Any good books / DVDs on Lenses?

EDV

EDV

Well-known member
I am fairly new to using lenses and even though I own a couple of Nikons, I really don't have much experience with them. Can anyone recommend a good DVD or book about Lenses for Film or Video? One that covers the basics and goes into some depth hopefully. We've had some great DVDs released on DVXuser about sound, lighting, cameras, 35mm adapters, but... lenses? C'mon we need one!

thanks in advance!
 
These two links will keep you busy for a few weeks. Not everyone agrees with everything you'll read here but you'll learn enough to get across the lingo and track down further information.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm

You'll be wanting to build a set of primes for use with the 35mm adapter. Lenses range from wide angle to telephoto. Zoom lenses can be used. You can get away with just two or three but there are a few tradeoffs for the convenience. Zooms will be slower than primes and are rarely constant aperture. The lens design is inferior featuring more groups in the design leading to distortion and colour abberation throughout the range. I recommend primes as they are faster (lower light loss) and force a discipline that will teach you to intuitively make better choices.

Wide angle are shorter focal lengths, allow you to get closer to the subject. The depth between subject and background is enhanced. I'd recommend a 35mm to start with because it's cheap, following up with a more expensive 20 or 24mm at a later date. 28mm will save you some money but won't be as wide.

The 35mm is almost a normal, might as well get a 50mm because they are the cheapest lens going. Normals are closest to the perspective of the human eye.

Portrait lens are short telephotos so named because they are most flattering for portrait shots. They allow you to work a comfortable distance from the subject and produce nice bokeh. 85mm is a very nice focal length and will probably become your go-to lens. Although quite expensive it is worth getting one. 100 or 105mm is another popular focal length. 135mm is another common option.

Telephoto lenses have a shallow DOF and allow you to get quite far from your subject. They won't focus much closer than 2m and at this distance will only be usable for close ups. A 180mm or 200mm will cover almost all your telephoto needs. Lenses 300mm or more won't get much use.

I'd get the 35mm first as it is on the borderline of the wide-normal range. The 85mm next as one of the more useful lenses. Follow up with a proper wide, 20 or 24mm and finally a 200mm tele. After that you can fill in as required for by this time you will undoubtedly be addicted to buying lenses. You will want to get the fastest lenses you can afford, ideally f2.8 or better for use with a 35mm adapter. For telephoto lenses you might have to get a slower lens up to f4. For Nikon I would recommend AI and AI-s manual focus lenses. These vintage lenses often have glass as good or better than subsequent AF lenses.
 
Hey, thanks for the useful links. Checking out some of the Ken Rockwell ( is this guy famous or what? ) now.
I already got me started on Lenses with the Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8 and the Nikkor 105mm macro.
I am hoping to get another Nikon soon, perhaps a really nice wideangle. I know there are people here who buy lenses like they were batteries, but I think 2 or 3 Nikons will keep me busy for a while.
By the way, do you find follow focus is essential in your experience? They are very expensive and I probably
will have to hire one to see what they're like. Mattebox probably out of the question, my DS-10 is already going slightly over
its load capacity as it is ( with lens and rails ).
 
Don't bother with a follow focus until you decide you need one. They are completely unnecessay, just make it a little more comfortable and easier to accurately repeat focus. A mattebox is just a sunshade with the ability to hold non-threaded filters. Not a high priority.

Your zoom will cover your telephoto needs. You could get a second zoom in the wide-normal range and pretty much cover everything. If you care about composition you will eventually find zooms limiting. The downside with primes is that you need to move the tripod to frame a shot. For primes, a 50mm normal is the lenses you can do everything with. Some prefer to use the 35mm as their normal. I would suggest adding a 35mm and a 85mm to your 105mm; or alternatively a either 20 or 24mm and a 50mm. You're looking about $300-400 for either of these combos on ebay. Get all four and you've got a pretty versatile set. A full set of primes is going to run into the $1000-1500 range for a decent of set of 6-7 lenses but you can (and should) build up to it, learning as you go and using your experiences to pick the next one. The good news about lenses is you'll get your money back when you sell them. Well looked after they tend to appreciate in value.
 
Another good link someone on here put me onto yesterday on another thread:

http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html

Most useful on this page is the listing of 'focus throw'. The greater the throw (distance you turn the focus) the easier it is to be accurate. It is a good reason to consider AI lenses which are often slightly cheaper than AI-s lenses and more often than not have identical optics. These are both manual focus models. AF lenses are often plastic bodied and lightweight but a little less robust. Again they will often have unchanged (and sometimes inferior) optics. Not worth getting an AF lens over an AI/AI-s for use with an adapter unless it's cheaper or you have an SLR body you can use it with.
 
Egg Born Son said:
AF lenses are often plastic bodied and lightweight but a little less robust. Again they will often have unchanged (and sometimes inferior) optics. Not worth getting an AF lens over an AI/AI-s for use with an adapter unless it's cheaper or you have an SLR body you can use it with.
Click to expand...

With my zoom lens, the external filter thread is made of plastic but the case is made of metal. It's a heavy beast!

4qraf4.jpg




I know Nikon has a few other options but this one seem to be well regarded, for its solid construction and optics. It's a pretty old model though, but in lens vernacular that's supposed to be a good thing!

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/80200.htm
 
Wow, expensive tastes. Unless you're loaded I'd stick with zooms. A full set of primes in this series will set you back 3 times what I quoted.

If you're on a budget consider vintage lenses. I've got a set of 8 (and counting) manual focus lenses from the 70s/80s. So far the most I've paid for a single lens is about $280 and by careful shopping have paid about $1200 in total. The most expensive one I still want is under $500 delivered. You can buy top of the line for the day and in many cases optically they review as good, occasionally even better than their modern equivalent. The advancements in the modern age have been more in the automation and the gadgetry (which are of no benefit on a 35mm adapter). Without these features they weigh less too. The MF version of your lens is about 60% of the weight and less than a quarter of the price.
 
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