View Full Version : 16X9 OPTIC for vx2100 sony


Ruben Senderey
October 2nd, 2004, 11:15 PM
Hi ,does anybody owns and shot with the century precision optic DS-WS13-SB 1.33x Anamorphic Focusable Full zoom Converter,
i am interested to see how it works, iam getting many request for 16x9 shots, any help will be great!

Boyd Ostroff
October 3rd, 2004, 06:38 AM
Nobody seems to actually have one of these, it's unclear whether it's even a shipping product. Very expensive also.... see the following:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32430
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30885
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20159

When you consider that you'll probably also want a matte box to use filters and shade your lens then the price would get way up there. For about the same amount you could buy a PDX-10 ($1,850 from B&H) which shoots native 16:9 - that's what I did instead of getting the anamorphic lens for my VX-2000.

Ruben Senderey
October 3rd, 2004, 09:26 AM
THANKS FOR THE INFO, Th e pdx10 problem is 7 lux ,my shooting conditions need low, low light thats why i would like to stick with the vx2100, (even the new FX1 HD will be 3 lux)
so how about the Century Precision DS-1609-SB i could find this one in stock,
anybody tried this one ?
thanks

Laurence Kingston
October 18th, 2004, 12:27 PM
You are aware that you have to focus this adapter manually on the adapter itself! Forget about autofocus. I wouldn't do it personally. You'd have to manually focus on the adapter itself - no small feat using the tiny color screen or eyepiece!

Ruben Senderey
October 18th, 2004, 12:29 PM
WOW, THANKS FOR THE INFO, TO FOCUS MANUALY ALL THE TIME THAT'S NOT GOOD,
THANKS

Laurence Kingston
October 18th, 2004, 01:38 PM
Basically there are two Century Optics anamorphic adapters: the $600 one which will let you focus with the camera's controls or autofocus but is only good through about a third of the zoom range, and the expensive one (which nobody seems to have) which is good through the entire zoom range, but acomplishes this by focusing using an adjustment on the adapter itself (with the regular camera focus being set somewhere midrange). The $600 one is way more practical for most people.

I'm going through the same kind of debate myself. I want to go widescreen, but I do run and gun type work exclusively and absolutely need the low light sensitivity of the VX2000/2100/PD150/170 series cameras. I don't need HD yet since HD DVDs are a ways off into the future. I'm worried about how well the regular Century Optics 16:9 adapter will work in a run and gun mode. From the experiments I've done, the VX2000 widescreen mode looks no better, maybe even a little worse than letterboxing 4:3 footage. All I want is something exactly like my VX2000, but with native 16:9.