Something Not Talked About Much... HVX200 Optics..
 

hi all,

a lot of *focus* (pun intended!) has been on the HVX200's tech specs but not much has been said of the optics of this camera.

other then telling me "its got a Leica lens" does anyone know more about the lens? is it too early to say anything or do we really have have to wait till its usuable before we can decide anything?

also is it a true Leica lens? i know my Leica's quite well as i work at a sales & service store which sells & services a lot of them & the optics are so great but is it an actual Leica lens or just Leica components?

I remember seeing it was 13x.

It's an enhanced version of the same Leica lens currently employed on the DVX100.

Same 4.5mm wide-angle, but 13x zoom range, so longer 58.5mm telephoto.

Also the zoom is being substantially upgraded, it's still a true fully manual zoom but it's a new cam-driven design so it'll have a much better feel.

The focus gets an upgrade as well, instead of just reading out in distance scale 00-99, it'll now read out in ft. and inches, as well as in meters.

Filter diameter is 82mm.

Don't know what the maximum-wide-open f-stop is.

RAD. I was worried when I didn't see any witness marks on the barrel. That is a big improvement over that arbitrary scale.

Barry--Will the focus be repeatable, or is it going to be "free spinning" like the DVX100? Thanks,

Peter

Both.

The DVX100 has a completely repeatable focus mechanism. Just because it doesn't stop at the ends of travel doesn't mean it's not repeatable, because it is.

I think there's confusion on this issue because people are associating it with other servo-driven focus rings, such as those found on the PD150 or Xl1. The DVX doesn't work like that. Its focus ring is precisely calibrated and 100% repeatable. That's why Century could make an add-on ring that clamps around it which adds hard stops, gear teeth, and a markable surface for marking focus points.

The HVX will be the same but better. It'll have better dampening and better feel, and it'll have distance markings reading out in the viewfinder in feet and inches as well as meters and the familiar MF00-MF99 scale.

Don't think the inches will be there Barry. Sorry.

Jan

Ergonomics aside; my vote goes for NO chromatic aberration please - this is one of the most difficult issues to correct in post

Jan or Barry--Why can't we get focus that stops out at either end?

Peter

like John Jay said, ergonomics aside, i'm more interested in the quality of the glass, how sharp it is, etc. It seems really difficult to find any decent info on fixed camera lenses.

To me its such an important thing. Think about it, you buy the camera & its only got the one fixed lens. You can't change it or adapt your fave piece of glass for it if you're not happy with what they give you which makes it even more important to have an excellent quality of glass in front....

Hi James and John!

Please read this article on the HVX200 and some future removable lens possibility. Enjoy!

http://www.pbase.com/aghvx200/do_hvx...ream_of_lenses




QUOTE=James Darren]like John Jay said, ergonomics aside, i'm more interested in the quality of the glass, how sharp it is, etc. It seems really difficult to find any decent info on fixed camera lenses.

To me its such an important thing. Think about it, you buy the camera & its only got the one fixed lens. You can't change it or adapt your fave piece of glass for it if you're not happy with what they give you which makes it even more important to have an excellent quality of glass in front....[/QUOTE]

Michael,

Just my opinion, but I think you should remove the all-caps disclaimer from the top of your article. It's sad you encountered issues at other sites by posting such a thing, and to think that you were banned over it is somewhat shocking. But I think that the presence of that text in front of your article detracts from what you are ultimately trying to say.

Anyway, I think that what we are seeing now from innovators like Reel Stream and other camera mod makers is only the beginning or the tip of the iceberg. It's a natural progression of the high tech industry, eventually the hacker hobbyists and do-it-yourself types are going to jump right in with this stuff. Anyone who thinks otherwise or if Panasonic (or any other such company) thinks they can keep it from happening, then they are being completely foolish. Just as we have also seen with the beginnings of home-built HD cameras in the form of the Drake, the days of elitist camera ownership are numbered. IMO, cameras will someday be just like PCs and the best camera available will be available for purchase from some manufacturer or will be available in some other form for the types who like to build it themselves.. Ultimately, I think what we will be paying for will be the selection and quality of lenses available and for various control and effects software options to manage the acquired image data from the cameras.

You can bet that the Reel Stream Andromeda guys are salivating over the HVX200 and what it may offer. I was planning to sell my DVX100 when the HVX arrives, but I may just keep it and do an Andromeda conversion and or tinker around with it myself.

And any site who thinks they need to sensor an article such as yours that contains logical predictions based on current events doesn't deserve to have any decent users anyway.

i have to say, of all teh handheld units ive come across in this class, the dvx would have to be the cleanest... hell, i ve deliberately shot INTO the light, and the flares are just so damn sexy... :)