"Not compatible with 35mm or full frame digital SLRs"

[Glen Vandermolen]

I'm looking at lenses for my FS100, and notice this caption on some of the lenses - "Not compatible with 35mm or full frame digital SLRs."

Since the FS is advertised as a Super 35mm, will these lenses work?
Also, is a Sony a-mount and alpha mount the same thing?

[Chris Medico]

S35 sensor in the FS100 is closer to APS-C sized sensors of the Canon 7d or Nikon D70 and not full frame 35mm still frame cameras such as the Canon 5d.

Lenses that work for APS-C and larger should offer full sensor coverage on the FS100.

[Chuck Fishbein]

I shot with the FS 100 for three weeks and used every Nikon and Sony lens I own, which include lenses for smaller sensors (28 in all) Everyone of them had proper coverage.

[Cees van Kempen]

Originally Posted by Glen Vandermolen

I'm looking at lenses for my FS100, and notice this caption on some of the lenses - "Not compatible with 35mm or full frame digital SLRs."

Since the FS is advertised as a Super 35mm, will these lenses work?
Also, is a Sony a-mount and alpha mount the same thing?

The confusing pount is that Super 35mm in film is not the same as 35 mm in stills photography. I believe (but are not sure) that the 35 mm is refering to he height of the physical film in the old days. The photocamera's were picturing frames in 'landscape' on the film, so the height of the film in the camera was used for the the height of the frame. Film cameras were use the same size of film, but turning the frames 90 degrees, so the height of the film was actually determing the width of the frame, instead of the height of the frame. (Are you still there?). So in fact the size of the frames in 35 mm filmcamera's was about half of the size of the frame in a 35 mm photocamera. So the APC-S photolenses should cover the so called Super 35 mm sensors.

[Serena Steuart]

Cees, that is pretty confusing. The first thing is to differentiate between still and cine cameras, 35mm film being developed for the latter. 35mm film runs vertically through the camera gate and allowing for perforations and sound track the camera imaging area (4:3) is 21.9 x 16mm. When the image is extended into max permitted between the perforations the image is 24 x 18.7mm, now generally called Super-35 but actually the Academy Aperture.
Still cameras run the film horizontally through the gate, allowing a frame size of 36 x 24mm and this, in the world of stills, is "full frame".
So any lens that will cover a stills "full frame" will easily cover a Super-35 frame. However a smaller frame requires a better quality lens to achieve the same result.
Presumably you can find all this, with diagrams, on the web.

[Alister Chapman]

The FS100 sensor is slightly larger than APS-C, but even so, most APS-C (Nikon DX, Canon EF-S etc) lenses appear to perform OK without vignetting.

[David Heath]

Lot's of information at 35 mm film - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In brief, it's as the last three posters say. 35mm film is 35mm wide (strangely enough!) but the usable distance between perforations is about 24mm. In still photography, this is the height of the frame, and the width is 36mm to give a 1.5:1 aspect ratio, and this is what's normally referred to as "full frame".

In motion picture use, that 24mm is the maximum WIDTH (for s35, which doesn't allow space for a sound track), and the height is approx 18mm (half the still width of 36mm). That gives a 4:3 image, which can then be cropped vertically to the desired aspect ratio.

[Robert Lee Colon]

You can use just about any lens out there with the right adapter. Just keep in mind of the fs100's 1.5 crop factor. In short, a 50mm lens for a full frame camera like the 5d will really be a 75mm lens on the fs100. Focal length of full frame lens x 1.5 crop = actual focal length.

Crop Factor on Vimeo Video School

[Gabe Strong]

Slight correction here. A 50mm lens will be a 50mm lens on the FS100
as well. It will NOT have a different 'actual focal length.' on the
FS100 as compared to a full frame 'lens'. It WILL have a different
field of view (FOV) which is roughly equivalent to a 75mm lens
on a 5d. However, a lens does NOT change it's focal length
depending on the camera it is mounted on. A 50mm lens will
always be a 50mm lens. The field of view may change, because
of the camera it is mounted on. That is the 'technically correct'
way to put what Robert was explaining.

[Robert Lee Colon]

Thanks for the correction, you hit it right on the money. It's "Actual field of view" not "actual focal length".