Lenses for filming

[CJRodgers]

Hey!

Just wondering what everyone favourite lenses are for filming and why?T his can be canon lens or not, anything that makes a good image! Also could you state if your using FF or crop sensor (just for an idea of focal lengths). Also is there anything that you feel may be rumoured to be around the corner that your waiting for to film with.

Also is there any lenses you have bad experiences and should be avoided for filming with for filming and why?

In low light conditions, do many of you manage to shoot wide open at apertures such as 1.2 or 1.4 or do you find this tough to keep in focus (particularly on full frame). Do you have any tips of tricks when working at this aperture? Do you find a stabilisation rig necessary!

Lastly! Zooms vs Primes? What are your thoughts with regards to benefits for video. For example i want a low light wide angle lens.... So 24mm mkii 1.4 or 35mm 1.4?? And then i have read good things about 16-24mm zoom and 24-70 zoom. These are f2.8... is f2.8 enough for low light video? What is the limit you have reached with f2.8 before thinking you really need a wider aperture?


Thanks for your insights.

 

[kubelik]

CJ,

currently I use the 100mm f/2.8 L IS Macro on a 5DII for handheld filming because the hybrid stabilization is pretty close to magic as long as you control your movement. I really hope they put H-IS in more lenses, and not just macro ones.

for anything else, I use a tripod, so it just comes down to what focal length you need.

I will say that in general I like the L lenses because they have smoother focus rings. the worst lens I've used is the 50mm f/1.4, the focus ring is so stiff that it's very very tough not to jitter the image (the image quality is wonderful, just not the focusing).

I'm hoping in the future to try out some Zeiss glass; I would think their focusing action is very smooth

 

[Macadameane]

I haven't done a whole lot (and only have a few lenses at my disposal), but so far, the 7D kit lens (28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM) has been pretty good outdoors. Its a little slow for indoors. I've also had luck with the 50mm 1.8; however, if you are going to go follow focus later, I wouldn't recommend it because of the teeny tiny focus ring. It makes it tough to manually focus. I want to get the 50mm 1.2 lens for the smooth focus ring and build quality.

I haven't tried it, but something like the 135mm would be nice in addition to a 50 and a general range zoom. A nice wide lens would also be good, perhaps the 17-55 or 10-22. Unless you are trying to get specific effects with far away objects looking closer to one another, I wouldn't think a really long lens would be necessary, unless you are filming wildlife and such.

I'm using a 7D, but would love to get a 5D3 later on.

 

[leGreve]

Depending on what you're filming your focus should also be on the lighting. If you're documenting stuff, well there's only one light source. If you're creating, then apply lighting to suit your intentions. If you need or want to shoot at 11 then light up the scene to do so. Low apertures are more so a tool for how you want the shot to look regarding composition... not because its darn dark here or there.

Having said that, I would love to upgrade my 24-70, 100 and 70-200 to 35, 50, 85 and 135. Primes just draw better...

 

[CJRodgers]

Any advice on a good starting point for lighting? Especially with regards to on location and how you deal with power? I've yet to find an affordable battery solution to power any lights.

Thanks

 

[NormanBates]

Primes just draw better...

agree

and you don't have to spend a fortune if you dare to go vintage

some lenses from the 60s, 70s and 80s are just as sharp as their current counterparts, but cost five times less, mainly because they are manual focus only and so photographers don't want them anymore

my lens kit includes:
- leitz elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8
- carl zeiss jena pancolar 50mm f/1.8
- leitz elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8
- carl zeiss jena sonnar 135mm f/4.0

you'd have to spend a fortune to build a set of modern lenses that can rival this one in terms of sharpness, bokeh quality, and pleasing images in general

on the other hand, these lenses flare like crazy (sometimes beautifully, but sometimes you just don't want that) and have very different tints that have to be compensated with the white balance setting

 

[CJRodgers]

@NormanBates.

Do you have any examples of a video using any of these lenses? They sound awesome,and great value. Would like to see the effect of the flare in a positive way, and also the general tone some of these lenses give. Have you ever needed a faster aperture than any of the lenses your currently using?

 

[distant.star]

LensRentals just did a good technical piece, "Photography Lenses for Cinematographers," on lenses. You may want to read it:

https://www.lensrentals.com/news/2011.02.08/photo-lenses-for-video

.

 

[Admin US West]

Hey!

Just wondering what everyone favourite lenses are for filming and why?T his can be canon lens or not, anything that makes a good image! Also could you state if your using FF or crop sensor (just for an idea of focal lengths). Also is there anything that you feel may be rumoured to be around the corner that your waiting for to film with.

Also is there any lenses you have bad experiences and should be avoided for filming with for filming and why?

In low light conditions, do many of you manage to shoot wide open at apertures such as 1.2 or 1.4 or do you find this tough to keep in focus (particularly on full frame). Do you have any tips of tricks when working at this aperture? Do you find a stabilisation rig necessary!

Lastly! Zooms vs Primes? What are your thoughts with regards to benefits for video. For example i want a low light wide angle lens.... So 24mm mkii 1.4 or 35mm 1.4?? And then i have read good things about 16-24mm zoom and 24-70 zoom. These are f2.8... is f2.8 enough for low light video? What is the limit you have reached with f2.8 before thinking you really need a wider aperture?


Thanks for your insights.

You might want to watch the free Video making training offered here. Its done by a top video maker, who knows what he's doing.

FREE Workshop: HDDSLR - Moving From Still to Video with Vincent Laforet its free only if you watch it live, but you can purchase rights to download it later. I viewed his first workshop, and found the factual information from someone who does this for a living and is very successful to be worth watching.

You will also get to see demonstrations of accessories from the low end to the high end.


http://creativelive.com/courses/hddslr-moving-still-video-vincent-laforet

 

[te4o]

If you use the same aperture is there a difference in DoF between a APS-C and a FF sensor - I know there is a big difference for stills but DSLR film uses just part of the sensor?

 

[Osiris30]

Old manual focus M42 Russian lenses on an adapter. Something about the look of the glass, can't quite describe it. Than and they all have variable (rather than step) aperture control (so f 3.617632 if you want). Down side is no IS, but if 720P is good enough for final output and you don't have a bad shake you can compensate in post with steady cam.

 

[Admin US West]

If you use the same aperture is there a difference in DoF between a APS-C and a FF sensor - I know there is a big difference for stills but DSLR film uses just part of the sensor?

Its a complex issue, with many different factors involved. Generally speaking, it is possible to get a thinner depth of field with a larger sensor. Don't get into the arguments about distance, field of view, etc. You can get shallow depth of field with APS-C, and even shallower with FF, and with medium format, even shallower.

 

[NormanBates]

@NormanBates.

Do you have any examples of a video using any of these lenses? They sound awesome,and great value. Would like to see the effect of the flare in a positive way, and also the general tone some of these lenses give. Have you ever needed a faster aperture than any of the lenses your currently using?

if you want to look at sharpness, check this one:
http://www.vimeo.com/19406576

on the right panel you'll find other videos of mine, many of them done with these lenses, BUT don't judge sharpness by any of those other videos, I was making a few mistakes
* used an ND fader, which softens the image big time compared to my current tiffen screw-ins, specially on longer lenses
* shot with picture profile with minimum sharpness and forgot to add sharpness in post in the uploaded version of "roman holiday"; I should upload the final version someday... (edit: I forgot: this one is done with the kit lens anyway)
* I'm just a newbie and still not very good pulling focus... (this also applies to "brown vs. green")

so look at "brown vs green" for sharpness, and "paella in colinas" for colors and contrast directly out of the camera (shooting with picture profile with minimum contrast) and that thing which I call "beautiful flaring"


[quote author=te4o]
If you use the same aperture is there a difference in DoF between a APS-C and a FF sensor - I know there is a big difference for stills but DSLR film uses just part of the sensor? [/quote]

unless you're using the crop mode / digital zoom, you're using all the sensor, so depth of field is the same for stills and video

to get equivalent full frame DoF, multiply your aperture by the crop factor, just as you do with focal lenght
for example, you get the same field of view and depth of field with:
* full frame, 50mm, f/2.8
* APS-C, 30mm, f/1.8