How do you match different types of lenses ?

[moxrox]

Reading about the thread "What lens do you keep on your GH 2 most ?" I always thought how professionals match the different look of lenses. Take for example the Panasonice Kit lenses i.e. 14-42 or 14-140 which are ultra sharp, prime lenses who are softer or lenses like Hyperprime 12mm 1.6 which has its own look. There are for sure more examples.

[maranfilms]

There's different reasons people want a matching set of lenses, same size, same gears, same t-stop, same contrast, ect... I mean in a perfect world, we would all be shooting matched sets of cinema lens, like zeiss master primes, but not many people can afford 120,000 for a good set. Or even the 1,500.00 a day it costs to rent a set, unless it's for a job. So the next best thing you can do on a budget is try to find a matched set of still lenses and have them modded, at least this way they have some of the same features you would get in a matched set of cinema lenses. I have a canon lens that has a blueish look to it, it doesn't look like any of my other lenses, so it's a pain, I dont use it unless I shoot it alone, without swapping glass.

[Trucci]

If sharpness is the only difference, you can soften the sharper lens with gaussian blur to match the softer one. I think the biggest challenge is when lenses have different color casts though. This is where all-in-one zoom lenses come in handy. My Olympus 14-54 II has saved me a lot of time during production and post production.

[moxrox]

Alright, thank you for the tipps and I appreciate it. Yeah an all-in-one zoom lens will probably save a lot of troubles, but too many other interesting lenses out there ..isnt it =).

[maranfilms]

Depends what type of zoom, cinema zooms are Huge, the reason is their usually fairly fast, so you need a big front glass to bring in lots of light. Plus you have to remember there's more elements due to the different focal lengthes. Primes are usually smaller, faster, and have less issues LIKE barrell distortion (USUALLY WIDES), chromatic abberation, breathing, ect... But thats not to say they dont have any issues. Well.... unless you go with cooke or angineaux, most of their zooms are fantastic no matter what the model.

[Trucci]

Alright, thank you for the tipps and I appreciate it. Yeah an all-in-one zoom lens will probably save a lot of troubles, but too many other interesting lenses out there ..isnt it =).

I think that's the eternal struggle for me. I love the efficiency of a zoom lens (saved me in a recent 72 hour film contest), but I like the look of the different primes I have.

[d1rockwild]

It'd be so awesome if there was an online resource that gave you information on color profiles of different lenses so you could match them to each other better. For example, I've grown attached to Canon FD lenses but I'm incredibly necessary Voigtlander 25mm has thrown it all off. I do what I can when color correcting but I wish someone with more knowledge and skill could provide even more information in these cases.