best lenses for filming with Nikon D90???

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
I have the Nikon D90 and wanted to know what are the best lenses to use with D-movie mode.

I already have the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and the the 24-70mm 2.8 AF lens.

But can anyone recommend other great manual lenses besides the 50 mm f/1.4?

I'm looking for great lenses with manual irises.

Thanks very much for any feedback,

- Nicholas
 
i have the nikkor 24/2 and i love it. it's sharp wide open and super sharp at f/5.6, and i love the fov of 24mm in dx, especially for movies where ultra wides can look weird.

the vivitar 70-210/3.5 is nice too (2nd edition by tokina), quite small and really affordable, not exactly super sharp at f/3.5 but how many telephoto zooms are that fast throughout and can be had for $40?

/matt
 
Hi Matt,

Thanks for replying. Are you referring to the fully manual Nikkor 24mm f/2.8?

Would you advise against AF lenses? Do you feel its better to go fully manual?

- Nicholas
 
no, the 2 in the name is the f-stop. the f/2.8 is called 24/2.8. the f/2 is both faster and afaik sharper. nothing wrong with af lenses but why pay more for something that's harder to work with and has features you can't use? optically they're often great but so are the late ai-s ones.

/matt
 
I'm using a Nikon 105mm f/2.5 and a 28mm f/2.8. Both are great. Really sharp wide open and good focal lengths to work with on the D90. There are faster lenses like the 28mm f/2.0 and 105mm f/1.8 but they cost 2-3 times as much. I'm still waiting for my 50mm f/1.4 to arrive. I also have a Kiron 28-85mm f/2.8-3.5 which is a very good cheap lens.

You can find good lens reviews here-
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikkor.htm#mf
http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html#top1
 
don't you ever feel like you need something wider? i couldn't live without my 24mm and i'm currently in the market for maybe an 18 or 20.

/matt
 
yeah but for me that's too wide. i'm planning on getting something like that for stills, i love wide angle stills and the 24 is really nice on my film slr, about the equivalent of a 16 in dx, but for movies it just tends to look like an insect pov or a skateboarding movie.

/matt
 
i have
nikon 35mm 1.4; 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.4 these are manual non-zoom
from the photo i have manual/automatic f2.8 17-35; 35-70; 80-200 zoom lens havent used these much for filming, just been playing with the primes i got for xmas.

primes are the best to go with
 
mattsand said:
don't you ever feel like you need something wider? i couldn't live without my 24mm and i'm currently in the market for maybe an 18 or 20.

/matt
Click to expand...
I bought a sigma 18mm but it's a bit soft for my liking so I'll get a nikon 20mm when I get the $$$. I'm thinking about an arsat 20mm but I heard that some of them can be a bit dodgy. I'm getting a zenitar 17mm semi fisheye too (for some skateboarding scenes) I've heard the 50mm 1.2 is a bit soft but I want the 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4 when I can scrape up the $$$.
 
I forgot to mention that I happen to have Zeiss prime lenses. Does anyone know what kind of adapter I need to fit Zeiss prime lenses onto the Nikon D90?

Thanks so much,

- Nick
 
well, that obviously depends on what mount they are. ;-)

adapters for nikon aren't always possible since the flange distance is one of the longest around, so i wouldn't count on finding one. if they're pl mount it's theoretically possible but i doubt it.

/matt
 
mattsand said:
yeah but for me that's too wide. i'm planning on getting something like that for stills, i love wide angle stills and the 24 is really nice on my film slr, about the equivalent of a 16 in dx, but for movies it just tends to look like an insect pov or a skateboarding movie.

/matt
Click to expand...

i hear ya...but i dont get that fisheye look in my videos at all w. the 11-16mm. I would even recommend the 12-24mm for video...

But you are correct, 11-16mm is best suited for stills as is the majority of all SLR lenses haha
 
NJ3118 said:
as is the majority of all SLR lenses
Click to expand...
i get the joke but i don't agree. the nikkor primes are excellent film/video lenses in almost all respects. zooms not so much since they aren't smooth and breathe like hell.

as for the fisheye effect i almost prefer that to wides that don't have it when it comes to video. the perspective shifts too dramatically as soon as you move the camera, while a fisheye simply looks weird all the time. ;-)

/matt
 
Agree that the 24mm is a good wide lens for this camera (I have a 2.8 ai version). It provides a good fov, but remains quite natural looking to my eyes. I also have a 35mm and 50mm, but am currently favouring the wide lens as my standard. Maybe that's just the kind of filming I want to do. I guess I'll use the others for closer shots or special effects.
 
i tend to use the 24 and the 85 the most, you really should get a short telephoto, great for closeups that often look distorted on wider lenses, as well as wide shots from a distance where you can compress the space a bit to create more depth, wide shots on wide lenses tend to look flat. i also have a 35/2 and 50/1.8 that i rarely use except when i'm on a tripod and need to change fov without moving, like a poor man's zoom. :-) the 70-210 is my macro (1:2) and surfing/wildlife/paparazzi lens.

/matt
 
mattsand said:
i get the joke but i don't agree. the nikkor primes are excellent film/video lenses in almost all respects. zooms not so much since they aren't smooth and breathe like hell.

as for the fisheye effect i almost prefer that to wides that don't have it when it comes to video. the perspective shifts too dramatically as soon as you move the camera, while a fisheye simply looks weird all the time. ;-)

/matt
Click to expand...

well i do have a 50 f/1.4 ais prime which I LOVE...i do prefer primes for video as well. Is the 24mm wide enough for stills and video? Prime I mean.
 
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i have a nikkor 35/2 too and i've found it less than sharp, looks more like a cheap lens or a zoom, not the high quality prime it's supposed to be. i guess i need the 35/1.4 instead, but the f/2's are great in all the other lengths...

is the 24mm wide enough? it's 24mm wide, and whether that's enough or not depends on what you need. it's like a 35mm in full frame if that tells you anything.

/matt
 
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