PL to Canon EF Mount Adapter

Matthias Uhlig and MBF Filmtechnik of Hamburg win the Ron Dexter Award for first to market with a PL Mount to Canon EF adapter. We just received one and are testing it in LA this week. Beautifully machined and very well made.

The long awaited PL-Adaptor for the Canon 7 D is now available  online:  http://www.filmlicht.de/de/Video/DSLR-Zubehoer/PL-Mount-Adapter-fuer-Canon-EOS-7-D.html

It works with the following lenses:
Angenieux Optimo 24-290
Arri Shift & Tilt Set
Canon Century 200/300 mm

No camera modification necessary

Price: 399,- € + tax and shipping.

Canon “Eyemo” 7D

It’s ironic that although we’ve been whining about PL mounts for Canon cameras, most of the time, our crash cameras and Eyemos have been fitted with Nikon or Canon Mounts. Since continuous follow focus is usually not an issue (or safe, or wise), great still lenses have been perfect for the job.

So, could the Canon EOS 7D be the Eyemo for the Digital Age of Film? Plop the self-contained 7D onto a sandbag, padded pouch, or backback and you’re ready to roll. Although not quite disposable, you can position multiple cameras around stunts, car chases, or greatest shots the world has ever seen. Here are some things I learned. Use a manual focus lens, like the Zeiss ZE, above. Or use the premium, fast Canon EF L still lenses set to manual focus.

Be sure to turn the Camera’s Mode Dial to M, for Manual Exposure. Set the shutter speed to 1/50 second (small dial by shutter button).

Set your aperture. (Canon EF and EF-S lenses don’t have iris rings: you control the aperture via the camera’s large control dial. There’s a “match needle” display in the viewfinder that is quite accurate.

Next, check your video settings: push MENU, turn the Main Control Dial (small dial by shutter button) to view the different “pages” of menu choices, and especially note the 4th page from the left, where you’ll see whether Sound has been turned on.

Check that you have selected 1920×1080 24p (or 25p). Make changes by turning the large control dial that’s to the right of the LCD screen, and select with the SET button in its center.

Now, set the Live View switch to Movie mode (red icon of a movie camera).

To shoot, press the START/STOP switch below the red movie camera icon. Do not press the camera’s shutter release button: it will forever freeze the action while taking the still.

Finally, be sure to use some kind of screw-on filter (clear or otherwise) to protect your front lens element from flying gravel and debris from all the mayhem unfolding in the action before you. It’s a lot cheaper to replace the filter than send the lens in for repair.

New ZEISS Lenses for Canon HDSLRs

Carl Zeiss has added new leness to its ZE (Canon) mount series: the Distagon T* 28mm f/2 ZE with EF bayonet mount fits Canon EOS cameras, including the 5D and 7D. For HDSLR shooting, the attractive features are the smooth mechanical focus, sharp optics, and compact size. You set the aperture through the Canon camera’s controls, via electronic contacts in the lens mount. Other lenses in the ZEISS ZE series are 18mm f/3.5, 21mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4, with more to come.

The Distagon T* 2/28 ZE  begins shipping on October 20, with a suggested retail price of $1,080. For more information, go to www.zeiss.com/photo.

Canon Chronicles with the 7D

The wide-eyed enthusiasm of a cinematographer relearning still photography: I’m reliving long-forgotten techniques of traveling light on location in this new hybrid world of HDSLR with the new Canon 7D. Canon USA kindly lent us a case of EF (full frame 35mm still) and EF-S (APS-C size) lenses–to help wean us off, or keep us from obsessing about, PL lenses. Although we’ve worn out the “lens is the brush” concept, there is no doubt that one of the appeals of the Canon 7D is being able to use a whole bunch of “native” Canon lenses that we previously knew only when remounted or rebarreled at great expense by the lens wizards or Century, Optex, Clairmont or Nemenz, among others. Optical image stabilization and auto focus in 35mm format lenses, long a staple of still photographers, can now be available to cinematographers. Douglas Kirkland is surely reading this and wondering, “where’s he been?” I’m still learning how to set the autofocus zone, and still appreciating the skill of the camera assistant, because no matter how good the autofocus, inevitably it influences my framing–to keep the autofocus zone dead center or wherever the menu setting dictates. I’m also still not used to mounting the lens on the tripod, shown above (28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM) with camera dangling behind. The Manfrotto 503 head worked well with Manfrotto carbon fiber 4-stage tripod. It was good to have sticks that folded up into the same Kata backpack that can hold camera, all the lenses, batteries and lunch–an entire camera truck shrunk to fit in a bag on my back.

PL Mount for Canon EOS

The race is on to put a PL mount on Canon 5D, 7D or any Canon EOS SLR. Problem is, PL lenses have a 52mm flange focal depth. Canon lenses have a 44mm depth. Fortunately, both mounts have a 54mm diameter. Unfortunately, if you stick most PL lenses into a Canon mount, it will hit the mirror and lots of internal electronics. That’s because most PL lenses have elements that protrude behind the rear lens mount flange.
Pawel Achtel from S 33°44.033’, E 151°10.114’ (near Syndey, Australia) has done the first successful transplant of a PL mount onto a Live View Canon 50D, which has an APS-C size 22.3 x 14.9mm sensor. Warning: Do Not Attempt. This was done by highly obsessed, trained professionals and we at Film and Digital Times are not responsible or liable for any damage you cause or warranties you may void. I mean, can you imagine bringing this gutted EOS 50D into your Canon authorized service shop? “Ah, I seem to be having a little trouble with my mirror shutter,” is not going to cut the mustard.
Pawel is an accomplished, award-winning underwater and wildlife cinematographer. He designs a lot of the equipment he uses, and it helps that he has degrees in Engineering and Science. The PL on DSLR project began when Pawel, a self-confessed “Glassoholic,” wanted to mount his personal set of ZEISS Master Primes onto his Canon EOS 50D for a timelapse project. He likes Canon DSLR cameras for timelapse because of their low noise and high image quality. The first stop was Doug Underdahl of Long Valley Equipment, who attached and precisely set the 52mm flange focal depth of a Cinevate PL lens mount to the Canon 50D. That worked only with the 75mm Master Prime  (second picture from top right). The rest of the set has rear elements that protrude into the mirror, preventing optical viewing.
But no one wanted to dissect the Canon’s mirror and optical assembly to make room for the rest of the Master Prime set. So Pawel, armed with Dremel Tool and special sticky silicon to cover the sensor and shutter during surgery, used “brute force and good luck” to yank the mirror, box, viewfinder assembly, and contacts out of the body. “It’s a bit tricky when you don’t know what’s in there,” he says modestly.
To keep all the particles of plastic, metal and glass from contaminating the camera and sensor, Pawel operated in a negative pressure environment, made with “bits of plumbing and a vacuum cleaner.” Without mirror or finder, Pawel’s Canon 50D DSLR is not really an an SLR, so it’s more a rangefinder camera that he can focus and frame using Live View.

First machine shop to mass produce PL mounts for Canon cameras wins the FDTimes Ron Dexter Award. Please let us know.
Links:     www.achtel.com       http://www.longvalleyequip.com

Read the Instructions before you even see the 7D

Here’s an interesting twist. Our guru on all things Canon and digital still(s), Mark Forman, points out that you can read the Canon EOS 7D Instruction Manual and become familiar with its Pocket Guide and software well in advance of its actually being in your eager hands. There will be a test.