ENG SD Pro B4 mount lens for HD?

[Teague Kennedy]

Does anyone know what SD B4 mount ENG/EFP lenses resolve enought res to be used to shoot 1080? Or at least 720p for DVCPRO HD work?

[Stephen Williams]

Does anyone know what SD B4 mount ENG/EFP lenses resolve enought res to be used to shoot 1080? Or at least 720p for DVCPRO HD work?

Hi,

With all due respect, none.

Stephen

[chuck colburn]

And for those needing a slightly longer focal length range for their zoom we have this!

http://www.specialoptics.com/SBIR.htm

Albeit a tad heavy for stedicam use.

[Cail Young]

Hi,

With all due respect, none.

Stephen

Indeed. There's a reason they make HD B4 lenses.

You can use the SD lenses, though - they'll just be quite soft and may aberrate toward the edges.

[AIO Films]

Hi,

With all due respect, none.

Stephen

Actually, how did we come to this conclusion?

I have never read a test report/review on B4 optics (any professional film/video lens for that matter) from a neutral trade magazine with MTF comparison or other kinds of resolution charts. If I missed something and am being ignorant, please shed some light.

Do we make this statement just base on manufacturers' claims?

[Walter R]

Having tested a high end 20K SD lens vs. a HD lens, even on a good quality SD camera you can see the difference. Color rendition, contrast and even in the detail. We then tried the SD lens (just for kicks) on a Sony F900, did the comparison with the HD lens and then captured footage to make a quick split screen. The SD lens was definitely not up to the challenge.

There is always some variation even within a given model, so you might find a good lens if you were to test a large batch of lenses, but I can't imagine why you would go that route instead of just looking for a good used HD lens.

[Teague Kennedy]

"I can't imagine why you would go that route instead of just looking for a good used HD lens."

correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference seems to be about $10,000, even in used glass. Or are there affordable used HD B4 lenses?

[Martin Drew]

I remember seeing some frame grabs up on the web. A comparison of an SD lens and an HD lens (just tried to look for it but can't find the link). There was a difference in resolution, but not as huge as you might expect. The biggest issue was that the SD lens seemed to suffer from a lot more Chromatic abberation. So I wonder if this is down to the glass or the assembly tolerances. If it is the latter then you might get lucky with a particular lens.

Martin

[Illya Friedman]

Re: b4 SD vs. HD.

It totally depends on the two pieces of glass you are comparing. Some early HD lenses were essentially rebranded SD (at least from one manufacturer). There's a huge difference between the "industrial/professional" and "broadcast" grade SD optics. Also, witness marks are not in the same place on all makes & models of HD glass, so you'll want to be careful.

The nice thing is that modern Fuji HD optics start at a very reasonable price, pass blue light, and are not really more expensive than comparable SD ENG lenses (new).

Even on many SD cameras you can EASILY see a difference between HD and SD optics, sometimes the difference is startling.

Every DP I know shooting SD (SDX900/DVW790 etc) wants HD optics. It's my policy to include HD lenses at no extra charge on SD cameras. There's a lot of rental houses that are heavily invested in SD lenses and won't/can't do that.

Some of the best B4 HD lenses, and my personal favorites:

http://www.digiprimes.com/2005/home/
http://www.fujinonbroadcast.com/cgi-...ucts.cgi?p=351
http://www.fujinonbroadcast.com/cgi-...ucts.cgi?p=283

I.

Dalsa Digital Cinema
www.dalsa.com/dc

[J. Bernard Vallon]

I think if your trying to save money on your RED package, SD B4 lenses aren't the way to go. You can get a mean set of nikon primes and zooms for pretty cheap, <$3000 total, that give a high enough quality image for a 4k sensor. You might not be able to use one lens for every shot like you could with some B4s, but its an easy decision for me.