These are the lens I bought, appreciate opinions.

S

Saiaf

Active member
I bought these lens for the dvx100b and redrock that I got an awesome deal on. I bought these lens right here. Now everyones telling me to buy lots of lens. People are saying that these are good but that I have not bought enough apparently. What other lens should I get from KEH? Any links you guys can give me? Like a lens you guys use for close ups that is a great preference? I'm filming a series that is a character drama, and has some action in it. There are lots of close ups and lots of full body shots. You guys are always a great help so any advice is good.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190152416691&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=009



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280152403006&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=018



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170135484295&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=007
 
Seems you only have 'normal' perspective lenses and wider (50mm, 35mm, 28mm)
These are decent lenses. I would recommend at least one lens with a longer focal length. I personally love my 85mm and 105mm. If I had to pick one, I would pick the 85mm because one can find faster 85mm lenses (1.4, 1.8 and higher) compared to the 105's which are most commonly 2.8's. You may find faster but it's gonna cost some money.

Remember if you are shooting a scene where you are going to use multiple lenses, light for (at least) the slowest lens you have.
 
Thank you so much, I can't believe someone actaully responded. I am an amatuer compared to you guys and I really appreciate it. I will be getting an 85mm then, f/1.4 or f/1.8 hopefully. Thanks a lot. If there are more opinions please keep posting, because I've saved up some money to spend on lenses. Really appreciate it bro.
 
No problem, if you have any questions about lenses, let me know. I'll try to answer the best I can.

My first three lenses were 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. Those suited me just fine for shooting films. They covered the normal, wide, and telephoto range without being extremes. The rest of the lenses I bought were just adding to my arsenal. They were either more wide angle, extra telephoto, or a micro/macro for close up.

I think you will be just fine with your lenses and the recommended longer focal length.

Note: When I said "macro/micro for close up" I'm not talking about regular CU shots. These are for ECU (extreme close up) photography like insects and other small objects which lenses can't usually get close enough for minimum focusing. When I go for a regular CU with an actor, I either get close with a 50mm or back off with an 85mm. It's really up to how you want the background and DoF to look like.
 
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A good set of primes in a 35mm film camera would be the following:

17mm / 18mm (depends on Arri or panavision)
24mm
32mm
50mm
85mm
100mm

This is what you would have on a cine setup. So on your adapter, get similar lenses. Note that some of them are not available in those sizes as SLR lenses. get the closest thing you can find.
 
FilmBoy77 said:
can somebody tell me what you mean when you say "fast" and "slow" lenses? how can a lens have speed?
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It basically refers to their light gathering ability. A fast lens would be an f/1.4, a slow lens would be more like an f/4. The lower the f-stop number, the faster it is, hence the less light you need for a good exposure. Low-light situations call for fast lenses, and since 35mm adapters tend to lose light on top of that, they're great to have.
 
Each lens has an F stop number stamped on it. An F stop is essentially a number that tells you how much light the lens "stops" from getting to the camera. An F stop of 1 means all the light is let in, then 1.2, then 1.4, etc. The higher the number, the less light is allowed in.

For example, an F1.2 lets in twice as much light as an F1.4. The ones with the lowers are called the fastest ones....they get slower as the number increases. A big 300mm telephoto with an f Stop of 5.6 is pretty slow, meaning you have to light the hell out of it to be able to see the picture.

You want fast lenses on a 35mm adapter because chances are the adapter itself already loses a ton of light. So get the fastest you can afford.
 
taormina said:
A good set of primes in a 35mm film camera would be the following:

17mm / 18mm (depends on Arri or panavision)
24mm
32mm
50mm
85mm
100mm

This is what you would have on a cine setup. So on your adapter, get similar lenses. Note that some of them are not available in those sizes as SLR lenses. get the closest thing you can find.
Click to expand...

Those lenses are not too bad. But they are good for a motion picture 35mm film camera. Remember a 50mm motion picture (35mm) lens should not have the same field of view than a 50mm still (35mm) photography camera.

I would not get anything less than a 28mm or 24mm.

sensor_sizes.png


With this being said, any 35mm SLR lens under 24mm will give you distortion.

can somebody tell me what you mean when you say "fast" and "slow" lenses? how can a lens have speed?
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"Fast lenses" means they open up (wider aperture) and can be shot with less light needed. Fast lenses have low f-stops... like f/1.4, f/1.8, and f/2.

"Slow lenses" means they can't open up as much as their 'fast' brothers. They require more light because they can only open up to a f/2.8, f/3.5, f/4 and higher.

Fast and slow are mainly opinionated classifications. There are people out there who will argue that f/2.8 is a fast lens. But at least you know that fast lenses have lower minimum f-stops and require less light when wide open.
 
Saiaf said:
Haha that's funny. Prodigy, check these two out. They both have about 20 hours left on them at ebay. Do you think its a good deal? I mean it really seems like it. They are the same lenses I believe. 85mm f/1.8. Do you think I could find better at KEH or should I just go ahead and bid on these?


http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKKOR-NIKON-85...oryZ3343QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKON-85MM-f-1-...oryZ3343QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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I own a Nikon 85mm f/1.8. It's a great lens. Looking at your links, if I were to pick one of the two, the first one would win hands down. The first one is a manual lens, the second an auto-focus lens. Manual focus lenses are better for use on adapters.

Looking at your first link, all I can say is at the current $66 dollar price it is worth every penny. But regardless of price (as far as quality of the lens) Ebay lacks the credibility and rating system of KEH.

So what I am saying is: That first 85mm f/1.8 manual lens is a great lens. Right now the price is ridiculously low. The only disadvantage is having to trust this ebay seller and who knows how much this lens is gonna go up before selling. Plus you did yourself a disservice posting that here! Now all these 35mm adapter browsers are gonna see this! :)

So I guess as long as the price isn't ridiculous you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
 
Haha hell yeah I feel lucky. And I thought to myself about posting up here lol toooo late. Its alright. So ok, I will bid on that first one and ask the seller about the condition it is in and have to take his word for it.


EDIT: Bro, look at the pictures for the first one. There are no scuffs or scratches on the lens at all it seems. Detailed pictures too.
 
Hey all, sorry, still sort of lost when it comes to all the types of Nikon lenses out there.

The second lens you guys are referring to on ebay is an autofocus lens, but it looks like it has manual focus and aperture. What makes autofocus lenses problematic?

Thanks!
 
While you can manually focus some autofocus lenses the focus throw is a lot shorter than on a fully manual lens. Mostly so the AF can work quicker and not have to travel as far.
 
if I'm not mistaken the reason why a manual lens would be better than an auto-focus lens is that:

on a manual lens, you typically have to turn the lens for at least 1/2 a turn to 3/4 of a turn to focus from the closest to infinity.
The auto-focus lens, you only turn the lens from 1/4 turn to 1/2 turn (or something much less than the manual)

So when its time to focus, you will have a much harder time pulling focus with the automatic lens, than with the manual.

Focus being one of the most problematic things while using a 35mm with High-Def Video, you really want to stay away from auto-focus lenses.

(if I'm not mistaken, cinema lenses take even more turning to focus. even over a full turn some times)

PS: I have the 85mm 1.4 Nikon manual lens. and its a beauty. everytime I look at footage that I shot with that lens I say wow that looks great. and sure enough it was with the 85.
 
Yeah siniarch but do you think I'll get that excited with my 85mm F/1.8? You have a 1.4 and seem thrilled, will I get just as good results?
 
I have an nikon ai 85mm 1.8 and the difference is very little and the price is quite a bit more.
The 1.4 is quite a bit heavier and bigger than the 1.8 version.
 
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