I'd assume that there will always be some optical glass in this position (regardless of using ND), otherwise you could run into back focus problems.

Old photographer's rule of thumb--most lenses look best 2 stops down from wide open. I break that rule sometimes, for various reasons, but I understand what you're saying, Thierry.

When I made that comment about an "actual ND filter" causing "trouble", I was overstating things. Sitting here at the keyboard, I tend to get a little to get hypothetical. The ND filter on my 2/3" camera does visibly degrade the image when the lens is at 1.8. Now, I know I shouldn't be using that lens wide open, but sometimes I'll do it to get the limited DOF. I can't get away with that if I use ND.

When we had the cameras in last month we cleaned the sensor easily. Not the actual sensor of course, but the glass protecting it. Once the PL adapter is off, it is easy to get to.

The way the ND filters role in is pretty impressive. We also liked the manual flange adjustment option, which we will learn more about in the future. It should be a very handy feature though.

"Manual flange adjustment"? I'm curious about that. Can anyone give a few more details?

As I understand it, since Cine lenses typically do not feature back focus adjustment other than removing their mount and re-shimming the lens (something that I always sent my film lenses in to the shop to have done when required), this provides a way of fine tuning the flange distance of the mount. Obviously this is not something to be done casually in the field, but it does add a potentially needed capability to the camera (especially when using rental PL lenses or sharing a lens set between more than one camera.

Hopefully the manual adjustment will be a more a check before a shoot begins operation, rather than a between lens changes. The lenses should (in theory) be set up to a standard, rather than each camera.

Of course, if the mount is prone to thermal expansion, you may need the manual adjustment.

Thanks, but I was just wondering about the particulars. Guess I'll have to wait for that.