FAQ like Info about 35mm lenses

We have been working on quite a number of things, and when we're ready we will certainly let everyone know


Brian
 
to the thread, by posting I now will know when there are new posts

BTW Timur, I tarted a little thread to ask specific questions about my needs and I would love if you could chime in :)
 
I am slowly getting through the thread (page 12) making sure not to miss anything as I am beginning my research on lenses... finally!
I will be buying a lens adapter soon if all goes well and I need to learn more about lenses before I make my purchase.

About the adapter... I am leaning towards the Brevis because I find the interchangeable GG's to be an amazing feature. I am a bit worried about shutter speed limitations but I am pleased with it's bokeh and most than anything it's speed. The Letus seems to e the other fast adapter but I didn't find the bokeh pleasing to my eyes... Timur please tell me which are your (2) favorites and why!

Lenses... I want to have a solid Nikon kit and possibly rent others with a second mount. But i need to make sure I have matching lenses that can cover 28mm though 120+ mm... and I need to be ok with low light conditions as my kit is limited to only 4 lights. They are a 500W kino, 1000W kino, 800W Alzo (hard) and will be getting one of Richard's 575 HMI's (Hard) which put out 1500W. I know this is not a shabby personal kit but I want to make sure to be able to get as much freedom on night shoots as I possibly can, especially with my next project which will have some wide exterior night shots... we'll see how that works.

My questions are then limited to Nikons and the HVX using the faster adapters which seem to lose about 1/3 to 1/2 stops themselves.

If I want to cover 28 though 150-ish then I though the only way to do that is to get two high quality zooms and match the F stops like you suggested earlier. It seems having primes would be a great addition no matter what especially for the specialty lenses. I think getting an excellent super wide would be great.

Still I find having all lengths available from the get-go will be a tremendous plus, especially since I will never zoom other than a once in a blue moon imperceptible zoom on a push. Also, I plan on getting Siniarch's on-camera LCD which will allow me to get perfect focus reliably time and time again at any length, and hopefully give me a good idea of the lens behaviour at each length. Add to that not having to switch lenses that often and I am sold!

But knowing as much as I know about lenses it is a scary thing to be responsible for putting together a two lens kit that you'll probably depend on for a long time.

So...

I am wondering if the 2.8f Nikon Zooms will be fast enough at the higher focal lengths that I am so fond of for those low light shots.

Are these the combo I am looking for? Should I consider other combinations? If so, which?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/169589-GREY/Nikon_1961_Zoom_W_A_Telephoto_AF_S_Zoom.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/274780-GREY/Nikon_2139_70_200mm_f_2_8D_VR_G_AFS.html

or maybe this cheaper long one
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/124669-GREY/Nikon_1986_80_200mm_f_2_8_ED_AF_D.html

Sorry if those are dumb suggestions...
Thanks Timur and all of you who posted! I am learning a lot.
 
What about the lenses I posted Timur? And why not the Brevis?

I would really love to hear what you guys have to say about the 2.8f zooms... if they are over-kill and which to get instead or otherwise.
 
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i know for a fact the 80-200 2.8 is supposed to be the sharpest lens around.... that and the canon L series 85mm F1.2.....
 
In my experience, the Nikon 50mm 1.8 is one of the cheapest and sharpest lenses Nikon has ever made. Some other very sharp Nikons...

50mm 1.4 AIS
85mm 1.4 D
105mm 2.8 Micro NonVR D
180mm 2.8
200mm 2.0

In my 35 years of Nikon experience, I have never used a truly razor sharp zoom. Primes look better and are sharper, period. It's simple budet allocation. Primes are simpler design, fewer elements, have better coatings and glass quality. Zooms can look decent but since you are already 'dumbing down' your image by using 35mm still lenses versus true cinema lenses, why not get the best image you can? Zooms are for the lazy in most situations. Plus they are slower, there are no f1. anything zooms in Nikon.

I own the 12-24 Tokina F4, the Nikon 18-200 VR, 28mm 28 D, 50mm 1.8 D, 85mm 1.4 AIS, 50mm 1.4 AIS and the 105mm 2.8 Micro D. No comparsion between the zooms and the primes, I can tell instantly when viewing images on a computer or printed.

Just my experience, YMMV

Dan
 
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yea my 5d's images seem a bit soft. i think its cause of the Zoom lens. i wanna rent a nice prime and see if theres a diffrence.
 
so I guess I really can't get a Zoom unless I plan to spend several thousands on each and probably will need "better" brands. Not that Nikon is bad by any means, but I'd probably have to go with lenses designed for film... and a MUCH bigger budget.

Ok... so I am guessing I will most likely end up with a set of primes... so...

When I look at Nikons... which are the types I can rely on? There seems to be different types which are differentiated by the letters such as "VR"... which are good and which aren't (hope it is that simple :))

And how does Pure's list plus a 28mm sound?

28mm (which?)
50mm 1.4 AIS
85mm 1.4 D
105mm 2.8 Micro NonVR D
180mm 2.8
200mm 2.0

What is that gonna cost me?
 
I am not so sure I could be hurt much by the amount of softening that those zooms I listed might add... I am still considering the Zooms. I want to check them out... maybe I can pick a pair up and test it for a few days...

Maybe get the 80-200 2.8f instead of the 70-200mm 2.8f since Timur hears it might be the sharpest... but which would be the sharpest for the short end Timur?
 
USLatinContent said:
so I guess I really can't get a Zoom unless I plan to spend several thousands on each and probably will need "better" brands. Not that Nikon is bad by any means, but I'd probably have to go with lenses designed for film... and a MUCH bigger budget.

Ok... so I am guessing I will most likely end up with a set of primes... so...

When I look at Nikons... which are the types I can rely on? There seems to be different types which are differentiated by the letters such as "VR"... which are good and which aren't (hope it is that simple :))

And how does Pure's list plus a 28mm sound?

28mm (which?)
50mm 1.4 AIS
85mm 1.4 D
105mm 2.8 Micro NonVR D
180mm 2.8
200mm 2.0

What is that gonna cost me?
Click to expand...

Hi U.S.:

I would consider something better than Nikons 28mm 2.8 on the wide end. I have one and it's not that great. This is better and not outrageously expensive http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/36905-GREY/Nikon_1415_Super_Wide_Angle_20mm.html

50mm 1.4 AIS - I scored one in really good condition on Ebay for $185.00
85mm 1.4 AIS or D - these are expensive, around $600.00 to $1,000.00 usually, that's why I went for the 85mm 1.8 AIS - mint used for $185.00
105mm 2.8 D Micro - When they come on the market, they are around $500.00 to $600.00
180mm 2.8D - $659.00
200mm 2.0D - $3,789.00

Zooms are not the sharpest at all but can be useful. I only shoot with primes on my HVX though.

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
Zooms are not the sharpest at all but can be useful. I only shoot with primes on my HVX though.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty misleading statement. It depends entirely on the quality of the glass. I have two AF-S zooms which are substantially sharper than most of the static glass that they replace. On an HVX, in any case, the lens' sharpness is probably not the limiting factor (unless you're shooting with a $50 Tokina or Tamron or whatever).
 
I am quite fixated on getting good enough zooms for the speed of production you can get out of them... I am used to working on many shows that try to keep 40-200mm panavision lenses on just for the time saved between setups... move the dolly set the lenght, focus, shoot...
Being a small company I am trying to set us up like these "smaller budget" shows to, like them, stay nimble as possibly so as to get the most our of each permit we pay for. If there is any way that I can get zooms and get an excellent film look out of the HVX, then I will do anything in my power to set myself up that way...

So I am not giving up on zooms just yet. But I think I will look at that 20mm prime and other specific primes if I can later on increase my "gunrack" :D

So I am quite exited about the long zoom Timur suggested and I think I might have found it's brother:

80-200mm 2.8f
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=124669&is=GREY

35-70mm 2.8f
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=36956&is=GREY
It sounds like it might not be equally sharp below 4f but maybe for only 1920 x 1080 images that mark can be lowered a bit and there for get quite close to 2.8f?
The only problem I might have is getting a good match to the 80-200mm which is supposed to be super sharp... what I need is for my wide stuff to look identical to my long stuff so as not to get a horrible jump in my cuts. I am praying I will hear good stuff about it or otherwise be pointed to something that will match the long one...

Later I might look at:

20mm 2.8f
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=WishList.jsp&A=details&Q=&sku=36905&is=GREY

Hey PureDrifting, thanks for your posts man! Very helpful. Doug, I agree but I think Pure is trying to make sure I understand about lenses since I am just now reading up on them. Thank you too for your help, you guys are helping me a ton.
 
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dougspice said:
That's a pretty misleading statement. It depends entirely on the quality of the glass. I have two AF-S zooms which are substantially sharper than most of the static glass that they replace. On an HVX, in any case, the lens' sharpness is probably not the limiting factor (unless you're shooting with a $50 Tokina or Tamron or whatever).
Click to expand...

Hi Doug:

Not trying to mislead anyone, that's my experience after shooting with hundreds of Nikons lenses for the past 35 years. Yes, I have shot with the 80-200 and the 70-200 2.8, yes, they look decent but they are not as sharp as my 105mm 2.8 or my 85mm 1.8 or my 50mm 1.4 Ai-S. The 35-70 or 24-120? Not even close. Not to say that they cannot make great images, of course they can. It's all up to the artist to create great images and any of these lenses are technically capable of creating outstanding imagery.

Talk to an optical engineer and they will tell you the same, it all has to do with how deisgn and manufacturing budgets have to be allocated. When you get into cine lenses, I think that this basic rule in theory doesn't change but you do get into amazing Cooke, Zeiss and Panavision optics that are not nearly as constrained by budgets. Sure, a Cooke 10-100 looks amazing as do the Panavision 10:1 and 11:1 zooms. But we are then talking lenses that cost in the neighborhoods of $50,000.00 to $150,000.00. That is a whole different playing field where the engineers and designers are not constrained by size, weight and budget, they can pretty much do whatever needs to be done to make the optics work perfectly.

Versus trying to design consumer and professional still lenses, especially those in the sub-$1,750.00 range. Different results. Also, the main reason I use primes are so that I can use a smaller lighting package. Even a fast 2.8 zoom requires considerably more light than a 1.4 or 1.2 prime when shooting interiors with an already slow camera like the HVX.

If you have two lenses, both sell for $1,000.00 new. One is a prime that has four elements on two groups and one is a zoom that has thirteen elements in ten groups, which lens is more likely to have better pure optical quality?

I am sure that if U.S. has his heart set on zooms, he will buy them, nothing I say or you say will stop him from doing that, I just wanted to offer my experience and observations.

That's why we are all here for, right? To trade experiences and anecdotes? Definitely not here to mislead anyone.

Best,

Dan
 
Yes Dan, and we thank you for it. I really need to hear things like that to get a good grasp of the kit I am getting. I need to know what's out there and by posting detailed experiences and opinions I feel ten times more aware and therefor prepared for the job. And also, thanks to you Doug for keeping the conversation going. This way I also hear more about it and get an even better idea of the playing field. I am deeply grateful for all the help I get from users like you guys :thumbsup:

I think I will work on getting better glass as we all probably will, and then I will start building some primes for lower light situations or the sharpest image possible. Right now I am searching for that film look, and I hope these zooms together with the Brevis using the CF1Le element will not be over-shooting it (praying!). I might be ale to later get a cleaner GG if I need to shoot more more a sharp look... and of course if I get a nice little set of primes that will help an other bit too...

I m worried about the 35mm - 70mm 2.8f though... I have not heard anything about it other than from the reviews on B&H... it seems some might find it a bit soft at 2.8f, but probably someone shooting 5MP or higher... that's 3 million pixels less than 1080p... or to put it in better perspective: I'd be shooting an image only 40% as detailed... that's IF he is shooting 5MP... he might be shooting smaller but I seriously doubt that... and chances are he might be shooting a bit bigger than that...

:takes a deep breath:

Well... if anyone knows where to find more info regarding these lenses PLEASE let me know.

And please keep adding to the topic! There is SO much I don't know about optics!! It hurts to admit it.
 
Anyone have any experience using the Canon FD 1.8 50mm with the SGPro adaptor on an HVX-200? I've been using the HVX with a rented minipro35 but I have an opportunity to buy an SGPro with the Canon lens...
 
I have heard that it is quite a good combo, i think marco on the sgpro website has some footage with the combo also you will be able to see other footage with the sgpro on there. Also Timur shoots with an sgpro and hvx200 so you should search for him here
 
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