others such as the greek letters, who I can only assume it was a student who expressing their pride as a member of a specific fraternity. The one at the end looks to be a heart with possibly initials on it in a similar fashion to the heart border and initials carved in the tree that we see in movies and books.

I’m thinking of going out into the city (Washington, DC) when I have time and try to record as many messages I can engraved into the sidewalk. If anyone is up to it, please try to do it within your city/town/neighborhood. See what you find. You might find something interesting.

Contax G 28mm lens leg cutting is easy.

I have to say I love my Contax G 28mm lens on the m4/3 format.

I’ve posted a few examples here and it’s a wonderful surprise to be able to use this lens. It’s by no means as perfect as it was on the ol’ rangefinder camera that it was originally suited for but it sure is wonderful to use on my GH1 and tack sharp with beautiful contrast. For those who may still be on the fence, I put together a very simple no frills video to go over the steps of cutting the legs from the Contax G 28mm lens and a quick tip to make sure your Metabones adapter is nice and smooth. If you are super brave you can even do this on your Contax G 21mm lens as well. It’s well worth it if you take the risk!

indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig and indiSYSTEM BallGrip- Never leave home without it.

indiSYSTEM Bulldog

No matter how prepared we think we may be when you go out on a shoot you inevitably wish you had brought that extra something often times it’s the right filter, a wider lens, or the right rig. In my line of work, as a documentary filmmaker I have to streamline big time and be creative with as very little as possible. What the indiSYSTEM Bulldog does for me is allow me that extra little something to give me a variety of shooting styles in one small light weight rig. I can shoot shouldermount, handheld, or put the rig on a sturdy monopod or tripod. The key here is flexibility and light weight compact durability and that’s a big plus with the indiSYSTEM Bulldog. I just don’t have the capacity to carry heavy gear with me. If I’m carrying more than my bike messenger bag and a small gear bag then that’s too much. I’m on the road and out in public and would rather be a fly on the wall out of sight and out of mind than be caught looking like a lost tourist.

Here’s an example of the compact nature of the indiSYSTEM Bulldog. Everything fits in a small 12″ x 10″ x 4″ gear bag with room to spare.

I can set up the complete rig or modify it depending on my shooting needs and it takes me about five minutes to put together. I can then pack everything back up in minutes and fit everything in my little bag. Obviously, you’ll have to find your own bag indiSYSTEM does not provide this with the Bulldog but it goes to show that the indiSYSTEM Bulldog is an essential part of your shoot and one rig that you won’t be leaving behind.

IndiSYSTEM BallGrip

Here are some pictures of how I use the indiSYSTEM BallGrip just so people can get their head around the idea of using this tool. The ball joint is a brilliant idea by Tim Ovel of indiSYSTEM and it really works to help you pull focus while doing handheld shots. This is an example of how one would hold it when using a follow focus.

I use two BallGrips when I want to configure the Bulldog into a Bulldog mini. With this variation I can have something that I can walk around with in a big city or crowd and that gives me the ability to pull focus and the ability to have an extra bit of support on a moving handheld shot.

Here is the setup that I used for a recent test shoot. Since I had pictures of the Bulldog in a warm sunny Southern California beach I thought it would be only appropriate to contrast it in the cold Philadelphia snow fall.

You’ll notice the Blue strap in the picture. That does not come with the Bulldog that is a camera strap that I attached to the BallGrip just as a precautionary measure. If you slip focus and let go of the indiSYSTEM BallGrip you’ll still be connected and will never drop the rig.

It’s important to note that the ideal for this setup to me would be a GH1/GH2 or similiar camera with a small body and a small prime lens or small zoom lens. The best combo that I have tested so far for just point and shoot hand held work would be the indiSYSTEM Bulldog and BallGrip using the Panasonic GH2 and the Panasonic 20mm lens. For legacy lenses, I find the Contax G 28mm lens with Metabones adapter and SNAP! Gear terrific to use with my GH2 with this setup. I’m still testing with a number of c-mount lenses including the Schneider Variogon 18-90mm zoom pictured above with the GH2. It was a little front heavy and better suited locked to a monopod or tripod because in order to use the lens you have to engage the GH2′s extended tele conversion mode and with handheld camera shake it is a bit magnified. I did however have good success using the Bulldog with the very small Angenieux Zoom Type8x8B 8-64mm f/1.9 c-mount lens. It is probably one of the smallest c-mount zoom lenses and I got one to work on the micro 4/3 system. You can get more info about it here: Angenieux 8-64mm lens.

I put together a short piece using the indiSYSTEM Bulldog rig and indiSYSTEM BallGrip and the Panasonic GH2. It’s called Aloha Winter.

Kodak Cine Ektar II 25mm

I had a rare lull during my lunch break today so I thought it would be a good opportunity to take out my GH1 and to test out how the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear and Collar work using the Kodak Ektar II 25mm f/1.4 c-mount lens. It’s a very small cine c-mount and with the new SNAP! Gear and Collar you can even pull focus on this little lens.

The footage is basic street scenes near my work in Center City Philadelphia. I wanted to basically test wide open at f/1.4 just to see the lens sharpness and light fall off as well as how well you can pull focus with this system.

I had a 52mm homemade B+W variable ND filter which I was able to use on the lens with a step up ring to help control my exposure.

For those who want to play with this Ektar II 25mm you’ll definitely need a 30mm step up ring for this lens

I literally tried several filters to find the right size and after several months and several returns later I lucked out and found out that 30mm is the filter size for this Ektar II 25mm lens. There’s no info. on the web at all on this so I had to figure this out on my own. I’ll soon post a listing of filters sizes for the c-mount lenses that I currently own to help those who want to try this similar setup with their own c-mount lenses.

I’m very pleased and surprised that you can even pull focus with this little lens. Once you set it up properly the SNAP! Gear and Collar is fairly secure and it really allows you far more control allowing you to achieve repeatable focus pulls. One thing that I noticed is that it takes about one to two full rotations to actually go from close focus to infinity depending of course where your subject matter is so that’s something to consider when using this particular ektar lens. I’d also recommend that you tighten the camera down to whatever plate you are using in order to prevent the camera from moving and your SNAP! Gear from slipping from the follow focus gears.

In general, the Ektar II 25mm has a unique character to it. Sure it has your usual light fall off and c-mount vignetting but it does give you the old school feel. It’s corner sharpness is rather so so to me but for those who are looking to use this lens to invoke the nostaligic past that may not be so bad. Again, I was shooting everything completely wide open so that would change of course by stopping down.

I do want to do a few more tests with this lens just to see if the step ring and ND filter is creating that extra light fall off. For a first test I’m really impressed that this could even be a possibiloity. It’s not bad. And really, it’s so lowprofile and lightweight that it makes it fun to shoot. The fact that we have something like the SNAP! gear and collar to be able to do this fairly economicaly is also quite attractive. You can buy a 70mm SNAP gear and then have a number of SNAP! Collars depending on the lens you are using. I look forward to more c-mount movie makers in m4/3!

NEW indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear & Collar Demo

I’m wanted to post this quick demo using the new indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear and Collar on a Kodak Cine Ektar II 25mm f/1.4 c-mount lens. I’ve been talking with Tim Ovel from indiSYSTEM about creating a geared solution for cine c-mount lenses and the SNAP! collar was a very simple addition to the SNAP! Gear and will work with most c-mount lenses. I gave Tim the front lens diameter of some of my lenses and he constructed a SNAP! collar that would essentially fit into the SNAP! Gear. With the help of some “squish” between the lens and the collar, the setup works very nicely and gives a nice secure geared fit.

This is just a simple demo that I did very late at night so please forgive the uncleaned lens of the footage but I wanted to show folks how the SNAP! Gear and Collar fit on the lens and it’s use with a follow focus. Actual footage is currently being edited and will follow shortly.

Overall, pulling focus is very smooth with this system and here are a few key points to consider to use this with your lenses.

Key points for a successful SNAP! Gear and Collar setup:

The space between the SNAP! Collar and your lens should not be more than 7mm. Anything larger does not give you a secure fit. I’ve done a number of tests and it seems the ideal is to have 2-3mm of space but no larger than 7mm. Again, this space is pre-squish material.
C-mounts with focal rings at the front or middle of the lens work best. Though I have tested a Cine Nikkor 10mm where the focal ring is at the rear of the lens but you have to turn the gear at an angle in order to make it work. Surprisingly it still works well. I’ll be doing more testing to see if this technique works on other lenses where the focal ring is at the rear of the lens. Again, this is more for clearance of the gear and the camera.
Take the time to test out the “squish”. The best technique is to place “squish” between the lens and the collar first and then compress the SNAP! gear and collar together with the lens. There should not be any play with the lens, if there is some play then you may even need to place a tiny bit of “squish” between the collar and the actual SNAP! gear itself.
Once the SNAP! Gear and Collar is secured to the lens, rotate the SNAP! Gear back and forth making sure that the gear does not slip. You should be able to firmly spin that gear from close focus (MFD) to infinity and back again with no problem.
Make sure you choose lenses that have a smooth focus ring, you may need to find a lens repair guy to overhaul your lens and use a light grease on your focusing helicoid. Lenses with rough focus will force the gear to work harder and with the added torque the lens will unscrew itself from the mount.

I’ll be posting some sample footage later this week to show real world usage of the SNAP! Gear and Collar on c-mount lenses. It has been extremely fun to use and with the new Panasonic AG-AF100 micro 4/3 camera just around the corner I think the reality of using c-mount legacy lenses and these SNAP! Gear and Collars will be extraordinary and a must. The exciting thing is that we don’t need to wait for that camera we can use it now with the Panasonic GH1. The reality of a digital 16mm world using old school beautiful c-mount lenses is a dream come true.

indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear Collar

Yes! It’s true people. I couldn’t believe it until I tried it out myself. We have a pretty remarkable solution for pulling focus on a good number of cine c-mount lenses and so far the results have been very solid with the new indiSYSTEM SNAP! Collar. Not for your dog, for your smaller lenses! It’s a beautiful thing.

For many c-mount lens users using the m4/3 system can be rewarding but a little challenging. The issues of the smaller image circle for m4/3 use and vignetting make it not ideal by many but there’s a lot to be said about the character of these lenses. I think they are still worthy of being used especially for still photography but also for movie making. One of the hurdles of using these lenses to make movies with a camera like the GH1 is that it is so difficult to pull focus because the lenses are small making it impossible for subtle focus changes. When you have a smaller c-mount lens on this camera any slight movement focusing your lens will show up on screen and effect your image in a very big way.

That’s why currently the main folks who use c-mount lenses with the m4/3 system are still photography folks because they can live with the focusing annoyances while still getting some pretty amazing images out of these little lenses. But most of these c-mount lenses were made to shoot moving images and I’m happy to say we may be breathing a bit of movie life into these old film lenses once again.

Tim Ovel from indiSYSTEM has come up with a pretty darn good solution for those who want to pull focus with a gear and a follow focus using cine c-mount lenses with his new SNAP! Gear Collar. The piece fits on the lens like a collar and is slipped on and secured to a 70mm SNAP! gear. It’s that simple. Once SNAP! gear snaps together, It’s not going anywhere. The magnets are super strong. I tested this several times by rotating the gear back and forth by hand pretty strongly and the gear stays on nice and strong.

Part of this solution came out of some tests that I was doing with the SNAP! gear. Over all, I’ve been pretty impressed with the SNAP! gears and I was brainstorming with Tim on how the SNAP! gear can be modified to accept smaller lenses. Ideally, it would be great to get some smaller SNAP! gear sizes from the 35mm to 50mm range but it would be fairly expensive so Tim came up with a few alternative solutions. In our first test, Tim sent me some very sturdy foam and I tried to cut out and create an insert between the 70mm gear and the lenses but it did not work. The foam did not have any center support and the lens would basically slip out from the gear whenever I pulled focus. Then Tim had a great idea of creating smaller diameter slips or collars that would essential fit snugly between a SNAP! 70mm gear and the lens being used. He created a few samples in the shop and sent a few out to me. I tried it and was really blown away. It securely slipped into the 70mm SNAP! and like a dog collar securely fit around the lens with a very snug secure fit. We had ourselves a winner!

The pictures in this post demonstrate the use of the collar with Kodak Cine Ektar lenses. Theses are older 16mm lenses that were made by Kodak and used on their Cine-Kodak Special II between 1948 and 1961. From talking to folks like Steve Serota and others who grew up with these lenses, the Cine Ektars were some of the best c-mount lenses made in the U.S. for 16mm film cameras. These lenses have more recently been growing in popularity with the m4/3 system because they are one of the best lenses to focus with for still camera use. Also, on the Ektar 25mm 1.4 and even smaller Ektar II 25mm 1.4 the focus ring is on the very front of the lens which is ideal for using the SNAP! collar.

Here’s some brief tips using the SNAP! Collar with the 70mm SNAP! Gear

1) Make sure you chose a collar that allows no more than 7mm of space between the collar and the lens you intend to use. To fill the gap between the lens and the collar Tim provides you with 5mm and 1mm “squish” which is like a spongy tape with sticky adhesive on one side. The squish fits on the inside collar to hold your lens in place. In my tests, a space between 7mm and smaller gives the best secure feel for your lens. You can place two strips of 5mm squish on top of each other but from my tests it’s much better if you don’t.

2) Place a 1mm strip of squish on the inside of the 70mm gear where the collar slips into the SNAP! gear if you find the collar more snug. When you snap the gear together the collar should feel a tiny bit larger and when you squish the gear together you’ll see the magnets engage and the squish will compress and tighten the collar and your lens.

3) This is all based on trail and error depending on your lens and the collar size. Always start placing the squish on the inside collar first and place the collar over the lens and see if it fits your lens properly then slip the collar into the 70mm gear. If it’s loose then put some 1mm squish on the inside of the 70mm gear. If it’s too tight you can trim the squish down with a fine pair of scissors.

4) When you have the SNAP! gear and collar on your c-mount lens before you place it on your camera make sure that you do the twist test. Turn the gear firmly back and forth to make sure the gear is aligned properly and is nice and snug and secure. You should do it fairly firm and fast holding the lens in your hand and rotating the gear. If it is secure then that gear will not move. It should not slip or move from your lens. If you do see a problem that then you need a little extra squish.

The ideal lenses to use are lenses that have a focus ring on the front of the lens because the SNAP! gear must clear the GH1 body but there are some lenses that will still work where the focal ring rests on the middle of the lens. So far the Kodak Cine Ektars are a great fit but some other lenses work very well too including the Computar 25mm f/1.3 and Yvar 75mm f/2.5 lens. One zoom lens that works perfectly that I was not expecting to work was the Angenieux Zoom Type L2 and Type L3 1:2.2/17-68. I wasn’t expecting this lens to work because the lens rotates far forward but the extra width of the SNAP! gear give enough room togo from MFT to infinity. Iit was made for this lens and works beautifully.

I’ll be posting footage and a demo soon. My computer was out of commission this weekend so I am a bit delayed but for now enjoy these pics. Trust me it works.

These are definitely exciting times to see these old lenses being used in this way. I think the indiSYSTEM SNAP! gear and collar can be exciting for filmmakers who want to use c-mounts and other small lenses and I think for still photographers may also think about using the SNAP! gear and collar by itself because it is far easier to focus with the larger wheel than off the lens. There’s a little more torque and you have much more control over focusing just using the gear as without a follow focus. It really works well and helps make focusing smooth and easy with these c-mount lenses for the very first time.

indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear – Schneider Variogon c-mount zoom

As those of you know once you get your lenses and your new DSLR you’ll find that manually focusing by hand is fine in the beginning but when you want to push your work to more professional results it’s best to use a follow focus and focus gears on your lenses in order to have the ability for more precise focus, the ability to rack focus, and to lessen camera lens shake on your footage.

Tim Ovel and his team at indiSYSTEM have been hard at work again this time on their new SNAP! gear.

This new design is a very nice upgrade to their previous focus gear rings. What makes indiSYSTEM’s new design quite unique is that their focus gear is split in two halves and connected together with super strong magnets.What this allows is the ability to place the SNAP! gear ring on your lens and then remove it in a snap.

indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear magnet

Snap! gears are sold in a set with five different gear sizes to cover most of your lenses:

70mm / 75mm / 80mm / 85mm / 90mm

At only $100 bucks for these set of five gears it’s a pretty sweet deal. And for those who need just one you can purchase the 70mm for $30 each.

Each set of SNAP! gears comes with “squish” as Tim likes to call it, or thin self-adhesive foam.

The squish looks like poly foam weather seal tape that you use for weather stripping your home. It rests between your lenses and the focus gear and does a good job of making up the difference if your lens diameter is a few mm smaller than the focus gear. In my case, I tested the 70mm with my Schneider 1:2/18-90 c-mount and the lens diameter was 65mm so I had to make up the difference by doubling the squish.

In my initial tests the adhesive just wasn’t strong enough so Tim is sending some thicker “squish” and I look forward to using it and seeing if it will show better results. In the mean time, I doubled up on the squish that was already sent to me and secured it using some gorilla glue and and now the SNAP! gear fits nice and snug on my lens with no play between the lens and the SNAP! gear.

Here are just a few initial impressions so far.

(+)

You gotta love the “snap” the magnets make. They are surprisingly super strong. Once you have the proper squish, you literally snap the gear on and your ready to go in seconds.
One SNAP! gear can be used with your full set of lenses if they each share the same outside lens diameter.
With magnets and squish, no need to worry about the stress of tightening up your gears with Allen wrenches and leaving marks on your lenses.
I found the ½ inch wide gear great giving you plenty of grip using the MP’s indiFOCUS20.
$100 for a set of five gears (70mm/75mm/80mm/85mm/90mm) is a great deal and covers most of your lenses.

(-)

Don’t place your hard drive or SD cards near the magnets for obvious reasons.
The current adhesive when placing squish on top of each other is not the strongest so you lose the stickiness on the adhesive and need to use something strong like gorilla glue to keep it together. (Will wait on the new “squish” adhesive hopefully that should solve it.)

(>)

70mm is the smallest size gear so currently you need some hefty squish to make up the difference with smaller lenses. It would be nice to have smaller gear sizes especially for my Canon FDs and c-mount lenses but it sounds like 70m is currently the smallest gear size that indiSYSTEM is offering.

Here is an initial test with the SNAP! gear and indiRAILSpro MP using my GH1 and Schneider 1:2/18-90 c-mount lens.

The first test was doing a rack focus test with theatrical lighting after a poetry event at the Asian Arts Initiative. I’m shooting with a c-mount zoom so there is typically a smaller image circle and also some vignetting. The lens is still pretty sharp and has a lot of character and it pairs nicely with the SNAP! gear and indiFOCUS20.

MP and Schneider c-mount zoom lens

Before “goin’ down to the Shore” as the say here in Philly, Tim Ovel from Studio4 Productions was kind enough to send me a few goodies to test out. One of which is the their new indiRAILSpro MP, which I took with me to Ocean City, NJ for a little test run.The new indiRailspro MP combines the best features of a shoulder mount system, the ability to go hand-held, and has a built in follow focus to boot. It’s lightweight, lowprofile, and flexibility is perfectly designed for the event shooter or anyone who needs the ability to stabilize their DSLR and use manual prime or zoom lenses and be on the move in an instant.

The MP consists of a Velbon RUP-40 monopod with a Giottos MH-652 compact quick release assembly and MH-642 plate which mounts to a top mounting stabilizing bracket. The monopod can be quickly attached and removed with the Giottos quick release assembly which is an added plus for quick setup, break down, and storage. On the bracket you have the ability to adjust the monopod, camera, and shoulder pad length as desired. An additional Giottos MH-652/642 quick release plate is where your DSLR mounts and you can slide your camera along the bracket’s adjusting slot to set your camera and lens for proper follow focus use. Unfortunately, the slot was not long enough for me to use the GH1′s 14-140 stock lens with the MP’s follow focus. Tim will be sending me out a new bracket with a longer slot for me to test soon. In the meantime, I decided to test out another c-mount lens that I recently just got back from being overhauled, a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 1:2/18-90 C-Mount zoom lens which I will talk about in detail later.

I wasn’t able to use the follow focus on the MP with the Schneider so instead I wanted to simply focus on the MP’s ability to be used as a DSLR stabilizer. Because the Schneider c-mount lens does not have a large enough image circle to fill the sensor, the GH1 must have digital 2x zoom engaged in order to get full use of the lens though out the zoom range and to fill the image sensor with out the “peep hole effect”. Doing this however, means that any slight camera movement in higher focal ranges will create a heck of a lot of camera shake.

And this is where the MP comes in. I wanted to use my Schneider c-mount lens but I was on vacation and didn’t want to drag an additional tripod with me. The MP was a perfect fit in this department because I could split up the MP with the Velbon monopod in my day bag weighting less than a pound and the stabilizing bracket (less than 2 pounds) in my camera bag.

Without the follow focus, you can be ready to go in 5 seconds, the MP’s combination of monopod and shoulder mount bracket allows for enough stabilization so I can get fairly steady shots with my Schneider lens even with the 2x zoom engaged on the GH1. If I didn’t have the MP, it would literally be camera shake city. Don’t get me wrong, this is no substitute for a good tripod for rock solid shots, you will always see some movement and sway but when using the Schneider lens at the lower focal ranges like 18-30 (which is doubled with the 2x zoom factor to 36-60) and by keeping that camera nice and steady you reduce camera shake and can capture some really nice steady footage. The big advantage with the MP is quick mobility combined with stability.

The footage I captured was nothing special, just a few shots of our day at the beach with friends. Two big challenges with shooting with the GH1, aside from the sand and wind whipping around, the GH1 camera mics are absolutely atrocious and unusable in windy situations. Number two, in bright outdoor beach type settings, it is literally impossible to get an accurate reading on focus and exposure with the flip out LCD. I didn’t have a hoodman on me so through out the footage you’ll see the exposure settings change that is not the camera it’s me trying to play with my Variable ND filter because I couldn’t see the screen.

Again, the GH1 audio was simply unusable being a windy day so the visuals are accompanied with a live version of Dar William’s song “The Ocean”. Here is a quick test of the indiRAILSpro MP (no follow focus) with the Schneider Variogon 1:2/18-90 in c-mount. The footage was captured at 720/60p and converted to 24p using NeoScene.

Contax G 90mm with the Metabones adapter & SNAP! Gear System

Today’s test is something I’ve been playing with for a while and that is finding a solution to pull focus with Contax G lenses.

We’ve found it with the Metabones Contax G adapter and the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear.

Today I’m using the Contax G 90mm f/2.8 and it is a verrry sharrrp lens!

I like to do my tests in Chinatown, Philadelphia because the community is so rich and diverse and I have a connection to the place and the people. Through the din and circling movement of people, its somehow always been a comfortable spot for me to take out my camera and just be a fly on the wall. Also, I get to compare my footage a lot easier when I’m in a familiar place. One of the great things about shooting near the Chinatown Arch in Philadelphia is that the arch and the various neighborhood shop signage are really beautiful and I can assess the detail and sharpness of the Contax G 90mm lens really well.

Even in the H.264 codec and the safe GH13 settings of the Vimeo clip, you can see the crisp detail of the Chinatown Arch and all the signs. They just pop. I’m shooting completely wide open for most of the shots and there is edge to edge sharpness. There’s only a few shots where I stopped down a stop. Everything else is really wide open. Some people may not like this look because it’s so sharp but for the right narrative film or documentary I could see these lenses working really nicely.

This test footage was shot with a GH13 (MarekV settings from DVXUser) in 1080/24P mode. No native 24p on the hack. No tripod just the indisystem indiRAILSpro mp. I also used a homemade variable ND filter created with one B&W CPL filter and one B&W Linear filter.

I need a matte box for sure! You’ll see the lens flares just off left of center in a few shots. To be able to pull focus with these lenses with the Metabones adapter and SNAP! Gear combo is really fantastic. You have more control, it’s smooth and the distance between infinity and close focus is very small. It feels like I’m literally rotating the follow focus three quarters of the way through and I’m at infinity or at close focus already and I really like that a lot. I also love the compact nature of rangefinder lenses. They work perfectly with the GH1 making the camera very light weight which allows me to have more steady control with my MP.

I’ll be doing some more testing with this combination. So stay tuned.

It’s very exciting to be able to use these beautiful lenses in a film context and I hope other indy filmmakers will try this unique combination.

Metabones Contax G adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears

For photographers the new Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter has been long awaited and from what I’ve tested so far its really one of the best Contax G lens adapters I’ve tried on the m4/3 system. But since I’m a filmmaker, I wanted to take it a step further to really make these Contax G lenses sing by allowing the user to achieve critical focus with a cine gear and follow focus system.

Enter the indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear with the Metabones Contax G adapter.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter
75mm SNAP! Gear
SNAP! Collar (I used a 66.5mm diameter- should be smaller)
Follow focus
Camera Rig (Mine is indiSYSTEMpro MP with indiFOCUS 20 follow focus)

It has been something I’ve wanted to figure out since I saw Contax G glass over a year ago on the Panasonic G1 camera to be able to use sharp Contax G Zeiss glass and a mini follow focus system with your GH1. With the new Metabones adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! gears we are very close to being there. I’ve been talking with Tim Ovel from indiSYSTEM about this intriguing combination and sent him my GH1 and a different Contax G mount to show the possibility of this being a really cool possibility.

One of the challenges that Tim discovered was that the tiny gearing system of Contax G lenses can go bad. He tested my 35mm lens and it would constantly bind right in the middle of rotating the lens when placed on this particular mount. I thought it was a problem with the mount but when the Contax G mount was removed, he placed a small screwdriver into the slot of the lens to rotate the ring, and discovered a slight pause when turning the lens. This little pause was magnified and caused binding in the rotation of the lens when placed on the Contax G mount. I sent the lens to Stacy Reilly from Monument Camera, one of the most outstanding lens repair guys around. He has worked on c-mounts, m42 and FD lenses and restored them and got them new again. He cleared the gears and got the lens rotating smooth and with no binding. I believe its now my smoothest lens out of the bunch. So the first key here when using Contax G lenses for filmmaking purposes is make sure you find one with a smooth gearing system and no binding issues.

Here are the steps to getting your SNAP! Gears on the Metabones Adapter:

Secure your Contax G lens on the Metabones mount. (make sure you properly follow the instructions to lock the mount you do not want this lens to roll off.)
Take your SNAP! collar and place it around the middle of the Metabones focal ring. I used a 66.5mm diameter version but it does sometimes snap out of place. I believe it would be better if the collar were a smaller diameter that way it would flex and snap around the ring more tightly. The SNAP! Collar is flexible and my 66.5mm will open up to the larger 69mm diameter of the Metabones focal ring. I’m talking with Tim to test out smaller diameter SNAP! collars and will let you know a more ideal collar size.
Take your 75mm SNAP! Gear and snap it around the collar.
Spin the gear slowly and mold a path for the gear so that it does not touch the body of the camera. Use your fingers to edge up the SNAP! collar. The SNAP! Gear will be at a slight angle but that is fine. You will still be able to pull focus.
Once in gear is in place, spin the gear back and forth quickly and firmly to make sure it’s in place and secure.
Place your camera with Contax G lens and SNAP! gear on your rig, in this case I am using the indiSYSTEMpro MP which has a built in follow focus.
If you are using the MP make sure the follow focus comes close to the gear but not too close. You’ll see what I mean, if you put the gear to close to the follow focus you will not be able to pull focus as smoothly. If you get it just right the focus will be feel light and smooth with no binding.

With the Contax G Metabones Adapter and indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gear combo this has been really jaw dropping for me to see this work so well. There were so many elements that could go wrong but they all worked together very nicely. The Metabones adapter focuses pretty smooth by hand by itself but when you place the SNAP! gear and follow focus you have absolute control. It’s amazing. There is a tiny bit of play but it is so very minor and something that I think can be figured out.

A few improvements I would like to see is if there is a way for the SNAP! Gear to be locked on the focal ring better. I think that would help make sure the gear will not move once set in place. Tim is in the process of sending me a few different collar sizes and I will make a few updates once I get the new collars. What would also help from the Metabones guys is if they could make their focal ring mount an inch to an inch ad a quater wide this would allow the SNAP! gear clearance from the GH1 body and allow the SNAP! collar to line up evenly on the focal ring.

It’s pretty exciting times. The Contax G rangefinder line of lenses are well known for their esteemed sharpness and beauty in the photography world and I hope that other indy filmmakers will discover this nice combo using the Metabones adapter and SNAP! gears to bring Contax G to the filmmaking world.

Contax G Metabones Adapter

In the 1990s the Contax G System was a high end rangefinder camera system with quality Zeiss optics that even today hold its own to the mighty Leica M lens series. With the m4/3 system and the success of the G1 and GH1, many have hoped to resurrect the Contax G line for the new m4/3 system. The problem is the Contax G lenses were created with no foresight for the future use of these lenses. They are auto focus lenses with no manual focus ring. For years the sharp and beautiful glass of Contax G lenses were meant only for the rangefinder system until now..

Over the last year or so small company’s in China, Europe, and even the US have been trying to perfect the Contax G to m4/3 lens adapter. Some of the first solutions were not so great. Early versions had a focus gear on the side of the amount which allowed you to focus the lens. It was doable but a bit rough and not as easy to focus as it looked. The newer adapters now have gears that are a little bigger some with a larger focus gear on the side of the mount and others opting to create an actual focus ring around the mount giving you the ability to use the lens with a full sized focal ring. Despite these two different designs there were still issues of smoothness and results varied depending on different focal lengths used. The whole process of trying to find the right mount for these lenses was turning out to be a crap shoot and I was just about ready to give up on the system. But a few weeks ago, I was on getdpi forum, one of the best places to find great information on new mounts for the m4/3 system. One of their members had a good experience using the Metabones Contax G to m4/3 adapter. It seemed to have a much larger focal ring around the mount which was different from the other designs. I contacted one of the sellers of the mount on ebay who has a store called lasjas. He was extremely nice and responsive and said he would send four mounts to me from Hong Kong in four days which was great because everything usually takes about 10-14 days for other mounts I’ve purchased from China in the past.

When the Metabones mounts arrived I quickly put them on my Contax G lenses for some initial testing and here are some of my initial findings:

(+)

The machining is a huge plus its very well made. It’s heavy but I see that as a plus, giving the sturdiness for real world use out in the field.
I placed the Metabones Contax G on every lens I had (90mm/45mm/35mm/28mm) and each one I was surprised to see how smooth each lens rotated from infinity to close focus. No binding on any lenses!
The larger width on the focal ring is a definite plus. The ring and mount feel like a natural extension of the lens. It’s about 3/4 of an inch wide allowing you to grip and focus manually. There is a little bit of play depending on the lens used but it’s slight and workable and much easier and smoother to focus than the other adapters I have used.
Plays very well with indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears- Pulling focus with follow focus and gears for filmmakers is now a reality!!!

(-)

Without instructions, It took me a few hours to figure out how the locking mechanism worked. There were no instructions in the box. I later e-mailed Lasjas and he sent me instructions. Word of advice, follow the instructions or you’ll be stuck for hours!
Once you get the mount in place you must apply some pressure to turn the mount to lock it into place.You have to place a little heft to get the lens locked into place.
The Contax G system is a difficult system to mount when you start off and this is a mount that takes time to take on and off. If you have a lot of lenses it’s best to get an adapter for each lens.
28mm lens must have it’s legged chopped to use it. Chop off 5mm of the legs in order to fit the lens and mount on the GH1. I believe that this will hold true for the 21mm lens as well.

(>)

The mounts are not cheap. $129.90 for buy it now or you may be able to offer a lower price. To get one for each lens which is really a must can be a little costly.
Would be nice to get the focal ring a tiny bit wider, about an inch or ideally and an inch and a quarter that would be just right when using indiSYSTEM SNAP! Gears for those who want to use these lenses with a gear and follow focus.

GH1 with C-mount Zoom Test

My goal with this test was to focus on whether c-mount zoom lenses in general are worth using with the GH1 for film. There have been a few posts on the net by still photographers but not many tests from filmmakers. Most results have been so so though.This is mainly because c-mount zoom lenses generally have a small image circle and do not fill the image sensor of the GH1. So you get the Peep Hole or looking though the lens of a barrel effect.

So here’s the bad with c-mount zoom lenses:

Image circle smaller than sensor
Vignetting and smearing at the edges of the frame
Resolution loss
Wide focal lengths have very small image circles, nothing usable until 25mm- 35mm and higher focal lengths
Depending on the lens, you may need to machine it to fit the c-mount adapter in order to achieve infinity focus

Alright that’s a lot of not so great reasons especially for those like myself who are filmmakers unless you have a stylistic piece you want that image circle to fill that entire sensor through out the zoom range.

So why waste the time.
Because I’m stubborn and I want to make it work anyway.
So I thought I’d test it out.

The first lens that I’ll be testing is the Angenieux Type L2/L3 1:2.2/17-68 c-mount zoom lens. It is not perfect by any means and has many of the problems that I pointed out that are the downsides with c-mount zooms but over all I was pleasantly surprised to see some really good results. The clip that is posted here are just straight up mundane doc style footage. Nothing fancy. Just cut and dry. So please excuse some of the shakiness and random footage or commentary by me at the end. I didn’t have my tripod and am still testing out my own variation of a Gorillapod and a Noga Arm called a Gorilla Noga.

The footage was shot in my stomping grounds Chinatown North and Chinatown proper in Philadelphia. I used no ND filters just the lens and shot only 1080/24p with a shutter of 50 and 720/30p with a shutter of 50 as well. All clips had pull down removed using compressor.

Obviously,when using the GH1 digital 2x setting, you are getting an image that is cropped with resolution loss but the results are better than expected. I think scaling up the image and cropping out the vignetting and the “Peep Hole Effect” in Final Cut Pro seems to help with a better image but I have to do a few more tests to be sure. I think despite the image resolution loss it would be very usable for HD presentations on your HD Flatscreen tv or local indy community film screening. For those who are still putting out SD material which we all still do, the footage will be very usable.

Here are a few pluses for using zoom lenses on a GH1:

You can find c-mount zoom lenses that are faster, many can find at f/2.2, f/1.9 even f/1.2!!
Many c-mount zoom lenses are smaller and lighter than the stock lens especially tv lenses
You can focus much more easily with a small c-mount zoom than the stock lens
Some are still super cheap!! You can find many c-mount zoom security lenses or tv lenses for $50-$100
Despite the resolution loss you can still use the digital 2x and get some nice results or shoot wide with the peep hole circle showing and enlarge and crop in post and get better results.
So you lose your wide shots with the digital 2x zoom, just step back farther when you are shooting!

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