I’ve been asked a couple of times for some frame grabs shot with one of the MTF B4 to super 35MM adapters that I designed. Well, here they are. Shot on a Canon C300 fitted with the adapter and an old standard definition Canon J16 zoom lens. It was late in the day when I shot this so it’s not showing the adapter in its best light and of course an HD lens would be even better.
Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image or the full resolution image. I love the fact that even when using a super35mm sensor you can still have this great par-focal zoom range. Put a 20x ENG zoom and you can get both wider and closer!
I’ve only been following you for a short time & I really like the stuff you post. I’m very interested in the MTF B4 to PL adapter as I’m keen to get a large zoom lens on an F3, then eventually on to an FS100. It’s been difficult to assess which of the three adapters I’ve found to be the best. To be honest AbelCine & Adaptimax’s are probably out of my reach from a budget point of view.
I’d like to ask if you’ve tested the AbelCine & Adaptimax adapters? I understand it’s difficult to be objective as I realise you played a big part in developing the MTF adapter, regardless I’d like to hear from you.
The MTF adapter is not optically as sophisticated as the AbelCine adapter. It was designed to be low cost for occasional use where you cannot get a shot any other way or to allow people to extend the life of 2/3″ lenses they may already own. It is not a replacement for a high end PL mount zoom! Use it with a decent lens and it performs very well. It’s biggest asset is that the MTF B4 to Canon adapter can be used (via the appropriate MTF canon adapter) on a wide range of cameras. Perhaps one day on a Canon 7D, the next a F3, then maybe a C300. You do not get this flexibility with the Abel adapter which is PL only. We used one on the Duran Duran shoot with a Canon 44x zoom and the results look really good.
Hello Alister,
Just speaking about the MTF adapters, I’d like to buy the Powered B4 to EX3 adapter but this one, contrarily to the Fujinon ACM-21 and Canon LCV-41E, don’t fit a lens. What is this lens for? Is it essential in order to get the best quality?
The Canon and Fujinon adapters have a thin optical flat that helps minimise CA, but the reduction is minimal and you’ll only notice it if your using a top quality HD lens.
Many thanks Alister, clear as usual!
Hello there,
The B4 2/3″ to Sony F3 adaptor package looks very interesting, but still I have some questions and since there’s no response to my mails to MTF, I decided to ask you.
– In the product details, MTF wrote this note: “Can only be used on B4 2/3″ lenses with built in 2X extender engaged, HD lenses recommended”
– I understand that the HD lenses are recommended for better image quality, what i can’t understand is why is the built in 2x extender necessary? My only guess will be that because of the built in extender, the lens original back element is placed a few cm far from the sensor and in a regular lens the back element is closer to the sensor. Still, they are both supposed to cover the same sensor size.
I have two Canon Cinestyle Lenses with no extender, what should I expect? vignetting? Focus issues?
Many thanks
Roi
The adapter makes use of the 2x extender to simplify the optical design. When you engage the optical extender the image circle produced by the lens becomes 2x bigger so almost covers a super35mm sensor. A further 1.5x magnifier in the adapter makes the image circle even bigger so it full covers the image sensor.
As a result it will not work with your Cinestyle zooms that do not have extenders. The image circle will not cover the entire sensor.
Hello, Thanks for your answer, I still have 2 last questions:
– The first is about using non-hd lenses with this adapter, since the image is twice extender (once in the built in extender and the other by the adapter). Is the image still acceptable with non HD lenses?
– My other question is if I get any Crop Factor using the adapter? If I use a 7.8x lens, will it still be as wide as 7.8 or tighter?
Thanks again.
Roi
You seem to be confusing zoom ratio with focal length.
A zoom that has a 20x zoom ratio will still have a 20x zoom ratio when using the adapter. The total focal length conversion is 2.5x (2x for the extender and 1.5x for the adapter) so a 10mm lens becomes a 25mm lens, a 100mm lens becomes a 250mm lens.
How good it will be with an SD lens depends on the quality of the SD lens. You will get similar results with the adapter and a super35 camcorder as you would if you used the 2/3″ SD lens on a 2/3″ HD camcorder. If the lens works well in that application it should also work well via the adapter.
I am interested in purchasing or demo-ing this adapter. Is there anyone in the US that has it in stock? It seems like B&H says 2-4 weeks to deliver and I can’t find it anywhere else.
I don’t know. Best to talk to MTF.
Thanks. Will this adapter for on my 5D as well?
Also- Do you know if the MTF B4 to Arri PL will work on my Sony F3?
Here are a couple of YouTube videos that I made about my 2/3″ B4 lens.
I hope you find it informative!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gz84XDKxMM&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9oCL8eol0g&feature=youtu.be
BTW I am selling one of my lenses.
Hi there
Just wondering if anyone has done any tests using a Fujinon 4.5 x 13 HD lens onto a Canon C300 using the MTF adapter? I’d love to see a video or even just some screen grabs at either end of the lens. In particular I’d like to see how wide it is and what focal length it would compare to. ie roughly 16mm I’m guessing. Anyway, any info on that setup would be brilliant.
Thanks,
Leigh