HD201 upgrading
 

Hi,

I am here looking for shared and valuable tips. And I know this is the right place for that.

Being into nature filming and wildlife now for a few years (still as an amator), I would be in a position to upgrade my HD201 with more accessories, although for a limited budget. Like everyone in this business I think, I am naturally aiming at the best picture and portability at minimal costs. I am already equipped with the Fujinon 13x, a great investment for wide views definitely, as already mentioned.

So far, two options have sprung to my mind.

Either I could wait and go for the forthcoming Flash XDR plus a component (or firewire?) to SDI convertor, looking for the better 4:2:2 color space live from the field. I could then use either the Zoerk or MTF’s adaptor for mounting mechanically Nikon telephoto lenses on the camcorder.

Or another alternative would be to look after the PL mount film lens adapter HZ-CA13 built by JVC and try to find affordable (= used) film tele lenses with a PL mount (fortunately cheaper than shorter primes), but leaving me then with the recording to tape :(.

Any hint on this would be most appreciated. Alternatively, how would you set your own priorities if given the opportunity to upgrade your equipment?

Hey Phillipe,
Since you mention Nature and wildlife, the first priority for me would be quality extended telephoto. No doubt that zoerk/mtf with some good nikons (eg. 300/2.8, 80-200/2.8). I'd put some extra in getting solid rails, mattebox with a good assortment of graduated filters, contrast, diffusion etc., even try to find some rig for follow focus or similar (wands?)
Dealing with existing light and different conditions, is where good filtration can really help. Some effects you could do in post, but many things are best optimized before they hit the chip - like wide contrast light dynamics..

The 20x canon lens made for these cams would be another possible route to comfortably venture into longer tele.

You'll need an excellent tripod for the ultra tele stuff too. Want light? Carbon fiber... It's a significant addition but vibration and jerky moves will be frequent without the right rig.

I don't think the HZ-CA13 + PL's makes sense for you.The main function of that is for limiting DOF at moderate focal lengths. I doubt you'll gain much quality over the previous option this way, and be limited for extreme tele.

The flash xdr on 200 series unfortunately doesn't seem practical. Now I see the 250 advantage, which I didn't predict a year ago. Component out I suspect will not be much better than compressed.

Just go for a DR-HD100 if you're tired of tape transfers. It's a real easy, reliable workflow, and they take hours of stuff at a reasonable cost.

Save as much as possible for some trips to cool places! or a helicopter!

Thanks very much Sean, well helpful.

About the HZ-CA13, is it really so that its DOF benefits would become limited once using longer telephoto lenses? I know, this may seem like a very basic question but, would you or someone else provide me with the explanation behind that? I personally found the possibility to use cine lenses with PL mount already much appealing in itself, especially from those that went through cine modifications (century, optex,...). But is this really worth the investment?

Also, your assumption that component out would not be that much better than compressed sounds to me like a disappointment. Instead, I was hoping for a significant improvment if using the flash xdr. Again, and I apologize if my next question does not sound very "professional", but would outputting the stream from the camera via firewire or component bring actually the same results?