Is the 24-70 f2.8 a good lens for video?

[andrew00]

Hey,

I appreciate this is, generally, a lovely lens, however I'm curious if it is a useful purchase for the 5D.

I, like most people, love myself a good bit of shallow depth of field, typically in my D90 days I used a 50mm 1.4 and a 105mm 2.8. The 105 was decent but I certainly loved the 1.4's DoF - not all the time, but I loved the option of it.

I think the 24-70 sounds great on paper, certainly not having to carry around a bunch of primes seems great, but I'm wondering if it gives enough control when it comes to video.

Especially can I get a shallow enough depth of field or am I limited to (with the 2.8) a nice blur only. Maybe one day I want to shoot my own Sofia's people you know? Can I do that with the 24-70? I could always reach for my Nikon 50 1.4 at that point I guess? Use the 24-70 all other times and the 50 1.4 when I get vain and want a silly shallow blur?

Also, are there any opinions generally on how this compliments the 5D? I've done some research and the opinions seem pretty decent, but as I said, I'm a shallow dof man!

Cheers!

[Green Hornet]

On a 5D, you will get a, shallow blur, as you call it. Anything that can go to f2.8 will give you a shallow DOF on the 5D. It is very shallow. I like the 24-70 myself, even on a crop sensor.

[Stephen Mick]

It is a great lens, period. In fact, it may be my favorite lens of all time for stills, and should be very nice for video.

[atomick]

I just madly, insanely, intensely adore mine. Mine has a sometimes-repeated issue of the zoom ring having more friction in the lower focal lengths, but focus pulling = no hay problema. It's a happy, happy thing. Lives on my 5D and 7D 70% of the time.

[CamenHodges]

Well... I'm sold.

Now to find one for under a grand...

[andrew00]

Wicked, thanks for the replies, I've ordered one, hurrah!

Now gotta get a Fader ND w/o vignetting, but I'll save that question for the Fader thread!

[thekreative]

I've had a set of C/Y Zeiss sitting in my lens bag and the 24-70 almost never leaves my 5D. In fact I've sold 1/2 my primes because the DOF is so shallow and the low-light sensitivity is so good at 2.8

[editman]

In my opinion all zoom lenses that extends during zooming in is bad when shooting motion picture. You can't use a mattebox effectively. The 24-70 extends on the wide end, which I hate extremely when taking stills because the flash hits the lens.

[the_wallbanger]

The 24-70 is speculated to be replaced at the end of 2009. You might find a cheap version of the current model if you wait. Although, I can't imagine the price will drop significantly by any means.

http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/11/lens-rumors-this-week/