Catcan 18-35 f1.8 PL - Rehoused Lens?

Anyone seen or used one of these "Catcan Modified 18-35 F1.8 Fast Zoom PL Mount Lens"? Just ran across it on eBay...never heard of these before.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Catcan-Modified ... 19f6e2b055

Seems like a lot of cash when the focus throw has not been increased. So all you are really getting that you could not do easily to a standard off the shelf lens is a PL mount.

Yeah I was just noticing that as I looked again...hmm...

If you're going to drop that kind of coin for a CINE lens, I'd expect there to be longer focus throws and some calibrated actual distance marks for focus and IRIS.

Right now there are none...

JB

GL Optics does two conversions of the Sigma 18-35. The option to have a 300 degree focus throw adds $850 to the entry level conversion. If I remember correctly then the lens is about $3,500. Pricey but less than the new price for the Tokina 16-28mm Cinema ATX zoom, $3,999.


Rick Lang
Sent using Tapatalk HD

I owned the GL Optics 18-35 and say that the front section of the housing with the 95mm out diameter does increase focus throw with a follow focus, and has options for multi mounts. But I guess we won't know about this one until someone tries it.

GL Optics does two conversions of the Sigma 18-35. The option to have a 300 degree focus throw adds $850 to the entry level conversion. If I remember correctly then the lens is about $3,500. Pricey but less than the new price for the Tokina 16-28mm Cinema ATX zoom, $3,999.


Rick Lang
Sent using Tapatalk HD

Yeah I've talked to them about converting my current 18-35 into their cine housing but its a Nikon mount and they wont do Nikon mount versions. Only Canon. Just FYI for anyone planning that.

I just bought one of these after a lot of deliberation.

Catcan-Pocket.jpg (134.78 KiB) Viewed 3871 times

I could not find any reviews anywhere online but the ebay seller, vincent00061 has a 2 week return policy and accepts Paypal so it's easy to get a refund.
Price was US$1680, 3 x the cost of the original Sigma but less than 1/2 the cost of a GL Optics rehoused version, though the focus throw is only the original 60 degrees of the Sigma compared to the GL versions' 120 degrees and this is the main drawback of the Catcan.
Here is a quick and dirty test of parfocality, breathing and bokeh done on a Pocket cam with a Ceicio PL to EF adapter and an EF to BMPCC Speedbooster. I expect bokeh and shallow DOF will be better on a camera with a Super 35 sensor like the Ursa Mini 4.6K PL.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByCkZ_iRaK0_MFV1eWJaNmRLVjg/view?usp=sharing

Hi Paul,

Would you be able to share your experiences with the mechanics... does the focus hard lock or keep rotating beyond infinity/close focus, and is it smooth? How about the weight of the lens?

Justin, the mechanics are pretty good. The maker, Vincent, calls it a light rehousing and this is accurate. It's solidly made from good quality aluminium, anodised black with markings, but weighs only 1.1kg, the original being 0.8Kg and of course made of plastic.
The focus ring has just enough friction to make it smooth without being loose.
The focus has hard stops which makes it easy for my wireless follow focus to automatically calibrate itself for this lens. There does seem to be a minute amount of play in the focus ring when changing directions but I don't think it will be a problem for me.
The main drawback for me seems to be the small 60 degree throw. Mapping the focus to a full 360 degrees on my WFF seems to get around this to an extent, but it is not the same as a lens with a 300 degree throw. I'm not sure I'll need to ride the focus with this lens though, being a wide. And there is no way I can afford to buy a rehoused version like the GL Optics for 3 x the price to get that extra throw distance.
Coming from broadcast and run & gun background, cinema shooting is new to me. I did some live studio camera operation for a while with Sony 1" CCD zooms and full size Vinten pedestals with focus and zoom at my fingertips. I used to own the same Canon broadcast focus and zoom servo controllers with a B4 zoom which were super easy to ride, better I'm sure than these cine WWF's. Accurate repeatable markings however, were not a feature of broadcast focus controllers.

Apologies for bringing this thread back from the dead, but any long term experiences with the Catcan mod? I know there is official Sigma version available now but this rehouse can be had for a fraction of the price used, so interested how the mechanics hold up over time.