AF100, Recommend a lens for narrative, interior scenes

I have the 17-35mm Nikkor f2.8 and personally I do not feel it would be quite wide enough for "establishing" shots in tight or confined spaces such as cottage rooms.

Think I would be looking for something wider to complement it but I would be wary of distortion (if you did not want distortion).

I would probably consider going to a MFT type lens (eg Olympus 14-54 or its sister lens) but again...the "distortion" could be an issue and somewhat restricting in camera angles (hor & vert) and camera positioning. DOF also becomes a consideration.

I never feel that distortion is very cinematic looking.

I guess your decisions will be forced on you by consequence of the tight sets and the story telling via the lens becomes somewhat compromised.
 
Robert Eldon said:
What exactly do you mean by using a 'lantern light'?

Thanks :thumbsup:
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A lantern light is like a chinese lantern a round ball with white fabric and the light inside.

I have one from Goyurey lighting (no longer sold) It is 24" round and has 4 55watt fluorescent bulbs inside either daylight or tungsten so it can be very bright. It is on the end of a pole that can easily be moved with talent or camera moving. Just like a fish pole for mics.

It creates very soft light that naturally fills a room or compliments natural light. It also makes a very nice eyelight. It also works very nicely outside in streets at night to give very natural look to tight old city streets if held up quite high.

I often use it just above the camera and as the camera moves the light is moved as well. It can also be off to the side a bit and follow talent around just out of frame. It is complimented by other "natural" light sources like candles, fire or incandescent fixtures.

I often put reflective gold or silver foil inside it as well to make light a little more directional like a traditional soft box. But in my mind it is most useful for its very soft natural looking light.

These lights can easily be made from just a regular chinese lantern and a photo/video quality fluorescent bulb, and attached to a pole.

One thing I like to do is always explain the light in the shot. Lanterns in combination with natural sources are great at this.
 
Use the Hyperprime 12/1.6 for really wide, Voigtländer 25/0.95, 35/1.2, 50/1.1 for everything else or get a Canon B4 lens with adapter and you'll have every focal in one lens.
 
Hywel said:
There is no native 17-50 mm fast zoom (it is something we've been suggesting to Panasonic since the camera's release).

I believe people are using Nikon mount lenses with an adaptor (Canon mount lenses are a pain because there's no physical control over the aperture).

So when people talk about a 17-50 mm I think they are referring to lenses like the Nikon 17-55 mm f/2.8 G DX or Tamron 17-50 mm f/2.8 or Sigma 17-50 mm f/2.8 lenses, all used with a Nikon mount adaptor.

Cheers, Hywel.
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I will definitely check out the 17-50mm as it seems to be a highly recommended lens and I like the focal range and aperture. Thanks!
 
Shooter said:
I have the 17-35mm Nikkor f2.8 and personally I do not feel it would be quite wide enough for "establishing" shots in tight or confined spaces such as cottage rooms.

Think I would be looking for something wider to complement it but I would be wary of distortion (if you did not want distortion).

I would probably consider going to a MFT type lens (eg Olympus 14-54 or its sister lens) but again...the "distortion" could be an issue and somewhat restricting in camera angles (hor & vert) and camera positioning. DOF also becomes a consideration.

I never feel that distortion is very cinematic looking.

I guess your decisions will be forced on you by consequence of the tight sets and the story telling via the lens becomes somewhat compromised.
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I agree that distortion isn't very cinematic looking but it depends on what you're looking for I suppose. I'm looking for some medium shots primarily or medium/wide shots.

Thanks for the advice on the wide end of these lenses. I'm wondering if there has been a 'lens test' on the AF100 that I might view? Something where the same subject is shot with different wide lenses and with some vertical objects at the edges to demonstrate distortion?
 
olof said:
A lantern light is like a chinese lantern a round ball with white fabric and the light inside.

I have one from Goyurey lighting (no longer sold) It is 24" round and has 4 55watt fluorescent bulbs inside either daylight or tungsten so it can be very bright. It is on the end of a pole that can easily be moved with talent or camera moving. Just like a fish pole for mics.

It creates very soft light that naturally fills a room or compliments natural light. It also makes a very nice eyelight. It also works very nicely outside in streets at night to give very natural look to tight old city streets if held up quite high.

I often use it just above the camera and as the camera moves the light is moved as well. It can also be off to the side a bit and follow talent around just out of frame. It is complimented by other "natural" light sources like candles, fire or incandescent fixtures.

I often put reflective gold or silver foil inside it as well to make light a little more directional like a traditional soft box. But in my mind it is most useful for its very soft natural looking light.

These lights can easily be made from just a regular chinese lantern and a photo/video quality fluorescent bulb, and attached to a pole.

One thing I like to do is always explain the light in the shot. Lanterns in combination with natural sources are great at this.
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Ah yes, I understand. I actually have a number of these, but refer to them as china balls. :) I thought a chinese lantern was a special kind of lighting I hadn't heard of and it sounded intriguing. :) Thanks for the gold/silver foil ideas. Hadn't thought of that. :thumbsup:
 
editman said:
Use the Hyperprime 12/1.6 for really wide, Voigtländer 25/0.95, 35/1.2, 50/1.1 for everything else or get a Canon B4 lens with adapter and you'll have every focal in one lens.
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Are all of the Voigtlander lenses mentioned MFT? I understand the 25mm f/0.95 is. Where would I find a Canon B4 lens? Isn't that for ENG type video? Thanks.
 
35 and 50mm are for Leica M so you have to add an adapter. B4 lenses are for 2/3 chip ENG cameras but with an adapter and in 2x extender mode they give you a F3.6 30-250mm/25-135 like zoom depending on the lens one uses. B4 lenses is not for every kind of job but I find it to work fine to have the AF100 do ENG style jobs. Great for corporate events.
 
I have a full set of primes from 18mm to 300mm.
A set of zooms for working quickly, 11-16mm, 16-50mm, 70-200mm.
And then my production setup, Duclos 11-16mm, Cooke 20-100mm.

There are many ways to skin a cat.
 
David W. Jones said:
I have a full set of primes from 18mm to 300mm.
A set of zooms for working quickly, 11-16mm, 16-50mm, 70-200mm.
And then my production setup, Duclos 11-16mm, Cooke 20-100mm.

There are many ways to skin a cat.
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I'm quickly realizing that this is the ULTIMATE way to go. If you work on a lot of different shoots. This kind of versatility covers all your bases. For those who are starting out, just having the SLR zooms in the middle are the best recommendation. In day to day use, I don't use my primes as much. They can be time consuming to change when shooting in a non controlled environment.
 
David W. Jones said:
I have a full set of primes from 18mm to 300mm.
A set of zooms for working quickly, 11-16mm, 16-50mm, 70-200mm.
And then my production setup, Duclos 11-16mm, Cooke 20-100mm.

There are many ways to skin a cat.
Click to expand...

That is a nice setup.

David, what are the f-stops on the zooms? Are they electronically controlled? What adapter are you using, if any?

Thank you.

I am currently in the same process (finding lenses for a AF100, first time IL cam user). I essentially want to recreate my DVX-100, with a 45-77mm zoom lens F1.7-16 (1.7 fully wide 2.8 zoomed).

It doesn't have to be those exact specifications but essentially the same thing (automatic zoom lens, fast, fairly wide and zoomed). Just for starters, to get my feet wet with the camera.
 
When one says distortion, is this what is meant?

1-29-figure1.jpg


And, if that's the case, wouldn't the hyperprime be a good choice? I don't see much distortion in the footage I've seen (If I'm thinking of distortion in the right way).

I have the Tokina 28-70, and I'm looking for another lens for tight indoor shots as well...

Would the Hyperprime be a reasonable option?

Thanks !
 
Yeah, that is distortion. One type of it. The bending of straight edges around the frame of a wide angle. I don't now about the Hyperprime. Is it the 120 A-2? ;)
 
If you are in a confined room I recommend a tokina 11-16. Modified if you have the budget and the a a Nikon 17-35 f 2.8. If you have any money left pick up a Nikon 50mm in the F 1.8 range for the close ups.
 
David W. Jones said:
My suggestion... If you don't already have the stock 14-140 lens, get something like a 17-50mm zoom for the time being. Once you learn more about narrative film making you will gain the experience to be able to choose the right lens for each shot to help tell your story. Maybe invest in some books on the subject to help you along the way.

All the best!

Dave
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Have just sold my 14-140 lens for like 730 usd and very happy about it, was selling it for like 8-9 months , no one locally really want it at all, buyer was a 2nd person who contacted me about it since i 1st posted it for sale.

i bought it together with my af101 but after like 2 months, put it in closet and never used it again..... never liked it, so as soon i got a different lens, i put an ad for sale...., for me AF was always too terrable to use, too much hunting, and always focused anywhere , but not where i wanted to, plus to dark, so i sold it, finally!
 
Also don't forget the Olympus 12mm F/2.0, it has excellent dof and is very sharp. Rack focuses aren't great, but otherwise a very nice lens when you don't need extreme wide. You will get distortion around the edges, so keep people more centered.
 
Based on everyone's input, I checked out a number of the lenses mentioned. I ended up purchasing a Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 to get started. I like the field of view with this lens being just a little wider than a 'standard' lens. It's a fast lens and works well indoors. It also works well as a wide outdoor lens, although having to use a lot of ND. Because it's a pancake lens, it looks funky on the AF100 but there's almost zero distortion, which surprised me.

I would prefer at least one zoom for wide shots, but for the money, this is a great lens. I took a serious look at the Tokina 11-16mm, but then after seeing that Tokina is going to be producing MFT lenses, I thought I would wait and see if they have the 11-16mm with a MFT mount in the near future.

Also, I saw that Panasonic had two 'concept' lenses displayed at a recent show and haven't heard much more about those. They were showing a 12-35mm F2.8 and a 35-100mm F2.8. Does anyone know how long it takes for Panasonic to go from 'concept' lens to production?

Thanks again.
 
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