Starter zoom lens?

[tonacidigital]

Any recommendation for a good starter zoom lens for red? Say in the 5,000 and under range. If you could only get one lens to start off with when you get your red, which one would it be?

any recommendations would be much appreciated.

[donatello]

are you looking for a zoom to cover the whole sensor ( 35mm ) or one that cover S16 & 2/3" modes ?

there are many older 35mm 20-100 & 25-250mm zooms out there made in 70-80's .. depending on condition ( front/rear elements ) that are under 5k ...... cooke & angeniuex ..you'll find many in the 2500 area ..these tend to have either older anti glare coatings or no coatings - be sure to TEST and check front/rear elements and make sure it holds focus thru whole zoom range ( many are just OLD and worn & need interior work/repair on the screw type focus mechanic's)
NOTE : these zooms are HUGE !!!! they are larger then RED , weigh more then red ...

in 16/s16 .. many 12-120 angeniuex out there in 800-1500 range ( test them out before you buy) ... cooke 9-50 ( 10.4-54 s16) which i think is excellent lens $4-5K used ( has a little breathing ) .. then there are 10-100 zeiss T3 and T2's (MK I , II,not sure if there was a III in zoom ) i never liked the T3 .. always used the T2 ( lots of breathing -especially 10-18mm .. harder to notice on longer end of lens ) .. i always had a 10-100 T2 on all 16mm projects.. many times had both cook & ziess.. always found the cooke 9-50 just not quite long enough ( liked to use 60-70mm ) ... i always found the angenuiex 16-44 T1.6 soft - always stood out cutting in with zeiss zoom/primes ...

i'm right behind you with RED 103

[tonacidigital]

donatello:
thanks for the recommendations.

if anyone else has some recs, please feel free to chime in.

[cailyoung]

If you're only looking at 2/3" sensor shooting (1080P and below), and don't anticipate going higher for a while; a great 2/3" broadcast/HD video lens won't set you back hugely, especially if you're willing to buy secondhand or ex-rental.

[Jarred Land]

yeah ebay is a great spot to start hunting around.. if you can find an old cooke your golden but cookes go pretty quick.