Fotodiox today has officially announced the availability of their B4 Magic Lens Adapter for BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Cameras. This adapter allows you to add a B4 Mount ENG Powered Zoom Lens to the Pocket Cinema Camera.
Keep in mind these lenses come in a variety of different types and brands, and in USED condition - so the results can greatly vary. The old B4 ENG lenses often found for about $100 dollars are originally designed for SD video, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on trying to achieve super sharp HD Video results. A powered zoom lens is just a handy tool, but maybe just for a niche market. In any case, you can find more information about this adapter over at the website (Found Here).
FotoDiox B4 ENG Powered Servo Zoom Lens Mount Adapter
CLICK HERE to Search eBay for ENG Lens
Marc B
These old zooms are hit-and-miss with modern cameras, but I have seen some excellent footage with a few these B4 mount lenses on M43 sensor (and smaller) cameras. Most of the complaints center around SD ENG zoom lenses not resolving well at 1080p and above, but for someone already owning higher end modern zooms, this could really be the ticket for maximizing your investment in glass you already own.
While I am very happy with footage with old Canon C-mount zoom on my BMPCC, but I won't be investing a significant amount of time or $$ on vintage B4 mount lenses. The results are spotty, and using a doubler on an M43 or smaller sensor camera limits you to telephoto shooting.
Josh
Hey Dan, is it worth the hassle? I was looking at the BM Studio Camera but the real issue was the lack of ability to use B4 lenses. Do you think that's a good application for this?
Dan
I bought a B4 to M43 adapter and successfully attached a $30,000 HD Fuji lens (we use it on our aged Panasonic 900 2/3" camcorder) to my GH4.
It really only works if you put the doubler in on the lens. The doubler works like a Speedbooster in reverse: the doubler enlarges the circle of light to cover the much larger micro four thirds sensor on the GH4. It seems to work well, but turned into a real beast.
The real essential is the Fotodiox battery and cable system that lets you power the rocker switch/zoom motor on the lens. That's cool.
I've seen another B4 video lens adapted to a Super35 Canon C300 camera using a Abelcine HDx2 adapter ( https://www.abelcine.com/store/HDx2-B4-PL-Mark-II-Optical-Adapter/ ) but that adapter only goes to PL, so you need a a PL-to-M43 mount or PL-to-EF Canon mount too.
It gets really long, but if set up correctly, can be shoulder mounted and the long zoom is very handy.