Best 50mm for video: Your opinion wanted

M

meauounji

Well-known member
If I were looking for the best 50mm for video work and money is not a real concern, what would you suggest? When I say not a concern, I mean less than $1500, so Compact Primes are out, but still leaves a lot of options.

All options are on the table at this point, old lenses with adapters, manual only lens, whatever. My concern, in order of importance are the following:

- F1.4 or faster.
- Correct (Canon/Cine) direction of focus throw
- Good focus ring (throw/feel/hard stops)
- Size (bigger is better, more stability for my taste)
- Manual iris isn't really on the list of wants, but it's nice to have

Thanks ahead of time, everyone.
 
I'll start: Contax/Zeiss 50mm 1.4 f. I love mine! Heavy and well made with great colour and about $300..... including the adapter, de-click, geared it and stepped the front up to 80mm, with Canon front and rear caps.
 
50mm/f1.2

Reason? Philips Bloom uses it and loves it. And many others like myself use it and love it too.
 
I have a few 50s that seem to fit your criteria. I don't know which direction is the canon direction though. I assume it's opposite of the nikon direction.

Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-R
Minolta 58mm f/1.2 MC-Rokkor-PG

The Contax 50/1.4 has a good rep.
 
I'm fine with my dirt cheap Nikon 50mm f/1.8. I've been able to get decent results using it:
IMG_5681.JPG
 
Another vote for the Summilux-R 50. The Summicron-R 50 is no slouch either.

Oddly, though, my 50 which I find second-best is a Nixon-era Vivitar 50/1.7 in M42 mount, and cost me all of $10.
 
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Hmmm... both the Summilux-R and Contax look interesting.

On the Leica:
I was under the impression that Leica-R mount can't be adapted to EF because of flange distance issues, or at least it will won't be able to hit infinity. Can anyone clarify?

edit: I think I'm confusing the M mount with R mount. Seems like M is the one that can't do infinity. Unfortunate since there's that Voightlander 50mm out there.

On the Contax:
Any thoughs on Contax + Adapter VS. 50mm f/1.4 ZE? I used the ZE a lot over the summer on a feature and didn't like it that much because it was so tiny, but otherwise it was pretty great. If they're very similar then I don't really see a need to spend the extra $400 for a ZE over the Contax.
 
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meauounji said:
- F1.4 or faster.
- Correct (Canon/Cine) direction of focus throw
- Good focus ring (throw/feel/hard stops)
- Size (bigger is better, more stability for my taste)
- Manual iris isn't really on the list of wants, but it's nice to have

Thanks ahead of time, everyone.
Click to expand...

You may want to add to your list:

How the lens handles contra light and flare.

Bokeh

Technical specs are all fine and dandy but the usability of fast glass wide open is a whole different story.
 
+1 Agreed!
Think about shooting wide open and flare problems. I have a Nikon 50 1.4 and it flares noticeably...
Considered one of the better Primes on the market for under $200... yet I cant use it outside of studio like settings.


Also, I dont think you even mentioned what camera your using this lens with... That can be an important factor.
 
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