Are there any combos that works with zoom, in terms of keeping the rig within working balance limits?
Christer you will probably need to experiment. Internal zooming lens would probably have the least impact. Do the balancing in the center of the zoom range. Wide angle zooms probably have a negligible impact and the motors can handle it. A long zoom lens might cause issues.
I have the Gentles camera controller for my sony. You might check to see if thats made for that camera combination. I used a dial nob for the zoom, and it has option for 3 position switch for start stop recording, and shutter off one 3 position sw. I am very satisfied with it. -Cody
I have used 24-70, 16-35 and 11-24 on a 5D MK III and changed zoom without too much issue. The unit will work harder when you throw it off but otherwise seems to hold well. I usually set it up for the focal length I will use the most but will not hesitate to change it if need be on the fly.
I did a shoot in botswana using the gh4 and lumix 14-42 powerzoom lens controled by the gentwire pana2.5 cable. worked great. could zoom right in on elephants and lions without spooking them.. obviously only a mft option though.
Laurence, i am interested in you opinion of the footage that comes out of the 14-42 lens powerzoom. the GH4 is our go-to camera for 90% of our work and digital zoom is way to shaky. appreciate any insight you can provide.
well that lens has optical image stabilizatoin which helped allot.. still possible in no wind with it turned off but i found it worked great with it turned on. the lens gives a horrible purple flare when shooting into the sun, I normally shoot with some kind of lens hood which I this lens.. (i'm sure you could make something though given more time) The focus adjustment takes a bit of getting used too.. it's just an electronic rocker. As long as you zoom right in, focus up and then zoom back out again, it will hold focus through the zoom range. I have a firly hefty gimbal so the change in weight distribution through the zoom range was prity negligible for me. It has a tiny thread so you can screw on your ND. My main issue was that I diddn't have any exposure control using the gentwire cable.. I would love to know how people get round filming with the GH4 with no exposure control.
Hi Lawrence, could you tell me what Tx and Rx are you using with the gentwire? Is it the same Rx as for the movi? Thanks
Im using a spektrum ar8000 and an orange RC receiver. They have a wire that can do Rec/ Zoom/ Iris/ focus on a sony FS7 with a 300g powerzoom OIS 16-50 lens. prity neet setup as no need for lots of lens motors and cables etc.