With the 13x, as soon as you turn on the camera and look in the LCD, you'll immediately notice a brighter more vivid image. The real question is in the cost/benefit analysis of such pricey piece of glass.

Try to find a Letus HD100 (the one that attaches directly to the camera body) and some lights for that money... If you find one get the GG replace with the one that comes in the new Letus Extreme. This is what i shot this with. It's a lil muddy due to the compression, no real post just crushed the blacks a bit.

http://www.theworksfilms.com/wi

On sort of the same topic, I've been looking at the mtf nikon adapter for my hd100u. I know you get a huge magnification; I'm curious if this would be better specifically for weddings and short films than my stock 16x. And before you respond: no, I don't have the cash for a 13x. No, I don't have the cash for a letus. No, I won't have the cash anytime soon- new mac first.

No. its not useful for weddings and docs. I have the zoerk and the magnification is such that even a 20mm nikon gives you somethin like an 80-85mm fov.

In our facility, we have a 'events videography' dept which shoots weddings and they have the jvc hd100, I handle the corporate and commercial department and i use the HD200.

I only use my zoerk(which is very similar to the MTF) for Nature and outdoors and situations where extreme magnification is needed like when i shot mating butterflies and caterpillars and windsurfers about 3 miles out in the sea.

Your better off getting a wide adapter to thread infront of your stock lens if you need a wide angle.

You can play around with the macro of your fujinon to achieve an effect similar when using a DOF adapter, a blurred background, but it won't be as versatile as the lens adapters using the stock as relay.

Ted

I'm less concerned with wide angle shots as I usually don't need anything wider than what my stock lens will offer. I'm chiefly interested in making my wedding videos more cinematic, and I understand the 35mm adapters are bulky and somewhat difficult to shoot with- not what a videographer with a big camera wants to hear! I'm looking for an alternative that won't cost me as much as my camera did. Any suggestions welcome =)

I think all of the adapters you lose 2 stops on an already dark camera. I would just shoot 24p, 1/48th, and have the detail set to MIN or at least -7. OFF really is OFF, so if you are still getting video buzzing/venitian blinds then more the detail to MIN or even OFF. You can always bring back the edge enhancement later with a filter in your NLE. The other thing to do is shoot close to the subject at 45mm setting, have the aperature around f2.8 to f4 and try to throw the background out of focus if you can. Other than that, maybe a 17x or 13x used lens some day, and most importantly work on composition and exposure and find a color profile you like to shoot/edit/color correct with and call it good.

It's not a Varicam or even a HPX-500. (though with the better lenses such as the 17x or 13x or 18x it will give the HPX-500 a serious run for it\'s money. Of course the HPX-500 and Varicams can upgrade their glass from the stock cheap lenses as well.