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

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.

100-400mm Lens
 

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.

Canon EF Adapter XL for Canon XL-2
 

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.

EF adapter and light sensitivity
 

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.

EF/XL adapter and autofocus
 

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.

Canon 100-400 L IS with XL2
 

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 ....

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.

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.

100-400 with XL1 Sample Images
 

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

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.

Best Canon EF/EOS Lens for XL2
 

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

You already have a great lens... just start shooting!

I currently do not own an XL2 so I can,t start shooting just yet.

Myself being 14 years old, I would have to work with my Dad for about 2 more years to purchase an XL2, so if I sold my 100-400mm lens I could get the XL2 much faster.

I guess I am thinking way to far ahead about getting another lens after I buy the XL2.

Thank you very much for your reply

CJ

I wouldn't sell that lens if I were you.

Consider a used XL2 instead, our members usually have them for sale here.

That depends on how far away your wildlife are - and whether you want to consider a possibility of YOU being lunch for them :-). Seriously, if your wildlife are squirrels and birds - no big deal. However, I would be extremely cautious if they are polar bears or tigers. You get the point?

I have used MIRROR lens (SIGMA) of 500mm f/5.6 - custom-order on EF adaptor to take videos of eagles on a nest nearly 2km away - no problems.

Even used that lens with 2X Canon Teleconvertor with EF (7200mm equivalent) to video sherpas walking up to summit of Mt Everest from Base Camp in Rongbuk - about 23 km away in straight line distance.

Currently, for most decent wildlife, a 70-210 f/2.8 is more than good enough.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens
 

Will the 70-300mm DO lens work well with the XL2 and EF adapter?

Is it a good quality lens?

When using the 70-300mm DO lens with the XL2 I wont need any lens support system because the 100-300mm DO only weighs 1.6lb and the standard lens with the XL2 weighs 1.4lb so that's only 0.2lb difference, I wont need to purchase a heavy duty tripod or lens support system.

Here is a review:
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens Review

THANKS,

CJ

I know nothing about your proposed use of your XL2 and the EF lenses. But, what I can tell you is - lightness has NOTHING to do with a need for a heavy tripod and good lens support. It is the MAGNIFICATION that is the cause of the "problem".

Even that 70-300 DO lens at 300mm is about 2,100mm when mounted on XL2 with EF converter. IS or no IS - if you don't have a "rock or concrete" anchor to mount that rig - please forget about using it. I am sorry - but I can't be any more blunt than this.

Consider this -

My Canon XL1 and 500mm f/5.6 mirror lens is about 2.5kg (extremely light) - even lighter than XL2 with 70-300 DO lens. The tripod and anchor system weighs 13kg - that should tell you the amount of stability required for such magnification.

Using any telephoto lens with the XL2 definitely requires a very stable tripod, preferably a pro-heavy duty tripod, but that doesn't mean that you should forget about using them.

I often use 300mm and 600mm ED-IF Nikkors for extreme-telephoto shooting and can obtain crisp and sharp footage. The most important factors are to use the correct tripods and techniques in the best conditions.

How Large is EF Adapter???
 

I need to know how large the Canon EF adapter is so I can save some room in my Pelican case for when I purchase it.

Thanks,

CJ

EF Adapter dimensions
 

Measuring mine in it's black pouch it' approx:

3.5"H x 4.5"W x 2"D

Thanks for the dimensions.

EF-S to XL Adapter???
 

I own a Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens and XL2 so I was wondering if there is any such thing as an EF-S to XL adapter for my XL2.

Thanks,

CJ

Sorry, there is no such thing as an EF-S to XL adapter.

How Important is Image Stabilizer?
 

When using the XL2 with the EF adapter and a 300mm or 400mm lens how much does an IS help?, That is assuming you have solid legs and good head.

Thanks a lot,

CJ

300mm on XL2 is 2100mm. 400mm is 2800mm. Whatever help you can get (solid tripod + head) and IS as well is going to improve the image you take. It would also help if you place a sandbag on the camera (above the tripod) to minimise any shakes you would generate.

About the EF-S to XL Adapter:
 

A few post back I asked if there was any such thing as an EF-S adapter for my EF-S 60mm f/2.8 lens to go with my XL2 and the answer was no, so I asked on another forum cold Wildeye and they also said no until someone posted this link: EF Adapter XL - Canon eStore
If you read over the compatible lenses carefully, you can see it has three EF-S lenses on the chart.
So know I'm a bit confused, could use some help.

Three EF-S lenses are listed on that page:

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

I have submitted a query into Canon USA about this to seek confirmation. However I would
not expect an answer back for several days since we're going into a major holiday weekend.

Caleb, I have rec'd word from Canon USA that they are double-checking
the accuracy of that particular page. Be advised though that the stock
20x lens already covers the focal length range that you would get with
the EF-S 60mm with the EF adapter (appx. 430mm equivalent). So
there's really not much point to doing that.

Thanks for checking with Canon Chris. About the 60mm lens being the same as the 20x stock lens, I plan on using it for macro work since it is a life size 1:1 macro lens.

EF-S 60mm lens does not work with EF adapter
 

I got my EF adapter from B&H and tried it with my EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro lens and it didn't work. The back of the lens hits the front of the EF adapter so it does not fit but, I will sell the lens on eBay and buy a canon EF 70-300mm lens for wildlife.

I believe the EF adaptor is only for EF lenses and not for EF-S lenses. I have a Tamron Macro (for Canon) EF lens 100mm f/2.5 (not EF-S) and it works perfectly with the EF adaptor.

I was wondering if is possible to take a photographic lens like this:

VALIDO ZOOM 42/75mm YASHICA FX & CONTAX RTS 137 139 167 su eBay.it per Contax e Yashica, Obiettivi, Fotografia e Video

(just for example, but it might be any other brand); and mount a canon xl flange instead of the lens flange, this way the photographic lens can be mounted directly to the XL body without using an adapter (from what i understood is the adapter that cause the magnification factor?).