Best way to extend telephoto range? at DVinfo.net

Dave Valencic · August 12th, 2003, 09:06 PM

I'm going to be shooting a few high school football games in a few weeks and I feel that even with a Century Optics 2x extrender on my VX2000 I'm still not getting nearly the telephoto that I need for extreme closeups from upto 130yds away (opposite endzone and then up on a hill) From using a 35mm camera in a few tests I figured that using a 1800-2000mm lens is about what I need to get the closeups I want. (A Zuiko 600mm lens w/ a 2x extender then a little math and cropping in photoshop is how I arrived at 2000mm)

I can get about the results I want with a TRV120 (25x optical) with a 3x Kenko telephoto lens, but with that camera only being 1chip it doesn't really help me to integrate the footage into a totally 3chip production.

Are there any options available to me to get into the 40-50x zoom range using a VX2000 short of mounting a 10x Nikon scope on rails?

Are there any 5-6x spoting scopes that are designed to be attached to a still and/or video camera?

Alex Knappenberger · August 12th, 2003, 09:45 PM

Eh, this suggestion is probably irrelivant, since you already own a VX2000, but maybe you should look into renting a Canon XL1(s) with a EOS adapter (i hope thats what they are called)..and you can throw a telephoto 35mm lens on there, and whatever the focal length of that is, you multiply that by a magnification factor of 7x, because of the CCD size, so basically, for example, if you have a 100mm lens attached to the XL1 with the adapter, it's going to be a 700mm lens.

Other then that, I don't know of any lenses you can attach to a VX2000 or similiar camera to give you that kind of focal length...

Dave Valencic · August 13th, 2003, 06:26 AM

I thought about that, but since i'm not being paid for these games, spending $150 a day to rent a XL1 isn't an option when I have to do 4-5 games. I've got a dozen EF lenses, but no XL1 to use them with.

I've seen various spotting scopes that have camera adapters which are usually a bit smaller than 58mm, but using the far end of the focal range, that won't matter.

August 12th, 2003, 09:06 PM	#1
Dave Valencic Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Cleveland OH Posts: 34	Best way to extend telephoto range? I'm going to be shooting a few high school football games in a few weeks and I feel that even with a Century Optics 2x extrender on my VX2000 I'm still not getting nearly the telephoto that I need for extreme closeups from upto 130yds away (opposite endzone and then up on a hill) From using a 35mm camera in a few tests I figured that using a 1800-2000mm lens is about what I need to get the closeups I want. (A Zuiko 600mm lens w/ a 2x extender then a little math and cropping in photoshop is how I arrived at 2000mm) I can get about the results I want with a TRV120 (25x optical) with a 3x Kenko telephoto lens, but with that camera only being 1chip it doesn't really help me to integrate the footage into a totally 3chip production. Are there any options available to me to get into the 40-50x zoom range using a VX2000 short of mounting a 10x Nikon scope on rails? Are there any 5-6x spoting scopes that are designed to be attached to a still and/or video camera?

August 12th, 2003, 09:45 PM	#2
Alex Knappenberger High School Student Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canton, Ohio, USA Posts: 609	Eh, this suggestion is probably irrelivant, since you already own a VX2000, but maybe you should look into renting a Canon XL1(s) with a EOS adapter (i hope thats what they are called)..and you can throw a telephoto 35mm lens on there, and whatever the focal length of that is, you multiply that by a magnification factor of 7x, because of the CCD size, so basically, for example, if you have a 100mm lens attached to the XL1 with the adapter, it's going to be a 700mm lens. Other then that, I don't know of any lenses you can attach to a VX2000 or similiar camera to give you that kind of focal length...

August 13th, 2003, 06:26 AM	#3
Dave Valencic Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Cleveland OH Posts: 34	I thought about that, but since i'm not being paid for these games, spending $150 a day to rent a XL1 isn't an option when I have to do 4-5 games. I've got a dozen EF lenses, but no XL1 to use them with. I've seen various spotting scopes that have camera adapters which are usually a bit smaller than 58mm, but using the far end of the focal range, that won't matter.