Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio camera?

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chris.mansfield

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Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio camera?

PostWed May 23, 2018 1:54 pm

Good day!

Has anyone tried this combination:

Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 lens with Metalbones speed booster (EF to MFT) on the 4K BMD Studio camera?

If this would work, it could be a very viable solution. Currently in our studio we have three 4K Studio cameras (in 1080P mode) with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm F3.5-6.3 EZ lenses. While the images from this combo are very good, the drawbacks are numerous, and all over the internet.

We currently have two original pocket cinema cameras and shoot with them and the Metalbones adaptor with a variety of Canon primes and zooms. They give outstanding images, and the iris control works well. Hopefully I will have an 18-80 coming to test soon.

We are also looking also at a B4/adaptor solution as well. Another question is who is using a Fujinon XA "kit" lens with one of the numerous adaptors and how does it work?
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Howard Roll

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostWed May 23, 2018 6:59 pm

Have you checked out the Olympus Pro zooms? There is a 12-40mm and a 40-150mm, both at f2.8. That Canon lens doesn’t offer much for the price other than ergonomics.
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Denny Smith

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostWed May 23, 2018 7:21 pm

I do not think the EF mount version CN-E Zooms will work with the Speedboosters, they have a different control code, and were designed to work with a few Canon cameras, and they may work with the BM Ursa Mini/Pro.
But again, as Howard states, very little gain for the cost. There are better Zooms out there that work with MFT and PL mounts.
Cheers
Last edited by Denny Smith on Wed May 23, 2018 11:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Denny Smith
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Tristan Pemberton

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostWed May 23, 2018 10:35 pm

Denny Smith wrote:I do not think the EF mount version CN-E Zooms will work with the Speedboosters, they have a different control code, and were designed to work with a few Canon cameras, and they may work with the BM Ursa Mini/Pro. The PL version would work as a manual lens however, and may work with the Ursa Broadcast camera with a PL mount, as well. Using the lens connector cable on the PL version, you will get iris and Servo zoom control.

Canon never released these lenses with a PL mount. EF only.

They would sell loads more if they did (me included) but this would reduce the temptation to buy into their Cine EOS range of cameras. It's also focus/zoom/iris by wire, not not a truly manual lens. From my understanding, without electronics through the EF mount, it's dead in the water.
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Denny Smith

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostWed May 23, 2018 11:44 pm

OK, thanks Tristan, fixed my post. I got them mixed up with their other Cine Zoom.
Cheers
Denny Smith
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chris.mansfield

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostTue Jun 05, 2018 3:45 pm

Update...

The lens works fine with the Metabones Speedbooster. I had to update the firmware in the Speedbooster, but the lens focuses (with the focus button on the back of the camera) and provides power for the zoom. The iris is slightly flakey and sometime slow to respond in auto, but in a studio environment that is not a concern, as we never run auto. There is a zoom controller and we can get a focus controller for traditional studio rear controls. LANC zoom with the Manfrotto pan bar does not work.

As far as how it looks, it looks fantastic! Much better color rendition, very (almost imperceptible) breathing, matches the 12-50 MFT lens we currently use and is as close to a plug and play pro lens for the Blackmagic Studio camera as we have found (and will probably look as good when we switch eventually to 4k).

I know there are cheaper lenses, but the workarounds for the B4 and traditional still glass are too much for our use. We have 3 cameras in our studios and this solution represents a real experience for our students.

Even when you look at traditional 1080p studio cameras being about 10k per chain (or more), the BMD solution is still light years ahead of the "old school" solutions, not counting the 4k option.

I know that there are better cameras out there, but for our use this knocks it out of the park.

Regards,

Chris
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Denny Smith

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostTue Jun 05, 2018 4:38 pm

Good to know Chris, thanks for the feedback. While $4600 seems like a chunk of change, it does include the zoom Servo, and grip, and a Varizoom rocker (Lanc style) is $300 and the larger grip style is $450, the total package cost is good. A corrected B4 adapter works only if you already have the B4 lens, otherwise, $1500-2K for the adapter, and another $3-4K for a good HD zoom (which will give you a longer zoom reach), and you are back up to $5-6K.
Cheers.
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rick.lang

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostTue Jun 05, 2018 8:57 pm

As long as you can live with a T4.4 lens.


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Denny Smith

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostTue Jun 05, 2018 9:08 pm

The BM HD Stuido cameras are ISO800, so that should work in most Studio settings with average good lighting. I am using f/3.5 in the. Icro Studio 4K, ISO at 400.
Cheers
Last edited by Denny Smith on Thu Jun 07, 2018 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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chris.mansfield

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Re: Anyone try the new Canon CN-E 18-80mm for BMD Studio cam

PostThu Jun 07, 2018 5:45 pm

T4.4 (F4) in a controlled television studio is pretty optimal. You would rarely go faster than that even if you could. As it is, with the lens wide open now, the depth of field is shallow enough (less than 8 inches with our lighting) to give enough blur to facilitate background separation. The old lens was F3.5 at the wide end and we had to juice the gain all the way on the cameras to work well. With the Canon 18-80, it will do this without gain being jacked.

This is related to television. For motion picture production, I would agree that F4 is a bit stingy, but even at that, I believe that this lens is aimed more at TV production than cine work.

Chris

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