AF EPIC tests finished - its the future.

[Josh Snyder]

Good to see some reality checks in here too. You don't even have to have L lenses (IQ wise). For example no one will see the difference between 85/1.8 and 85/1.2 or 50/1.4 and 50/1.2. There are of course other things that make the L lenses better, but IQ wise non-L versions from some lenses are as good. In video use even more so.

Reading this thread I feel both excited about the new technology and utterly horrified....

I just bought a set of 5 Zeiss Cp.2's less than a year ago. I took out a huge loan to do so but I told myself "Hey, a good set of lenses will last me 5, maybe 10 years... They never go obsolete and I can always sell them for very little depreciation..." I did a lot of research before settling on the CP.2's. I even sold some Canon L series primes to pay for them.

Now I'm reading your posts and I'm scared shitless. Was my $25, 000 investment a total waste? Should I quickly sell my lenses before the rest of the industry catches on and instead spend my hard earned (and borrowed) money on Canon AF lenses? I could get a whole wackload of Canon lenses for $25 000. I know what you're going to say... Keep the PL primes, they are a still a good investment and invest in some super fast Canon AF lenses as well. BUT I can't afford to do both.

I was trained as a film cinematographer and trained on manual PL lenses. I love the mechanics. I love the look and feel of my CP2's but I shoot without an assistant A LOT. The kind of productions I am on in this stage of my career, autofocus would be a god send to me. I want to embrace this technology but I just spent a fortune on a set of manual PL lenses.

What should I do?

By the way, I just got my Scarlet so I haven't had a chance to try the AF. But if it is as good as you make it sound, I will be using it a lot especially since I usually pull my own focus....

Sell them and buy Canon. Faster you sell the more money you get. I tell you, you will feel good after you have done it.

 

[Demetri Zuev]

I've done some autofocus tests of my own and for some reason I get better results with wider focus area, not the "dot" one.