David:
>Canon's L2
>camcorder (Hi-8 format) can use Canon's EOS autofocus lenses; this is
>the only consumer camcorder I am aware of that has a removable lens.

Hey, this is the one I mentioned though I didn't remember the model
number. B&H doesn't advertise the price, unfortunately. It's
what folks call a "prosumer" quality device, produces professional
quality results but is popular enough to be marketed more like
a consumer product.

>You could also get a Canon-mount adapter for a Kowa scope and shoot through
>that, though at an effective focal length of 4000mm, 80x (w/ 800mm kowa
>adapter) I'm not sure how crisp the image would be.

This is why I'm responding, actually. Scopes tend to be of lower quality
than camera lenses, but I don't know how to rate them vs. consumer
grade video lenses. Also they're slow f9 or f11, typically. But, this
isn't as big a deal with video. I'd never recommend this for even
semi-serious still photography, but for video work, perhaps it's
worth a try.

Here's another consideration: raising the resolving power of a lens
in front of a target will raise the resolution on the target even if
the lens already resolves more than the target. There's a combinatorial
effect. Until of course you reach the target's limit, which is
rare in practice. Thus film can often resolve roughly a 200 lp/mm,
and many photographic lenses 300 or more lp/mm in the aerial
image, but the combination generally yields 100 lp/mm or less. No
existing camera lens can match film's potential resolution even though
the lens actually resolves more than the film! It's not intuitive
to me, but I've seen the math behind it and it's real.

Video's CCD chips have moderate resolving power, but this combinatorial
effect means that a better lens will generally improve the image
anyway.

>You can probably
>rent an L2 and autofocus telephoto from Glazers or one of the other big
>photo stores downtown and check it out firsthand;

This is of course the best advice yet. Quality is in the mind (and
often the pocketbook!) of the beholder.

> maybe you could meet up
>with Don at Ocean Shores and put his 600mm on the L2 and do some
>full-frame footage of nasal grooves on tattlers...

Heh heh! Sounds like fun!

I think the L2 needs an extra-cost adaptor, BTW, to use EOS
lenses. I suspect the camcorder lensmount is narrower than
the EOS mount, since the format's smaller, and that the adaptor
is a fancy step-down bayonet thing with wires for the electronics.
Also, the focal-plane to lens butt (rear) is probably different,
I imagine.


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>