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Canon 8-64 PL Zoom

Rick Darge

Rick Darge

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I have a DP friend that is selling his 8-64 zoom. Just threw the lens onto the Red today.. Really really nice lens. It's meant for 16mm cameras so you have to shoot in 2k but that also means that you get a 16-128mm 35mm equivalent. It's also an f/2.4 I believe. I have some quick footage I'm about to throw up. Anyone use or own this lens? For 2k shooting, it seems perfect.
 
That is my favorite 16mm lens. Very sharp and definitely the 16mm zoom that breathes the least when you pull focus. Those extra 2mm make it much more versatile than the Zeiss 10-100 for documentary situations. If you're shooting 2K this is a great lens. If I recall, the lens markings actually glow in the dark on the original 8-64's.
 
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Good to hear.. I'm really impressed with the mechanics, it's very slick and robust.. Pretty lightweight too
 
This used to be my main lens when I owned my trusty old Aaton. It is a terrific piece of glass.
 
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You will find that stopping down the lens just from a T2.4 to a T2.8 will dramatically improve its optical performance.
 
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What are peoples thoughts about shooting 2k native? I've only shot 2k cropped with the Red zoom and wasn't a fan of the noise.. The space savings is really nice though
 
IMO based on firmware 12/13 i would not shoot 2k ...
that could change with firmware 16 ... i will not be trying firmware 14/15 ..
 
As much as I know there are two version of the Canon 8-64. One white and one black housing. I heard one version is better than the other as the second has some "milky" image. Don't remember which is which.
Though these footage look fine to me.
 
I bought one 4 months ago for our RED one. Rented it alot for S16mm and found it the most versatile S16 zoom for doc work. Since 2/3 zooms and converters are definately not the way to go - the converter loses one stop, RED is not the fastes camera in the world anyway and HD ENG leses are NOT nice - S16 zooms are best suited for handheld doc work, IMO.

Since 2K crops ca. 20% of the FOV off something like 2.5K would be the best fitting window mode for this lens. Additionally one gets more "flesh" for oversampling when scaled down to 1080p which would significantly enhance the image quality /reduce niose.

I hope RED listens and works on a "custom" window mode.

Hans
 
Michael,

yes it does cover 3k but vignettes considerably. In 3K mode you see what you are missing in 2K, hence my proposal of a 2.5K mode, or even better a custom window mode, which is ASFAIK possible - in theory.

Shooting 3K and reframing afterwards works of course. Unfortunately you see the heavy vignetting - quite distracting for the camera operator.

Actually, I started a thread concerning this proposal. I guess I have to bring it up again and feed it with some footage that illustrates this issue more strikingly.

Hans
 
Hans,

I think this is a great idea. I hope it is possible (which I'm sure it is) without being too complicated (programming wise, particularly on the debayering end). I agree a S16 zoom is ideal for documentary work, and 2.5K should give you the necessary oversampling for a clean debayered image.

Red, I hope you're listening...

Cheers,
Damien
 
gdv said:
As much as I know there are two version of the Canon 8-64. One white and one black housing. I heard one version is better than the other as the second has some "milky" image. Don't remember which is which.
Though these footage look fine to me.
Click to expand...

Actually the 1st generation was black, Then they were grey for the 2nd gen. Don't think they were ever white.

They are optically the same as far as I know. The main differences were mechanical.

Like all the canon / suzuki lenses, they tend to go a bit milky in the blacks when wide open and shooting at the long end of the zoom.

jb
 
donatello said:
IMO based on firmware 12/13 i would not shoot 2k ...
that could change with firmware 16 ... i will not be trying firmware 14/15 ..
Click to expand...

What is wrong with 15?
 
John Brawley said:
Actually the 1st generation was black, Then they were grey for the 2nd gen. Don't think they were ever white.

They are optically the same as far as I know. The main differences were mechanical.

Like all the canon / suzuki lenses, they tend to go a bit milky in the blacks when wide open and shooting at the long end of the zoom.

jb
Click to expand...

I thought that the lens coatings of the later grey ones are improved. I am not a lens historian though...

Hans
 
Hans von Sonntag said:
Michael,

yes it does cover 3k but vignettes considerably. In 3K mode you see what you are missing in 2K, hence my proposal of a 2.5K mode, or even better a custom window mode, which is ASFAIK possible - in theory.

Shooting 3K and reframing afterwards works of course. Unfortunately you see the heavy vignetting - quite distracting for the camera operator.

Actually, I started a thread concerning this proposal. I guess I have to bring it up again and feed it with some footage that illustrates this issue more strikingly.

Hans
Click to expand...

Sorry I missed your first post on this. Thanks for the info about the heavy vignetting (I'd been informed by a 3rd party and hadn't yet tested).

I tested the 6.6-66 with a PS si-2k and was very impressed. Quality wide was better than a mrk3 Ziess distagon.

Your argument seems sound for a 2.5k ish (fo a high quality 1080p).

I think it would be good to see some 3k frames to help Red make a decision?

good luck

Michael
 
Hans von Sonntag said:
I always found the Canon wide angle S16 Zooms surprisingly sharp; intercutting with Zeiss SuperSpeeds originated footage is possible, no question. Although they are not latest technology, they seem to resolve 2K with ease.

Hans
Click to expand...

We offer the canon 8-64 for rental.
Its an good lens for S16/2K.
 
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