Why are videographers crazy about 35mm adaptors?

[poker]

I've been doing alot of reading about videography lately. I stumbled across the topic of 35mm video adaptors. People are putting manual focus Nikon and Canon lenses on their video camera using these expensive adpators. Here is a guy with a Canon EF lens on his rig:

http://redrockmicro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3137

I understand getting more zoom must be a benefit and some other talk about greater DOF. I guess I'm just a little shocked.

This thread has video samples of a $1000 Canon HV20 with the adaptor. Looks pretty damn good, I think.

http://www.cinevate.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=559

Does doing this take your video to another level?

[Skyman]

i don't know how practical that would be to use outside of a studio (with the . canon sell an adapted that lets you use eos ef lenses on the xl1 xl2 and xlhd and still give you full control withouth all that stuff hanging off the side. the only down side is a magnification factor of 7.2X !!! so my 200mm f 2.8 lens would become a whopping 1440mm f2.8!!! which is a little nuts unless you like shooting wildlife or the moon.

[MJS]

As long as someone is willing to pay for the toy, the companies will make and sell them. The people who use those lenses want a particular look for their work and are comfortable with what they get. In broadcasting we get the lens with the camera that is needed for the job. Longer zooms for sports, shorter and wider for most general news coverage. The cameras are made for that degree of adaptability. With the quality of existing mini-cams, people are trying to adapt them however they can to do cool stuff on a lower budget. That 1400/2.8 idea sure sounds interesting.

[poker]

I've been watching more and more video samples from these gizmos and they look really good. I didn't realize the DOF on the built in lens wouldn't be as good. I bet there is more too it than just buying the adapter and shooting with it. It would be pretty cool to throw my Canon lenses on my camcorder and see what I get.

[kkolbo]

The Red Rock adapter is a good example. The main benefit is that you can now add a 35mm lens to your cheap camcorder. There is a huge difference in DOF at that point. Also you can use high end prime lenses as well.

The adapter uses a rotating glass imager between your camcorder and the lens. This is important because the 35mm lens is made to image on a larger surface than your camcorder's CCD block. I have seen many homemade attempts at mating a 35MM lens to a low end camcorder and they are not fun or good. The Red Rock is the first low priced (relatively) unit that works well. We have shot in the field with it and it returns some nice stuff in the right hands. the Mini35 made by another company is excellent, but the price is proportionate.

For the money, I am waiting to see how the XDCAM HD units with good glass look before adapting a prosumer camcorder for DOF.