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Doubler to use with RPPs?

Dan Carew

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Does anyone have any recommendations for or experience with using doublers with the RPPs, e.g. the Century Optics 2x Extender? If so, where can you buy it new? And using a doubler would you be able to cover the Epic-X's 5K sensor area? Any other considerations or advice?

I'm basically looking for something that will give me lenses in the 100mm - 200mm range to supplement my 5 RPPs + Duclos Tokina 11-16mm. So if using a doubler is not advisable, any recommendations for PL-mount primes (or even a zoom) in that range? The Red 300mm prime seems nice, but less useful than a 200mm or 170 mm lens.

Thanks!

Dan
 
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Century 2X works great. Love it with the 100 and 300!!!

Loses about 1/2 - 2/3 stop.
 
Thanks a lot, Jeff! Great to hear. That's less light loss than I would have expected (I'd heard 1-2 stops). So great.

Do you know anyone selling the Century 2X? ideally online, so I can order from Hong Kong?

Also, do you expect to be able to use it on the 100mm & 300mm on the Epic 5K sensor?

Thanks again.
 
Abel can sell you the Century Doubler. 2X magnification means spreading out the light 2x times, which also means eating two stops of light. Basic physics.
 
Abel can sell you the Century Doubler. 2X magnification means spreading out the light 2x times, which also means eating two stops of light. Basic physics.

Does it work on most or all PL lenses, or just some?
 
Thanks a lot, Jeff! Great to hear. That's less light loss than I would have expected (I'd heard 1-2 stops). So great.

Yeah it's about 2 stops. I wasn't thinking right when I posted that.

Do you know anyone selling the Century 2X? ideally online, so I can order from Hong Kong?

Hong Kong.... Don't know. Abel will ship internationally, Mitch already responded it seems. Probably some HK dealers with these on ebay too.

Also, do you expect to be able to use it on the 100mm & 300mm on the Epic 5K sensor?

All the RPPs cover the 5K sensor. In fact, the 300mm should be close to covering full frame 35. My needs are rapidly changing these days and I will probably be using a lot of Nikon and Canon glass on the Epic-X. I'm very eager to see what RED will offer with their FF35 electronic lenses as I will be going FF35 (probably via Scarlet) and going to the 645 for my Epic brain. I've got a Mamiya 645 system now with a pretty good set of 645 AF lenses. I'm hoping these will work on the RED -- Mamiya electronic mount has been mentioned a couple times, hopefully they will have electronic drive on the mount for these lenses when they release the Epic 645. I'm assuming RED will probably have their own lenses at some point to accommodate the 645 and 617, but it seems that they would most certainly need to offer Hasselblad and Mamiya mounts for these larger formats, just as they're offering Nikon and Canon.
 
Mitch, how much for the Century 2x PL?

Should 2x mag mean you lose half your light and thus a single stop? 2 stops means you lose 75% of your light, or a 4:1 ratio. How does magnification be 2:1 but light loss be 4:1??
 
I believe we sell it for less than the manufacturer's list price. I'm in LA for our Dedo Lighting workshops so I will have to check with the Burbank office tomorrow on the exact price.

The light loss on a doubler is two stops. You need to think geometrically. It is magnifying so that the image is twice as wide and twice as tall. Thus four times the area, so one fourth the light hitting the original image projection area. Two stops less light.
 
Just wanted to briefly update: I bought the Century Optics 2x Extender, from Abel. To second what Jeff reports: works great with RPPs. I've used it with the 100mm (to get a 200mm) and the 85mm (to get a 170mm). You lose 2 stops of light--as reported above. But that's OK for me, as I'm mostly using these in daylight. The images aslo seem a tad soft--but still look great. It's a great way to extend your RPP lens kit (without a lot of added space, weight and expense). I'll post some test shots (after NAB), if anyone is interested.
 
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