Which primes do you recommend?

[taras4444]

Hi all, I currently own the af100 with the 14-140mm lumix lens, the voigtlander 25mm and the lumix 7-14mm lens. I'm now thinking about starting to collect a couple of good primes for short film work but have no real idea where to start. Many people mention the nikons but there is so many! In my situation, what would people opt for if you needed to shoot films and had my above set up? Also I was thinking the best adapter from what people say seems to be the novoflex, is that correct? I've heard the adaptamax one can cause internal reflections or something, I think it was one person who said they painted it matte black! Thanks and appreciate any advice.

[Shooter]

If it helps...I can recommend any of the lenses as listed in my signature.

They are all manual lenses (with aperture rings) and of course require an adaptor. (A Novoflex would be a good choice)

Only you can workout what exact focal lengths to buy for your purpose and visual preference.. .but a standard lens kit maybe something like

20, 24, 35, 50, 85 (f2.8 is a very practical and useable on an AF100 so dont bust a foo foo valve trying to obtain faster ones as a necessity)

or ...you could go the "variable prime" route with a couple of zooms ( see my sig list again for these). Focal range 17-35 and 28 - 70 = 17- 70.

Ensure you get any second hand lenses in excellent condition optically and mechanically. ie pay upper end of prices.
Bargains may not always turn out to be what they seem to be.

[mcbob]

2, 3, 7, 113, and 401 are some good ones. I like primes that also add up to primes.


As to lenses, depends on your budget... Zeiss ZF's (Nikon mount) are hard to beat.

One main reason people recommend Nikons is that they have just about the longest flange distance, and can thus be adapted to just about anything. Leica R, Olympus OM, and M42 mounts are slightly more adaptable, but may not achieve that nexus of quality, commonality, and affordability that most people find in Nikon glass. OM's are typically very nice, and very inexpensive, but don't get quite the respect for whatever reason.

[Paul Hudson]

I invested in cinema primes and am very glad I did. They are pricey but well worth it in my opinion.

[taras4444]

Cheers everyone for the fast and helpful responses. Yes those zeiss ones look pretty sweet but i think are out of my price range for a while yet! I was looking at some of the primes in your sig shooter, such as the 50mm and noticed some have different endings such as AF-D or AF-SG, excuse my ignorance but what exactly is that about? Is this the 50mm one you own: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nikon-Nikk...item19cc344c25 and thats good to hear i dont have to go crazy looking for the faster lenses as 2.8ish is generally ok. I know its all about lighting too but what is the maximum iso you usually set by where the image quality/noise is still very good? Thanks again guys

[Mike@AF]

I recommend the Zeiss ZF or ZF.2. Contax Zeiss are good too. There's the current ZF.2 and the older ZF. Both are great You might be able to find deals on used ones. My entire ZF set was bought used over the course of 8 months and were all like new (in fact 2 of them were displays sitting on a shelf that I got for used prices). Buying that way probably saved me about $3000. So if you're not in a hurry you can buy higher quality little by little and be really happy with your lenses for a long time. The ZF glass is the same glass in the Zeiss CP.2 cinema lenses which are 4 times the price, just minus the cinema housing and mechanics. The picture is the same though, and the ZF lenses are faster at some focal lengths.

[ScottNelson]

Agree with Mike regarding the Contax Zeiss. I've got the 25, 35, 50mm (same as Shooter) and, for the money, are the best lenses I own along with a bag full of Nikon D series (with aperture ring).

[David W. Jones]

Prime rib is always nice.

[robmneilson]

I've gotta give my plug for Lomo's! Probably the cheapest cinema glass that you can get! Thanks to great low light capabilities we have now it's not a big deal that they're not the fastest glass (Unless you have cash for the superspeeds).

You can find affordable ones in an Oct-19 mount, or if you're lucky PL (Stay away from Oct-18). You're going to have to do some searching though as much of the Lomo's on Ebay from Eastern Europe are a bit old and crusty. It took me about 2 years to finally get an almost full set (18,28,35,40,50,75), but it was worth the wait and the search.

Rafcamera is one of the better seller's on ebay, and you can get a great Oct-19 adapter from Cieco7 or Steve Morton at cinemods.com.