Help! Lenses advise

[Mike Brent]

While waiting for Scarlet we are going to shoot a 45 min Dramedy in a couple of months with a 5DmarkII. I was thinking to get two lenses - Canon EF 50mm f1.2L and a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS.

Someone at Reduser said that I should get the 1.4 because the speed gain of the 1.2 is minimal and that it will be impossible to keep anything in focus anyway.

I think I agree with him. They also recommended I will get wider lenses (which is also a good point) and recommended that I will get 24 or 35mm in the cheap f2.8 or L glass at f1.4,or a 28mm f2.8 option or f1.8 usm option.

Any recommendation? Is there a good wide (lets say 35-70) constant t stop zoom lens that can cover these ranges or should I get a 28 mm? or the 24?? HELP!

[Mike Brent]

so how does this look for a basic kit?

Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS

Any recommendations / observations?

[derekhillier]

while your waiting for Scarlet you could make Avitar 2
On a more serious note the 50mm 1.4 is good and cheap
For the rest I would go for L series
100 mm macro L 2.8 IS
24 or 28 L series primes
70-200 2.8L IS is good
The 24-70 2.8 L is good but has some barrelling at 24mm

[yoclay]

The 50/1.4 is not so great. I have tested many standard lenses and it is not so sharp until f2.5. In terms of sharpness it came in second to last compared to everything else, including lenses that are more than 30 years old. You also can't pull focus so easily on some of these Canon lenses as well. I would seriously consider older manual style lenses if you are only interested in the video side of things.

[NextWaveG]

Sometimes the speed gained isn't the benefit of getting a faster lens. Often times it's the quality of the lens. For example, the 50mm f1.8 vs the 50mm f1.4. The 1.4 is slightly faster, but much sharper and better build quality. Also the 1.8 doesn't have a focus ring that you could attach a follow focus to.

In response to yoclay's post, the 1.4 is a very solid lens. Yes some of the older lenses are a bit sharper, but don't think that the 1.4 is junk. It's used by many professionals for video work.

We're getting ready to shoot a feature this fall and these are the lenses on my shopping list for my 5D. Right now I mainly use the 24-105 f4 for most of my commercial shoots and it's been great. But for a movie, I'd like a bit more speed.

24mm f2.8 - $340
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...e_EF_24mm.html

50mm f1.4 - $350
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Autofocus.html

85mm f1.8 - $380
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Autofocus.html

135mm f2.0 - $1000
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...mm_f_2_0L.html

[neetster]

Where do you guys buy lenses/how do you feel about ebay?

[Mike Brent]

We're getting ready to shoot a feature this fall and these are the lenses on my shopping list for my 5D. Right now I mainly use the 24-105 f4 for most of my commercial shoots and it's been great. But for a movie, I'd like a bit more speed.

Thank you for your help. Focusing isn't a problem at such speeds? So how does this like for a kit?

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS

and then your:

24mm f2.8 - $340

50mm f1.4 - $350

Thanks

[Rory_B]

What is your budget for lenses?

[simonbrauer]

I been working with excelent results with the CANON EF 24mm f 2.8 and the CANON EF 50mm f1.4 both are great. But if you want some especial nice image try to use a Hasselblad H lens with an adapter, iIt is perfectly engineered to allow full focusing to infinity without any problem. I been using this adapter:

cgi.ebay.com/Canon-EOS-to-Hasselblad-Metal-Lens-Mount-Adapter-NEW_W0QQitemZ360153945482QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_A ccessories?hash=item53dad9158a#ht_517wt_1167


Regards
Simon Brauer

[Mike Brent]

What is your budget for lenses?

I'm looking for optimal performance / cost but I don't have a limit on the budget....

[Mike Brent]

I been working with excelent results with the CANON EF 24mm f 2.8 and the CANON EF 50mm f1.4 both are great. But if you want some especial nice image try to use a Hasselblad H lens with an adapter,

Where do I buy the lenses, on eBay? and which ones are the best? It's not the first time I hear this...

[daveswan]

If you don't mind buying S/H and usinf an adaptor, you could try the Leica 35-70 f/4 zoom, reported to be superb.
Dave

[simonbrauer]

Yes ebay is a good choice, you can find:
HASSELBLAD 50mm CF F4 T* Carl Zeiss LOCKED or Hsselblad 50mm Zeiss f2.8.
HASSELBLAD 150 F4 T* SONNAR BLACK LENS
HASSELBLAD CF PLANAR 100MM 1:3.5 T*
Hasselblad Zeiss 60mm 1:3.5 Distagon C T* Lens f3.5
Hasselblad 80mm F2.8 CF Planar T* Lens .
But if you check other places maybe you will find other interesting things.

Leica R series sounds really good too.

Regards
Simon Brauer.