Lens attachment manufacturer Zunow have unveiled their latest wide angle lens attachment at IBC 2016: the WCX-100 for fixed lens cameras. Achieving wide angles when using a fixed lens on a 2/3 inch or 1 inch sensor video camera can be difficult at times. Zunow have a family of 5 lens attachments that widen the field of view by 20% with very low distortion. This video features the WCX-100 model. You are able to fully zoom through on the fixed lens from wide to telephoto with the attachment on, which is an advantage for shooting ENG style news reporting. The WFK-95 is for 4K cameras like the Panasonic DVX-200 and widens the field of view by 0.8x, which makes the image 20% wider. It has a front filter thread of 72mm for use with conventional filters, with a short length of only 35mm. The other lens attachments in the family include – WCX-80 which is compatible with 62/72mm size lenses. WCX-100 wide angle conversion lens which is compatible with 72/77/82mm size lenses. WCX-200 wide angle conversion lens which is compatible with Sony EX Bayonet mount. SWA-06 is a super wide angle attachment, increasing the field of view by 0.6x, compatible with 72/82mm size lenses. The lens attachments are available to purchase now from CVP, with prices ranging from from €536.00, and B&H from $449.00. What do you think of these lens attachments, and would they work for you? Let us know in the comments.

Aputure is about to raise the bar once again, this time with a DEC VariND version of their popular line of lens adapters. This thing is capable of bringing the functionality of Sony’s FS5-style electronic ND filtration to any E-Mount camera. The DEC VariND Lens Adapter We just have discovered another very interesting device, this time at the Aputure stand at this year’s IBC. The new version of their lens adapter, the DEC VariND works just like the DEC Lens Regain focal length reducer, but instead of a lens they’ve put in an electronic Variable ND filter. This allows you to smoothly dial in just the right amount of ND reduction for any given shot. It works quite similarly to the vari ND built into the Sony FS5 camera, where liquid crystals are used to achieve the smooth transition without the weird colors and cross-effects caused by manual variable NDs. With this adapter, you can upgrade any E-Mount camera to support a variND filter, which is very cool indeed. Plus, it also allows you to control focus and iris with most EF lenses, just like with the other versions of the DEC adapter. You control the DEC VariND with the included wireless control grip or, if you’re using it on a shoulder mounted setup, you have controls directly on the adapter itself. No need to use the wireless control unless you want to do so. To me this is a really straight forward product which bridges the gap between the very innovative electronical VariND of the Sony FS5 and other cameras still lacking it. It will be available in about 2 to 3 months and it will be around $650. For more information, make sure to visit Aputure’s website and watch out for updates. UPDATE: I’ve forwared your questions regarding the DEC adapter to Aputure’s Ted Sim. Here are his (very promising) replies: 1. On release there will be two versions: an EF to E-Mount and EF to MFT Mount. 2. You are able to control the adapter without the remote control. There is a wheel on the adapter itself to control everything except focus, which can be adjusted just manually. 3. There’s an On/Off switch. 4. At the minimum setting, there will be 1 stop of ND applied. However in the future we think we can make it so the ND is removable when needed. 5. Battery life: 4 hours for the receiver/adapter, about a week for the remote control handgrip. The adapter can be charged via 5V USB, even while in use (you can use a gimbal for charging it while shooting, for example).  

By now, almost everyone might have heard of the Metabones Speed Booster, a brilliant adapter that allows you to achieve a full frame look on a cropped sensor (APS-C or Super35) camera – particularly Canon EF lenses on Sony E or Panasonic GH2/3/4 cameras. The Speed Booster uses high quality glass that “compresses” the full frame image from the full frame EF lens to the smaller imaging area of the sensor, thereby even gaining over one full stop of light. In essence, it makes your lenses effectively “wider and faster”, which is nothing short of amazing. My Metabones Speed Booster Ultra “lives” on my Sony FS7, on which I can use my ZEISS Compact Primes or any Canon EF L lenses using the Speed Booster Ultra and the aforementioned benefits. Following a similar concept in a higher-end package, the newly announced IB/E S35 x FF Expander does something similar to the Metabones Speed Booster, but exactly the other way around: It’s meant for S35 lenses that are used on larger sensor cameras, like for example the RED Epic/Weapon. It’s a fact that many higher-end professional film lenses are S35 only, because they were created to expose the S35 negative of film stock, which is about half as big as the “full frame” 35mm from photo stills cameras (first used for filmmaking with the Canon 5D Mark II, most popular nowadays with the Sony A7 series). However now there are also higher-end cameras like the RED Epic on the market, which offer a sensor that is larger than S35. While the RED offers a crop mode at lower resolutions, in order to utilize the full resolution of the sensor you had to use “full frame” lenses so far. It makes a lot of sense to introduce that concept to the higher-end market, because this adapter further increases the compatibility of lenses to cameras. IB/E Optics created the S35 x FF Expander to facilitate common PL mount S35 lenses, and as we can hear in the video, the “camera side” offers an interchangeable mount which effectively also makes this a PL adapter for all your cameras (however please be aware that there will be flange distance related issues on some camera and lens combinations, meaning you cannot always achieve back focus with all lenses on all cameras – this needs to be tested before you set your eyes on a particular combination for a project!). More details on the Band Pro website. It will be available in December and sell for $6900.