Wide lens for video

[corey.kaye]

I've been shooting for years and looking to get into video. I have L series lenses 16-200mm. I have yet to find a definitive answer to this question:

Are ultawide 12mm, 14mm lens really popular in the video field and if so, why?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It all depends on what you are shooting. However, a broad hint would be to look at what focal lengths are available for dedicated DSLR Video lenses.
They would not be made unless they were selling.
http://lenses.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/cine_lenses/compact_lenses/compact_prime_lenses.html

 

[corey.kaye]

That's true and I totally get they're popular. I understand the control and quietness of manual focus.

50mm is what you see and standard with photos, it seams like 20mm is the "standard" around video.

 

[Policar]

On APS-C 35mm is around "normal" but most directors shoot a lot wider most of the time. Spielberg, Gilliam, Kubrick, etc. love going wide but mix focal lengths a bit. Ridley Scott likes longer lenses. Action directors like Cameron, Bay, and Woo mix wide and tight. The artsier guys stick to one focal length in the 40mm or 50mm range, usually.

For narrative cinema 18-85mm is the normal range you'd usually cover with a set of lenses. As wide as 12mm or as tight as 150mm+ is not unusual.

For location-based photography going really wide is normal because locations are often small.

Fwiw, I like the 11-16mm Tokina for APS-C and the 14mm Canon L for FF, though I use a 17-40mm L because it's cheaper.

 

[corey.kaye]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. In the portrait photography world you usually can't get tight enough. Some how the rules of video appear different. I also notice it's common to cut people's foreheads off in close ups.

I can imagine panning at 60mm or greater would require really steady hands and slow movements. Panning at 100mm+ would give the audience motion sickness. You'd have to spin 90 deg using a a 14mm to even change the scene.

Is the fact we're mostly using hand held DSLRs a factor in wide lens popularity. Are large commercial cameras (shoulder mounts) as wide?

 

[Policar]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. In the portrait photography world you usually can't get tight enough. Some how the rules of video appear different. I also notice it's common to cut people's foreheads off in close ups.

I can imagine panning at 60mm or greater would require really steady hands and slow movements. Panning at 100mm+ would give the audience motion sickness. You'd have to spin 90 deg using a a 14mm to even change the scene.

Is the fact we're mostly using hand held DSLRs a factor in wide lens popularity. Are large commercial cameras (shoulder mounts) as wide?

Actors are prettier than non-actors, but CUs are still usually shot with tight lenses. Someone once commented that Audrey Tautou had such small features that she looked best shot with a normal/slight wide angle (28mm) lens. And that's Jeunet's preferred style so it works well, but usually actors won't be pleased to see a wide angle lens right in their face. You can always back up the lens and just shoot with a wider frame. Cutting off the forehead is not abnormal, though I worked with a gaffer once who got mad at me for doing that for whatever reason.

I haven't done much videography, but if I remember right videography cameras went to about 28mm FF equivalent or 18mm APS-C equivalent and zoomed in to 10X+ that.

You can get smoother pans with a gear head: http://www.visualproducts.com/storeProductDetail02.asp?productID=553&Cat=48&Cat2=50#bigPic

A lot of action directors will shoot action with extreme telephoto lenses and gear heads. The inertia of the heavy cameras helps (a Panavision package can weight 60+ pounds easily even with lighter prime lenses), but I honestly have no idea how people pull this off. I have only seen a gear head in action once and never used one; I've only been on a few tiny small indie sets, nothing big.

 

[corey.kaye]

Thanks Policar!!!

 

[Axilrod]

It all depends on what you are shooting. However, a broad hint would be to look at what focal lengths are available for dedicated DSLR Video lenses.
They would not be made unless they were selling.
http://lenses.zeiss.com/camera-lenses/en_de/cine_lenses/compact_lenses/compact_prime_lenses.html

It's worth mentioning that the ZE's have the same optics as the CP.2's and at a much lower price. Sure you don't get manual iris, built in follow focus gear, uniform size and a few more iris blades, but they're way way cheaper and still solid lenses. Especially for a beginner. You can shoot video with Canon lenses just fine, it may not be as easy as it is with cinema lenses, but it can be/has been done.

As for Corey Kaye and wide shots in filmmaking, I would say 24mm-28mm on full frame is what your average wide shot in a movie is. 16mm on FF is ultra wide and isn't quite as common but some may choose to use it. There aren't really any set rules, whatever you can make work really, but I would personally try not to overuse ultra-wide shots.

 

[Jesse]

See Terry Gilliam's films for the wide angle close-ups. 14mm is knows as his lens.

 

[Policar]

Yes and yes to the last two posts.

18mm is standard as the widest lens in a cinematic kit (though the popular zooms now are 15.5mm or 16mm at the wide end). 7D is close enough to equivalent to Super35 lens-wise, but that translates to 24mm-28mm on the 5D. So a 14mm on the 5D would be closer to an 8mm, which is as wide as cinema lenses (for Super35) get and they are almost never used, except maybe for an extreme effect or music video.

Gilliam loves going wide and he does it well. Didn't know 14mm was his preferred lens, but I am not surprised to learn that.