Received M2... need help on lenses

brock2621

brock2621

Well-known member
Just got my M2 in the mail and it's very well built :) I'm very happy with it. I got the biggest package which came with a cenima lense mount instead of the SLR lense mount. Here are my questions...

1)What is the difference between SLR and cinema?

2)Where do i get cenima lenses and which ones are suggested?

3)Should i go ahead and get an SLR?
 
My understanding is that cinema lenses are very expensive and generally only rented from film specialty shops on an as-needed basis. The SLR lenses (like Nikon) on the other hand, are cheap enough you can buy and keep and play with. Cinema lenses cost a small fortune.
 
How long did it take for you to get yours? Lomos and Cooke lenses come to mind for your unit.. they are expensive
 
Cinema lenses typically have had some more R&D put in them and use better glass (not that some still lenses don't), don't breath, etc. The common mount is PL. You normally rent as they cost a fortune to buy. Occasionally you can find a decent deal on a used lens but it's no where near the cost of a used photo lens...

For example up here in Toronto a Zeiss 50mm Standard Prime rents for $80 CAD / day. A Zeiss 50mm Ultra Prime (newer lens) is $150/day! It gets expensive....
 
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It took about 7 weeks... maybe 8. So does anybody actually own one of these and can tell me what they did with their cenima lense? And also where i can buy one?
 
goto cooke's website and locate a dealer next to you.. expect to pay $60,000 for a S4 Zoom.

its way overboard, you dont need that grade of glass on the front of the unit as your shooting through too much other glass to make a difference regarding resolution.
the thing you will get though is the famous cooke s4 color. .which i love.
 
Brock, if you are looking at buying these lenses you will have to re-mortgage your house. Why not get a Nikon mount, which is probably in stock at redrock, and go get some great Nikons lenses off ebay? The results between a cinema lens and a good Nikon prime will be negligable.
 
I ordered my M2 on March 23 and am still waiting. Redrock says it is scheduled to ship this week.

I think you want a Nikon mount. Nikon lenses have used the same mount for like 40 years, so you'll have plenty of options to choose from in the sub-$60,000 range. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
Yeah, i figured they were going to be expensive. Well... if I were to only get one lense for the summer, what Nikon lense would everyone suggest for under 2,000?
 
If you go Nikon you can get MANY lenses for the summer for under $2,000!

You can pick up used Nikons for $50 - $150. This is why everyone gets that mount over the PL.

Look for 1.4 or 1.8 primes in the 28mm, 50mm, and 85mm range. You'll be hard pressed to spend $500 for all three of those. A fast zoom would be nice as well, since you could quickly change your focal length without changing lenses.
 
For $2000 you can amass an motherlode of lenses.

Since I'm still waiting for my adapter, I can't speak from personal experience. But these have been recommended to me, and each can be found under $100.

50mm f/1.2
50mm 1.4
85mm 1.8
35mm f2
105 f2.5
135mm f2.8
 
Sweet, thanks guys! I think i'm going to get two lenses. What are the absolute best two leses available. I know i need an f stop of 2.0 or less because of the light problem. Can anyone give me a link to some footage that someone used with the lenses listed?
 
brock2621 said:
Sweet, thanks guys! I think i'm going to get two lenses. What are the absolute best two leses available. I know i need an f stop of 2.0 or less because of the light problem. Can anyone give me a link to some footage that someone used with the lenses listed?
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The smaller the better for lenses. Get a 1.4 50mm. Then aim for a wider angle like a 24mm. Then top that with a zoom like a 55-200mm. Those will be a good set to cover the bases.

As for sample footage, do some searching and you will find. I've seen footage posted several times on the board.
 
If you go wide get the 17-35mm 2.8. One of the best lenses Nikon make. Covers many bases. The 50mm 1.4 is a great prime. 80-200mm 2.8 is a super zoom as well.
 
yeah im too waiting for my m2 and they said it would ship this week, im getting the nikon mount and the canon mount, i just got a nikon d50 dslr so im gonna use that lens and i have a bunch of old canon lenses laying around
 
Brock,

Does the M2 flip and mirror your image on the monitor?

Anybody know who makes an on-line image flip/mirror deivce?

I will be using the M2 on an HVX with a Panasonic 1700, mosly for music video and feature work.
 
No, the M2 does not flip the image. The Letus35 Flip does: http://www.letus35.com/

However, you can easily pop the cover off of the LCD hinge and force the image flip. For production monitors on-set I just turn them upside-down.
 
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