so I shot some more footage this weekend, (I already posted the link in the wildlife section), but the problem I ran into was I can't seem to get a good focus with my telephoto lens attached and that small view screen on the camera. Am I missing something or once I attach the EF lens and I left to manual everything?

Chris, all lenses other than the XL optics need to be manual focussed. I don’t have much problem getting sharp footage using long fast-aperture lenses on the XL2. The main problem is keeping everything steady and firmly seated on a sturdy tripod head and strong tripod legs. Even the slightest breeze will cause problems, so make sure everything is locked-down. Also try to remember that the extreme telephoto caused by the approx 8X factor provides a very narrow depth of field in the focus zone.

I've tried to look at your film clip, but the website links don't seem to work.

Judging by the photo of your setup, I would say a few things may be a problem: wind; difficult focus due to dark viewfinder caused by slow lens + converter; touching the set up once focus is acheived; slight extra wobble between lens and converter bayonet mount.

What are you using for a tripod and head?
What lens are you using? Are you using a external monitor or just the camera viewfinder?

I use mainly heavy Manfrotto tripod equipment:

http://www.wilderness-photo.co.uk/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=1&pos=5

http://www.wilderness-photo.co.uk/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=1&pos=3

I prefer to use the camera viewfinder monitor. With a fast f/2.8 lens the subject tends to snap in and out of focus OK.
If the subject is in very dull light, I might sometimes bump up the gain to make focus easier, and then click it back to minus -3 gain; but most of the time I just leave it on minus 3.

So what other lens can I use with my XL2 that are not canon?
I have a 70-200 2.8L IS, but I would like to maybe get a 400+ that is 1.8-2.8..???

400mm f/5.6; 400mm f/4; 400mm f/3.5; 400mm f/2.8; 200mm f/2.8; 200mm f/2; 200mm f/1.8 (with x1.4 or 2X converters); 300mm f/2.8; 300mm f/2; 500mm f/4; 500mm f/4.5; 600mm f/4; 600mm f/5.6; 800mm f/5.6; etc. in either Canon EOS, Canon FD, Nikon Nikkor AF, or Nikkor MF Ai/Ais.

There are many other lenses to choose from...this is just a short selection off the top of my head.

Recently purchased the Xl2--I am thinking of purchasing the Ef adapter to use my Canon 100-400 lens in addition to the 20x or would I be better of using a 1.6X extender with the 20x?

And if I went with the EF adapter and the 100-400 is it necessary to support both camera boday and lens with something akin to the Ronrail?

Also I have played around with hand holding the xl2 with the 20x--shooting surf footage--I do have a decent tripod and fluid head--that works great ---I just like the reaction time to shooting without the tripod---yes it's heavy and I could probably realistically shoot for no more than an hour or so--just curious as to any comments in that regard.

Also curious as to any custom presets that might be used for shooting surf.

Thanks for everyone who has fed this forum--I have learned an incredible amount of info!!
Ron

Ron,

I have been around telephoto lenses and duplex extenders for years. The 1.6 is all right for an extender, I own one. it is all right until you get out to the distance then it softens to much. I prefer the 2x century on my gl2 to the 1.6 on my xl2. I use a few canon telephotos on my xl2 and I would definitely recomend the zoom lens if it is a good lens. If you already have the lens do not waste your money on the extender, but if its all you can afford go for it.
All multipliers soften the picture. I did a few comparison clips in the under water and over land group. you could look the up. It was last summer.

Thanks Dale--do you use the ef adapter--and if so are you using dual support for the lens and the camera body?

As mentioned I have the canon 100-400--so if the extenders are a bit soft I'd prefer the gain in telephoto I get with the 100-400--just a bit nervous mounting all that to the tripod.

thanks
Ron

ron,

I do not have an ef adapter. I have canon fd lenses and I purchased a mechanical mount. It has to be used totally manual which is fine for me. If I had your lens i would use the ef adapter.

I think you definitely need to have some further support on the lens. I am building my own out of aluminum channel. Had I the spare cash I would use a ron's Rail. Not cheap but a work of fine machining!!! worth the expense.
to be honest, anything over 300mm is basicly unmanagble for me. My 500mm zoom I just can't use until I get a rail to support everything and get a rons sight on it.

I never filmed surfing but back in the 60's I used a 9,6" jacobs surf board when I lived in southern California.

Now i think I would do some filming instead.


www.ronsrail.com

thanks Dale---

I actually surfed back inthe 60's as well---had a Weber performer back then--I'd like to have it and the Jacobs 9'6" now--worth some bucks--still surf 3-4 days a week but see a time when I may spend more time shooting at some point in the future!!

Someone had shown a mount that they built for dual support--not sure if you have seen it on this site. It kind of gave me some ideas but was hard to see any detail of the added bracket.

If you've seen any plans or additional detail on building your own mount --would really love to see it.

I was thinking of getting the Canon 3x--but am thinking I may put the money towards the Ronrail if I can't figure soemthing out that works fairly easily--it looks like the sight is pretty cool too--now see if we still had the old boards we could sell them to support a new habit!!!

thanks
Ron

Dale just received this email back from a recent inquiry--160.00 for lens support system--have no idea how well it would work--I'm sure the ronrail systme is far superior--but for the money this could be good--

Thank you for your interest in Cavision's products.

Here is a link to our website showing the rods support system we offer for
the Canon XL2 - http://www.cavision.com/rods/minidv.htm - RS-15IIM - 200.00.
I would recommend removing the front bracket and the t-riser from the front
of the rods support (this is used to connect to a matte box) and replacing
it with the R15-LS25 - lens support belt - 75.00 -
http://www.cavision.com/rods/lenssupport.htm . When you remove the front
bracket and t-riser the cost of the RS-15IIM drops to 160.00. All prices are
in US funds.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely
Jason Connors
Cavision Enterprises Ltd.
Tel: 604 298 9053

ron,

for the price of 235 dollars it looks like it might do the job for using the larger lenses. If you get one I would like to hear about how it works out for you. Get a rons lazer sight and you have a rig for about 450 dollars.

Must remember of course that carbon wil not be as rigid as aluminum. If you intend to expand to some larger heqavier lenses the rons rail will give you more distance between the two steady points and it will be sturdier. Most heavier lenses also have threaded steady mounts on them and I do not know if the cavivison will work with that. Just some thoughts. In the long haul rons rail is the way to go in my book. If I get my rail finished I will take a picture or two of it for you.

my EF adapter crapped out...it doesn't seem to be letting any light in. the red light is on, so i don't think it needs a battery change. or does it? i hooked it up to a 400mm lens, and it flashed the word "lens" is red, but seemed to let in some light but the image was staticky. i hooked it up to another long lens, and didn't get any light in at all. no flashing red "lens" signal.

are electrical components on the fritz? i've never changed the battery, so i don't know how to recognize the symptoms. i don't want to buy a new battery if this thing is simply fried. does this sound familiar to anyone?

p.s. the lenses work fine on my still cameras, so i don't think the lenses are the issue.....

I have not had this problem. I would check the battery first and make sure all the contacts are clean.

I had the same problem but the battery had been in for a year or two so I changed it, this appeared to resolve the problem, however, after a few days it started doing the same thing.

I then decided to try another battery but I didn't turn off the camera first (potentially bad) as I slid out the battery cover it started working again, further investigation proved it was in fact a poor contact between the battery and the terminals inside.

There is a small amount of play in the battery compartment and after placing a small piece of card behind the cover the problem is solved. I don't really know why this should happen after working fine for so long but it did, happily the card has fixed it.

thanks, guys. i'm going to muck around with it a bit, according to your suggestions, sonny, and see if i can't get it to work again. this little bit of plastic is a $350 piece of gear, and i hate to spend for another, if i don't have to....

Would combining a Canon XL2 EF Adapter with a Canon EOS Mount Microscope adapter provide a proper/clear image when attached to a microscope? Or will the natural maginfication of the XL2 EF adapter make it too difficult to focus? I've seen posts regarding Canon XL2 Microscope Adapters but I am unsure if this variation would work... thanks for reading.

Josh

Would combining a Canon XL2 EF Adapter with a Canon EOS Mount Microscope adapter provide a proper/clear image when attached to a microscope? Or will the natural maginfication of the XL2 EF adapter make it too difficult to focus?

Thanks for that Stuart. How much in the way of control do you have? for example could you do a panning shot or would there be too much in the way of shake?

I am getting a cannon 100-400 to use with my D30, has anyone used that combination which on the XL2, would be 780 - 3120!

eric,

ı ve been using xl2 with 100-400 for 1 year. I ve produced 6 2minute short wildlife wilm for "target zero extiction" campaign and broadcasted at CNN-TURK and iz-tv. I plan to share these movies with dv info wildlife forum but at the moment there is some copyrihgt issues ı need to resolve..

so canon 100-400 is the only tele lens in the market, that produce enough quality images and extensive zoom.

so do not look any other tele lens if you already have canon 100-400. though you dont have much alternative for both quality and abilitiy to extend 4x ultra tele zoom. only alternatives are the sigma zoom lenses. 100-300 f/4 and 120-300 f/2.8. I havent tried these lenses, but I will try them soon.

only issue for the canon 100-400 lens is there is a huge sample variation, this means my 100-400 and yours produce quite different results. unfortunately I have the bad sample so I sold it and will try my friend's 100-400. another reason of selling my 100-400 is I plan to jump high def league, and this lens (my 100-400 sample) cant resolve enogh for high def picture.

when you use 100-400 with xl2, it becames 800-3200 mm apprx. but practical focal area is 800-2300mm. beyond 2300, it is imposible to pan tilt, and also atmospheric turbulance is a problem.

so try to use heaviest and high end tripod with this combo. another important note is to mount body of xl2 to head also.

hope these help, enjoy your xl2,
thanks,
alkim.

The Nikkor 200-400 f/4 ED and the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 APO are in my opinion the best and sharpest zoom lenses in that range.

Of the slower zoom lenses, the old Nikkor 50-300 f/4.5 ED is a gem.

(I still prefer the fixed prime telephoto lenses though).

Hi guys.

Just wondering what people would consider the max weight for XL2+ EF adapter + lens ?? without supporting the lens...can't get hold of my manual at the mo.

I've just upgraded from a Canon 100-300 F4.5-5.6 (about 500grams) to Sigma 100-300 F4 (1.3 Kg without collar), which works great and doesnt seem to cause the joint an issue but I'm sure its too heavy with no support.......just wondering what people think and what canon recommend!

I'm going to be sorting out a support but unfortunately just don't have the funds at the mo!

Hi!

I have a few questions about using Canon EF lenses with the XL2.

First, would there be any advantage to using a RedRock 35mm adapter over just using Canon's EF adapter?

Second, which Lens/Lenses would you recommend? I'm considering this (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-24-70mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx) one.

Third, I'll be wanting to use a follow focus. Which follow focus units work with Canon's still lenses and where can I find a focus gear ring for the lens? What about a matte box?

Thanks,

Dale

Hi Dale. These 2 options are for different applications and are not really comparable. The EF adaptor magnifies the image so that the 24-70 zoom lens becomes highly telephoto. Suggest you do a search on this subject as it has come up many times in the past.

Richard

Hi, I`m thinking about buying xl2 (I own xm2) the main reason is telephoto which I can achieve with Eos series - I`m mostly filming wather sports competitions, which very often take place 200-300m from shore and 20 x zoom in xm2 is not enough. I`m wondering about autofocus and folow options in eos lenses are they work with xl2???

thanks for reply

OK, I dig the whole forum with "ef adapter,wildlife, eos, sport, lenses and many more"tags and find many answers for my question, but still have doubts.

How works zoom in 100-400 L IS - can I make smoth zoom from wide to full tele?


I` wondering between Canon 100-400 L IS and Sigma 70 -200 2.8 and 1.6 extender ? any other sugestion about chosing the righ lense

And wich zoom control I will have to use - camera or lense ?

thanks

Hi Lukas. The EOS lenses do not have motorised zoom, so you will have to do it manually. It is unlikely that you will be able to zoom smoothly with a super-telephoto lens, because all the judders will be magnified, but I suppose if it's an action shot with fast zooming it might be OK.

Richard

How works zoom in 100-400 L IS - can I make smoth zoom from wide to full tele?

Hi Lukas,

the 100-400mm is a push/pull type zoom and it's not intended for zooming while you are filming. So, no, you will not be able to do smooth zooms with that lens.

Thanks a lot!
OK now I`m wondering about using canon ef adapter? Is it necessary -couse on Ron sight (http://www.ronsrail.com/gallery.html) I can see than not every lense have (white-square)canon ef adapter, are there any lenses that fit to xl2 body without adapter ???

Very often I work in strong wind like 25-30knots and even with small camera like xm2 at full tele on manfrotto hdv tripod I have a little shakes.
So I thik I need lense with Image Stabilizer - from what I read on this forum I have to use canon ef adapter to have " control " with any IS lens (I know that it doesnt work as well as in still cameras, but it`s better than nothig), without canon ef adapter IS system won`t work, m`I right ???

My main question is- do I have to buy canon ef adapter and canon lense to have IS (what about Sigma and other... )???

best regards
Lukas

Lukas

You should try the XL 1.6 Extender with the camara's 20X stock lens. It increases the focal length of the 20X lens by 1.6. It might be able to get you close to 200mm. from the shore and be able to use the IS, MF, AF, smooth zoom and also have different zoom speeds. You will encounter a little bit of Judder. A very good tripod will help.

Lukas

You should try the XL 1.6 Extender with the camara's 20X stock lens..

But is it true that with extender at the end of telephoto the image makes soft and lose quality???

And what about XL 2.0 Extender - worse/better than 1.6 ?

thanks for reply

But is it true that with extender at the end of telephoto the image makes soft and lose quality???
May be a little.
The XL2 is a very sharp camera. Its a sharper than most DV cams in $2k - $5k prize range. You can also up the sharpness level inside the Preset menue.

XL 2.0 Extender will be better .

Take a ride to the Pro video store and perform some tests. Use a monitor when performing tests. The XL2 viewfinder is not so great.

Lukas,

I have used the 100-400mm lens on my cam for the last 3 years. It is impossible to zoom with this lens, and, do it smoothly. It should really be labeled a vari focal length lens. It gets me wonderful wild life shots.

As to the auto focus: I turn it off. All it does is eat the battery; and, if nothing in the picture is moving, it starts "hunting" (moving the picture slowly left to right, or up and down, depending on the lens setting). Most annoying. With practice, I find that manual focus is the way to go.

As to extenders: Any glass that is added to a lens, including filters, will degrade the image to some extent.
You will have to make your own test to determine how much degradation occurs.

I hope this post helps you.

Before I buy this expensive $450 adapter I have a few questions.
I'm planning on filming sports events like track&field.
1. Does it zoom in/out the lens automatically. No manual work.
2. Is there a degradation in the lens quality.
TIA.

Hi Carl. I suggest you do a search on what this adapter actually, and then decide if you need it or not.

Briefly, it allows you to fit any Canon EF lens to the XL2 body, instead of the stock zoom lens. The EF lenses are for still cameras and do not have zoom motors, in fact I'm not sure if you can even control the lens aperture from the XL2 body.

There is also a tremendous crop factor or magnification when you fit an EF lens to the XL2. This might be what you want for some shots, but only you can decide if it is useful for your situation.

Richard

Carl, the ef-adapter will throw every lens you put on it to a huge telelens!
Shooting in 16:9 wide you will get a magnifying factor of 7.2 to the lens, so even a 28mm wide-lens will become (28 x 7.2) 200mm on the XL-2!

If this is what you want it's ok! The quality of those f/2.8 35mm-lenses from Canon is superb and will give you good quality on the XL-2.

You will be able to control the aperture through the ef-adaper, adjusting in the same way as you do with the original lens.
But auto-focus will not function through the adapter! You must do that manually which can be hard to maintain, especially on fast moving targets!
You also have to zoom manually with the zoom-ring on the lens.

Recently purchased the EF adapter myself, and in trying out some of my photographer friend's EF lenses, we found out first about the crazy magnification--and consequently, macro composition (seriously, we did a closeup of my eye, and there seemed to be no minimum object distance, as i was essentially batting my eyelashes on the lens and remaining in focus)--and second the low light resolution the EF lenses yielded. You could basically light a scene in a black room using only a 60 watt lightbulb for all your key, filling, kicking, and backing! Exaggerating, of course, but it was a dramatic low light performance, especially compared to the 20x video lens. Of course, that's probably not a good thing for those wanting to achieve shallow depth to hear, since you won't be opening the iris all the way with much frequency. Also, you'll need some ND filters for your EF lenses for outside videography, since most everything will be blown out. But for super telephoto results, try mounting any telephoto EF lens onto your camera with the EF adapter (we used a 70-200mm, I think) . . . wow.

It appears that what you get is the cropped middle of that 35mm image your EF lens is seeing. There's no anamorphic process of stretching and unstretching or shrinking and enlarging--just straight cropping.

I do have one question: is there a conversion rate for the speed of the EF lens using the EF adapter. Does the EF adaptor cut down or open up a lense's speed? I do know it takes less light to illuminate the subject using EF lenses with my XL2, but is that because those lenses are faster than my video lens? I'd just like to know some numbers.

Hi everybody


I think that's OK for all, with the XL/EF adapter you can drive only the iris, the IS is out, not important with these focals lenghts, it's better to have a good tripod with a good fluid head.
For the zoom function it's normal, the EF lens are not zoom motorized.

But for the auto focus, is there anybody on this forum to explain why it don't function ?

1) Pin problems ?

2) Protocol probems ?

3) Adapter problems ?

4) Power problems ?

5) Other problems ?

I ask the question to "Birger.com" and wait for the answer. I don't know if a solution exist. But why not.

Gilles

Not true with IS out ... I use a Canon EF zoom lens (70-300 IS USM) - the IS does work with the EF lens Adapter. As for AF not working - I don't know why.

I own a Canon 100-400 L IS lens and I want to buy a XL2 and Canon EF adapter (I want to shoot wildlife) so here are my questions:

.How good is the image quality with the 100-400 lens

.Do I get aperture, AF and IS control with the 100-400 lens

.Do I need a lens support system

.Is f/4.5-5.6 to slow

.Is this fluid head good enough: Manfrotto 128LP $90

.Are these tripod legs good enough: Velbon EL carmagne 530 tripod $200

.Any problems I should know about

Thanks A Lot
CJ

I use Canon 70-210 f/2.8 EF with stabliser on the XL adaptor for my Canon XL2. Fantastic results ... super sharp.

However, you need a very strong lens support AND a way to find your target when you are using a long tele lens. The area seen by the viewfinder is sometimes so small - you have NO idea where the camera is pointing to ....

I use Canon 70-210 f/2.8 EF with stabliser on the XL adaptor for my Canon XL2. Fantastic results ... super sharp.

However, you need a very strong lens support AND a way to find your target when you are using a long tele lens. The area seen by the viewfinder is sometimes so small - you have NO idea where the camera is pointing to ....

About the way to find your target:
The lens I am using being a 100-400 I could use the 100mm to find my target and then zoom in to 400mm and start rolling right?

Thanks for your reply
CJ

35mm lens 100mm on XL2 is about 700mm already. If your target is a small bird hopping from tree to tree, you might not be able do that fast enough - without an external pointing aid.

At 400mm - it is something like 2800mm - and unless your target is sitting still or moving around in a relatively small area, once you zoom in, it is easy to loose track of the target if you just depend on the viewfinder image. With the film rolling, you can't just zoom back to re-acquire the target then zoom in again - you see the point?

Another real world experience I had - NO amount of rock stable tripod is going to be stable enough if the ground itself is not. You might ask - HOW? Planting the tripod on grassy surfaces, on muddy ground, next to a road where there are traffic moving, etc ... even the slightest vibration you might not notice - well, even with an IS lens at 2800mm, you can see the movements inside the viewfinder.

I'd go along with those repliesCaleb. The 128 head is good for little Canon HV30s - that sort of thing.

I'd go along with those repliesCaleb. The 128 head is good for little Canon HV30s - that sort of thing.

What tripod and head would you recommend?

Thanks
CJ

2800 mm equivalent? You'd need the camera bolted to a big lump of concrete. Sorry, I can't make a better recommendation.

Here is a link to some sample images taken with a 100-400mm lens and an XL1

XL1 Image Gallery: African Wildlife through an EF Lens (http://www.dvinfo.net/canon/images/images09.php)

I used a XL1 once, before upgrading to XL2. The XL2 view is slightly wider than XL1 - so, instead of getting 2800mm equivalent, you will end getting a bit less (2500 - 2600). Still super long.

As you probably already know, exposure via EF adapter is auto (or manual) BUT focusing is totally manual.

You will need to bolt the lens (using the locking bracket) AND the camera body together as a single platform. I have an adapter for that. Then you clamp the adapter to the tripod. Heavy - well, you bet it is.

If you are shooting African wildlife and you are traveling on a open Jeep, weight should not be an issue here. Get a Vintern equivalent tripod meant for those large shoulder mount cameras - that will ensure the tripod has the ability to hold the rig stable enough for you to shoot.

What is the best Canon EF/EOS lens that will fit onto the XL2 with the EF adapter?

I want to shoot wildlife.

Thanks for replies,

CJ

I own a Canon 100-400 L IS lens...

What is the best Canon EF/EOS lens that will fit onto the XL2 with the EF adapter?You already have a great lens... just start shooting!