You pretty much described what I don't like about the standard 16x auto and 3x, slipping focus and soft. The softness of the 3X in my opinion is due once again to the lack of control those electronic servo focus mechanisms have. Nothing is worse than getting into post and realizing what you thought was in focus actually was not. I've never ran into that problem with the 16x manual lens.

above
 

Ok ok . . cool. Several questions. Minimum focus distance is 3.5 feet (except when in macro mode) with the manual lens, correct? Okay, so. . .that makes me think maybe it's easier to do cool cinematographic effects with this lens (like blurring foreground, etc. Is this correct? Seems like you could just get "too close" to the area you wanted to blur, and focus on your subject, and all would be groovy. I've had little success achieving this effect with the IS II.

Also. . .have you figured out what to do when you do need those wide angles? Have you found a good enough adapter? Crystal optics has one. . .anyone know about it?

I just caught the tail end of this thread, but I agree with donbarzini about the benefits of the 16X manual lens.

I considered my XL1 an expensive toy until I put the manual lens on the front.

Now it's the first camera I grab.

If you are at all serious about videography, and you are frustrated by the standard lens.....go with the 16X manual.

Mike Avery

above
 

Well. . .rascals have opened my eyes. Is there a good way to get rid of the IS II an somehow make money off of it? Don't say ebay, because I got screwed pretty hard there once and I will never deal with those bastards or anything that resembles them again.

Also, good wide angle adapter? Anyone? Otherwise I'll be knocking down walls in every location . . .people might not like it

Post it for sale right here in the Private Classifieds forum... every once in awhile, an XL1 owner looks to upgrade their IS lens to the IS II. Should be worth about $1000 or so.

above
 

1000.. .really? Hmmm. Groovy.

I'm still searching for a good 100% zoom through wide angle adapter to use with the 16x manual lens.

above
 

Cool. Let me know if you find one. I don't much about them except what people say. Optex has a lens (not an adapter) that's fully manual, no communication with XL1s body, in other words. It's an adapted fujinon lens, I believe. There's an article about it on the XL1s watchdog site. I swear I saw it for $1000, but in the article it says it's like. . .$2300 or so? Something insane.

Howdy from Texas,

Two things:

First, I have that lens and it is *not* a wide-angle lens. See the Guide to XL1 Lens Options on the Watchdog.

Second. the price in that article was from when it was new several years ago. It's much lower now. Hope this helps,

above
 

Ah. . .I see. Thanks. Is 16x manual's servo zoom smoother than the IS II's zoom?

The manual lens does not use servos. That is the whole idea
behind a/the MANUAL lens. The rings are directly linked to the
underlying mechanisms.

above
 

Wait wait. . .I was under the impression there was a zoom rocker, and that you could switch between it and manually adjusting the zoom ring. ..

above
 

Here's an exerpt from an article on digitalfilmmaker.com

Now Canon has introduced a 16X manual lens that is able to work with the crucial elements of the power servo zoom and the camera auto exposure system. The black-barreled lens has a switch located on the bottom of the lens that allows it to easily be switched between servo and manual. What this means is that by leaving the switch in the manual position, it is possibly to quickly "snap" focus by racking between long and short focal lengths using the grip on the
barrel, or by switching to servo, be able to make smooth pushes and pulls

It can get confusing to know exactly what we're talking about sometimes. The Canon 14x and Fuji-Optex 14x are manual only. The new Canon 16x manual lens includes a motor and is switchable between full manual zoom and motorized zoom. Hope this helps,

My mistake. I was thinking about the "old" one indeed. My
appologies if I rushed any bushes.