Canon TV Zoom Lens V6x17 17-102/2.0 was the first C-mount zoom I've ever got. First of all, it was smaller than I suspected. It makes the lens perfect for multi-purpose use. It's 16x zoom with very fast aperture of 2.0.
Secondary, I've read somewhere that it's supposed to be parfocal, that is - focused on the narrower length (102 mm) will stay in focus throughout the whole zoom range. It was really pity, that mine wasn't. What's more - it didn't focus at 17-20 mm at all! Luckily - there was a simple trick and now everything's superb!
All in all, it became my favourite lens for shooting squares and filming.
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 mounted on Lumix G2 Micro Four Thirds camera. |
Parfocal trick - where digital meets analogue
As I mentioned, my lens was only meant to be parfocal. Didn't work that way at all. For a few months I was thinking that it's just a defective unit and didn't do anything about it (zooms are very difficult to repair). When I got my second V6x17, the issue recurred. So - either the problem wasn't in the lens or I was the world's greatest unlucky.
I started looking for perfect focal distance and found it just a 1/8 full turn on C-mount adapter before it locks. [I use cheapest $2 Chinese C-mount-MFT adapter available.] It developed the need for very tiny pads. With multiple attempts I determined thickness at 0.15-0.20 mm and made those pads from... analogue film with emulsion scrapped off. Really! That emulsion thickness was too much.
Now it works perfectly and you can't even see DIY pads.
I wanted to post some photos of how it looks, but lens is tightened and I don't want to mess the construction. I hope the description is enough. In case of problems - I'll help. Just post a comment.
Sensor coverage
Bokeh
I really like how the bokeh works in this lens. Although it doesn't cover the whole MFT sensor, the background tends to "hide" dark corners in an organic manner. I've never seen that effect before and I really, really enjoy it.
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @2.8 - close-up. |
Canon V6x17 offers a typical for TV zooms bokeh "circles". Those "dents" are caused by lens construction - these are internal rails for zooming and focusing units.
.jpg "Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 C-mount - 102mm @2.0 - irregular circle bokeh.") |
| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @2.0 - irregular circle bokeh. |
However, @f8.0 Canon charms with six-pointed star-shaped bokeh.
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @8.0 - six-pointed star-shaped bokeh. |
Ergonomics
Canon 17-102/2.0 is rather long lens without any tripod mount. That's a bit of disadvantage for using it stable, but there's always an opportunity to mount it on lens supports for rigs. However, it's not so heavy so it could damage your camera. Zoom ring has a little detachable lever that is comfortable for zooming, when filming.
It's really comfortable using handheld. I hold camera with my right hand, left hand supporting the lens. Aperture is "clicky", so you definitely feel when something changes. I've found this solution really convenient. In fact, I like it much better than those "pump" zooms.
Samples and image quality
I decided to shoot 4:3 aspect ratio to show how sensor coverage works all the way. It's a bit "soapy" or "glowing" in the middle @2.0, but from 2.8 it becomes very sharp.
So let's begin zooming the entire range.
Camera: Lumix G2
Aperture: according to the description
Mount: C-mount > Micro Four Thirds
Edit: PS CS6 50% scaling
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 17mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 17mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 17mm @4.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 20mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 20mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 20mm @4.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 30mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 30mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 30mm @4.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 50mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 50mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 50mm @4.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 75mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 75mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 75mm @4.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @5.6 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @8.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @11 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @16 |
Phew... that was a lot!
I tried hard to show some flaring and ghosting that occurs against the light. First example was a "lucky" shot. It wasn't that easy to achieve that effect. Although it's massively affecting image, it's the only situation I've ever got it.
.jpg "Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 C-mount - 102mm @2.0 Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 C-mount - 102mm @2.0 - very heavy lensflare and ghosting.") |
| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @2.0 - very heavy lensflare and ghosting (no lens hood used!). |
In most cases light will cause only some minor effects. Personally, I find that "romantic" look really appealing for some situations.
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 102mm @4.0 - some flaring and ghosting visible. |
Few more samples...
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 75mm @2.8 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 75mm @2.8 - close-up. |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 - 30mm @4.0 |
Conclusion
As I mentioned before, I mostly use this lens for 1:1 aspect ratio. I liked squares when I used middle format, but couldn't find an excuse to use it on digital. Now it feels right.
It's a really universal lens, with slightly "cinematic" blurriness @2.0. Fast, useful and not too expensive. One of my personal favourites!
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 |
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| Canon V6x17 17-102/2.0 |
Nice post! Thanks for showing the GH4 UHD crop. I've already adapted a few 35mm film lenses to my GH4, but many other interesting options (like this one) have smaller image circles. So, it's really helpful to see real world results. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCan you provide step-by-step instructions on how to make the V6x17 parfocal? Also, what kind of c-mount to mft adapter did you use? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIs there any solution to have focus on 17mm?
ReplyDeleteHi there
ReplyDeletePlease let me know
I am a bmpcc user
And is this lens perfect fit to c mount adapter
It fit's C-mount adapter without any problems. The only issue is adjusting focus, but this is very common among zoom lenses.
DeleteHello? nice review! can yoy tellme the size of the filter diameter? I buy the same lens to my GH2 hacked and I want buy a UV filter with ND variable
ReplyDeleteI believe it was 58 mm, but I'll check later and let you know! :)
DeleteDefinitely 58 mm. Both lens cap and filter fits :) Good luck!
DeleteThanks very much!!!
DeleteHi there, great review! Just curious, given that the lens is smaller than usual (shown by the vignetting), does that mean that less light is getting to the m43 sensor? will the lens really allow as much light into the sensor at F2 compared to a native m43 lens at F2? hoping to use this lens at low light, worried because there are some lenses (like a cctv lens i've seen) that say "f1.4" but apparently let's about as much as a lens with an aperture of f2.5 and above due to the size of the lens opening itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for good words!
DeleteI believe 2.0 is 2.0 - no difference about the lens or sensor size, whatsoever.
There are some CCTV lenses that are described as 1.4 or 1.8 and are much darker, but these are recently manufactured, bogus lenses. That's just marketing and these are usually Chinese no-names. If you try genuine CCTV or just C-mount lenses, the aperture value is exactly as described.
To sum up - shutter values for this lens corresponded to aperture with those used with M4/3 lens.
Of course, if vignetting is heavy (a lot of black in frame), your measuring algorithm might think it's dark, so it'll pump the shutter, but that will cause overexposure.
Thanks to this review I use it on my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (BMPCC - Full HD model) with a cheap adapter and it's great. The trick is necessary, however not as much as described, a 1/8 turn is too much.
ReplyDeleteI also have the Sony Teleconverter 1,7 and Wide converter 0,7, both have a 58mm thread and these work as well (of course you'll see vignetting with the wide converter when you go to 17mm, starts at around 75mm and the other way around for the wide converter.
Extremely fast neutral will probably irrefutably result in being well-known among the nearly all blog all those, because the thorough content articles and also comments. endzone camera
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. cartucce per stampanti canon
ReplyDeleteGreat work! Thank you for your detailed descriptions and great samples :)
ReplyDeletei just bought a used gh4 and use it with a 50mm f2 pentax smc with a homemade plastic 3d printed adapter and works great but im looking for something better and versatile as this. i need it for filmmaking. i just found one of these for less than 50 dollars and wanted to know if its any good. Now I know. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteI just got this lense for my canon m50. I am able to focus with the first ring, and to select different focal lenghts with the second ring. But I just neither move the diafragm ring nor seeing the blades of the lens. Do you know how to achieve that? May it be stuck, or should I press a hidden button?
ReplyDeleteCan you give some more details about pads and 1/8 gap. Where is it? Any photo or comment would help thank you
ReplyDelete