Hello. I will buy a PDW800 to shoot a feature film. Has anyone tested the HJ14x4.3 vs HA14x4.5? I want to buy a very good wide angle ENG lens wide angle and those two seems the best and only on the market.. I tested the Fujinon, I was happy, and I am used to Fujinon since I shot my last film with it. But then the reseller said I would need to wait till august to have it because Fujinon factory was damaged in Japan after the tsunami. Not too sure about that one.. So he's trying to sell me a Canon.. I guess such an expensive lens won't be a bad buy, and Canon has a great reputation although I know that the Canon budget lenses are not that good.. What about that top of the line wide HJ14x4.3..? Thank you for any help..
XN

Check that the canon is Alac compatible, as without alac you may get a fair bit of chromatic aberration, I do not know about the Fujinon but I think I read a post somewhere that said comparing a Canon HJ17 with a Fujinon XA18 the CA was far worse on the canon.

Some german broadcasters totally went for HJ14x4.3 - its their main WA lens for PDW700 now.

Thank you for your messages. I can see that no one knows too much about that topic. I ve tested the Fujinon and now in a few days, Canon will give the store where I bought my camera, a test lens, so i ll be able to compare. I ll post as soon as I have news...
Xavier

I've never been that impressed by the Canon wide angle HD lenses. However, it is very hard to make wide, sharp lens with such a zoom range. Have you considered other options such as Digiprimes? I think you will find the optical quality noticeably better as well as the ergonomics being better suited to a feature shoot.

My feature will be shot in doc style, and I can't afford to befollowed by a cam assistant all the time.
I need freedom of movements in remote locations as well as versatility, fast focus and possibilty to use zoom... those Zeis digizoom are nice lenses ! Never considered that before, will check.. thank you for the advice..

My feature will be shot in doc style, and I can't afford to befollowed by a cam assistant all the time.

A ENG lens may be your best bet then. Bet to get the shot with slightly imperfect optics than not get the shot at all.

I just found the HJ11 and HJ14 had quite noticeable CA and distortion at the wide end. Do you need the wide angle? I've found the standard zooms to perform a little better.

"Bet to get the shot with slightly imperfect optics than not get the shot at all"=
you are 100% right. I am finishing my second feature these days just because I chose the right tools that would save my shots.
"I've found the standard zooms to perform a little better. " I like the feeling of WA, but maybe you re right and I am going to shoot a long project with a lens that will be boring on the long run with distortion and CA. Maybe I should first get a regular lens to give more comfort to the viewer's eyes and skip to WA only if really required.
Then why not get the HJ 15 with optical stabilizer from Canon.. It must be splendid to shoot with a steady cam feeling all the time?

The BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol UK generally have the HJ14x4.3 as 'standard' in their Varicam kits. I don't know about the rest of the BBC as I only work for Bristol.

I hardly ever use the max wide end of this lens - except sometmes on big sky timelapse or undercranks - as it's so far from any natural perspective. And then always locked-off so as not to draw attention to the distorion.

Don't know if this helps you:

http://thebrownings.name/WHP034/pdf/WHP034-ADD67_Comparison_of_lenses.pdf

Thank you very much. I'll study that with attention and try to take conclusions out from that test.
XN

Sorry, I made a mistake in my earlier post - it's the HJ11x4.7 as 'standard' in BBC Bristol (natural history) Varicam kits, now probably to be superseded by the newer HJ14x4.3.

Oh OK, thank you. I could never really find out in the end a "+" or "-" that would have been significant enough to make me keep out of the way of one lens or another.
Now I will go for the Fujinon, as I have worked for years with that brand and as I truly know the shape of it's rings and buttons. I could finally never get the Canon in my hands to test it. But I did test the Fujinon which gave me some very intersting results...