Bottom line on lenses for XL1/s
 

Out of all the XL1 lenses within a reasonable price range, which is the best lens for obtaining a slightly better film look than the standard 16X IS II that comes with the camera?

I've found with good lighting and camerawork the standard lens is very good, but lacks that 35mm look. Any suggestions from personal experience?

Lens preference
 

CJ,
I have permanently retired the 16XIS II lens that came with my XL1 and replaced it with the 16X Manual lens. When I bought my XL1S I ordered it with the 16X Manual lens. I also have a Canon 3X wide zoom for each camera but they will be replaced as soon as a 3X manual lens is available. I find that the finer control over focus and zoom afforded by the manual lenses more than makes up for the added cost.

No such thing.

If you want the look of film lenses then you'll have to use 35mm film lenses. That is, you would need to get a Mini35 adapter and a set of prime lenses. This would likely cost (much) more than twice what your camera cost, but it can produce some good results.

Do a Search on the Mini35, as there has been quite a bit written on it here.

16X lens?
 

As the 16X lens is within the price range, can I just ask if it produces a better look than the standard lens?

<<If you want the look of film lenses then you'll have to use 35mm film lenses. That is, you would need to get a Mini35 adapter and a set of prime lenses. This would likely cost (much) more than twice what your camera cost, but it can produce some good results. >>

Ken, I just want to clarify that you don't need to invest in "film" lenses as far as traditional cine primes are concerned. I've been working exclusively with a set of Nikon primes with the Mini35 and the results are optically equivalent, and you can buy a full se of the fastest Nikon primes for not much more than the tax dollars on a single Cooke Ultra Prime. Also, due to vignetting, cine zooms are not a good idea with the Mini35.

I think the two manual lenses are slightly sharper than the XL 16 IS. If you're asking do the manual lenses have a bokeh more similar to film, I'd say maybe slightly. The DOF on all these lenses (with1/3 inch chips) is too great to really look like 35mm film. The mini 35 goes a long way towards achieving your desired goal

Jim, thank you for the clarification. Indeed, good 35mm prime lenses are adequate to achieve the "film look" optical characteristics with the Mini35 adapter. Cooke primes or other cine-specific primes might well be overkill for this rig.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for the advice.. I think I'll check into the Mini35 adapter and see how much the 35m prime lenses are from Nikon etc.

<<Cooke primes or other cine-specific primes might well be overkill for this rig.
>>

This is what Guy (the tech guru for the Mini35) and I came to in our discussion of the ultimate resolving power of the XL1s vs the potential resolution of cine primes vs Nkon primes.