Canon J16ax8B4 f1.8 // B4 Broadcast Lens Test with optical adapter on Sony FS7 - S16 + S35 modes

[@TheTechnoPilot]

Honestly a great looking image on this older piece of glass!

[@chrisw443]

Thats some glorious shallow DOF from f4 to wide open and useable the whole way. Just gotta get those very expensive adapters, but hell, these lenses are worth the trouble. Especially a few select 16:9 4:3 switchable lenses, those I hear are the best next to the very late recoated fuji lenses without doublers that came out for the sony pmw 400. That was when almost all 2/3rd cameras lost the prism and became single chip cams. Then the three 4k cams for 30000000 dollars came out, and those lenses are perfect, but its not noticeable, and they cost like 5000000 bucks lol.

[@jamesandcamera]

The optical adapter I am using is $1,000 USD. So compared to most others available it is quite affordable (most others are $2.5-8k). I make a mount conversion for a BM 1.1x optical corrective adapter used in this video and will have several up for sale for the first batch very soon.

[@chrisw443]

@@jamesandcamera I also saw alot of those adapters popping up on ebay for about half the normal cost. A real bargin. Im deciding between a sony fs camera or a ursa broadcast.

[@CUTproductionsLtd]

I have this lens I use on my BMD Ursa Broadcast G2; it's one of the best SD lenses you can get, certainly resolving beyond HD with not too much CA, at least on the UBG2, through it's 1.5x optical adaptor. It was replaced by the J17, as the standard B4 Broadcast lens; which is the very sharpest IME. The J series were the broadcast field series; the YJ being the lessor corporate quality or 'Professional' lenses, as Canon called them. The J17 and and J11 wide angle, cost us £9K and £11K new, respectively in 2004. The HJ HD lenses, that were just coming in, were about double then. A Canon engineer, at the time, told me off record the only difference was in the rear element. Similarly, the HJ17 is a very fine lens that will work happily and just fine for UHD now, on broadcast cameras. Interesting tests👍

[@jamesandcamera]

Yeah late SD lenses are fine so long as you don't need to use them wide open or you don't need a constant exposure through the full zoom range. Where the later HD lenses are perfectly sharp wide open and have far less CA, and no exposure drop when zooming past 80%. As with a lot of things, the older pro equipment is still perfectly usable if the little imperfections don't affect your use case. I use a lot of SD glass, but work within its limitations to get good results.

[@CUTproductionsLtd]

@@jamesandcamera Your major limitation with the FS7 is the lowish resolution of its S16 crop (and using the doubler for Super 35 greatly impairs these lenses); it's doubtful whether the difference between HD and SD good lenses, is hugely critical; and I can see that from your tests; notwithstanding the slightly lower CA with HD. These differences are more marked on the UHD crop of the Ursa Broadcast G2.

[@jamesandcamera]

@@CUTproductionsLtd I see you have misconstrued my answer to think that resolving power of the lens is the issue and had anything to do with what I said, it is not. They are, 1) non constant exposure through the last 20% of the zoom range on the longer J series lenses. 2) the lower sharps when used wide open. 3) the more noticeable CA. 4) the more audible servo zoom motor when doing snap zooms. None of these are deal breakers, they are all just things to manage and work around for those of us using SD lenses. All of which were significantly improved or eliminated in the HJ series. People can use whatever lens they want, I am not their mum. I am just here to provide clear and accurate information from my first hand testing, and experience using all grades of broadcast equipment for over a decade.

[@CUTproductionsLtd]

@@jamesandcamera James, I think you've totally 'misconstrued' what I was trying to say, and that's perhaps my fault: 1) Much of TV broadcast (For example and here in the UK) is still HD; so the better of these lenses, are still very useful; mainly for their ENG uses and hugely flexible possibilities; since everyone wants 'shallow' DOF now otherwise. 2) For more critical UHD/4K delivery; the differences between SD, HD and 4K B4s are greater than your tests show on those sensors;. 3) The optical adaptor from BMD you are using as the basis for your adaptor is of HD quality; only the Ursa Broadcasts have a 4K one and that is not available for separate sale. My J16, for example, performs even better on my UBG2 but at the extremes CA is more noticeable. It's quite possible in post now, to remove most of that though. 4) Even given all the above, as you show, in controlled shooting, they can be very very good. But a doubler severely impacts resolution at higher than HD (and often less); your camera's target crop and adaptor is largely masking this. As I say very interesting tests. I love these lenses, have many years experience with them too; but they will still perform best on cameras designed for them; such as the Ursa Broadcasts and true 2/3" cameras such as those from Sony and Panasonic; or with optical PL adaptors such as those from Arri and IBE that scale to Super 35 without using the doubler. I didn't mean to sound critical. All the best.

Hi, not sure you will read this, but is this lens parfocal? I'm looking left and right for a good b4 SD parfocal lens. Can it be this one? BTW, I subbed to the channel :) nice content!

[@jamesandcamera]

Yes, all B4 zoom lenses are parfocal when correctly back focused. They are all designed to be used for live zooming without focal shift. Watch this video to see how to calibrate them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3XRlntor8SKeNksi=MuIyFbAFeChynVFx

[@MarcoRocchini]

Hi, what is the "optical adapter"? whats brand-model? thanks

[@jamesandcamera]

More info on that coming in the next few weeks 😊

[@mayokuro-j5i]

@@jamesandcamera As an amateur sports broadcaster, I'm very interested in your adopter

[@jamesandcamera]

@@mayokuro-j5i get in touch by DMing me on Instagram @james.and.camera and I can sell you one 😊🤙

[@mynameisnotcory]

Do these do well in low light situations like concerts? I’d love to throw this on a lumix or bmpcc 4k and do some concert film stuff 😎

[@jamesandcamera]

They should do okay with an optical correcting adapter and not 🚫 using the doubler, in low light. Stopping the lens down to f2.8-f4 is ideal for best image results out of these SD lenses which is approx a T3.5-T5.6, so if you can shoot a concert on those cameras (ISO) at that T stop range currently, then a SD B4 lens would work great 😃👍 My FS7 wouldn't have a problem as it's base is 2000 ISO, but the Micro4/3 cameras likely have different clean ISO ranges

[@mynameisnotcory]

@@jamesandcamera interesting 🤔

[@shoe_m]

doublerとは何ですか？ テレコンバーターの事ですか？

[@jamesandcamera]

Hey, yes "doubler" is a slang word for the lenses in built 2x teleconverter.

[@shoe_m]

@@jamesandcamera ありがとうございます❣️

[@emetahava]

HD spec SD lens.

[@jamesandcamera]

People are always surprised that SD lenses perform well.