Best bang for your buck lenses for a feature film

cowpunk52 said:
This is something I often don't understand - why do people consistently want to make their DSLR larger and more cumbersome? For me, the form factor and small footprint of shooting [with the camera] as naked as possible is a huge feature of these DSLR's.
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The small footprint is good when you A) Can't afford crew. B) Can't afford permits. C) Aren't already locked down doing real lighting. Otherwise, it works against itself, especially when you're trying to do anything BUT locked down shots.

Image stabilization is something that makes staying small a viable possibility, especially considering the propensity these cameras have towards jello, so why avoid it? I can understand if your shots are all primarily locked off, IS won't be very important. But if you're mainly shooting handheld, you should consider using something with IS - the ratio of good camera takes to bad will greatly improve.
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Image Stabilization looks awkward. The image jerks and snaps and if it does it in the middle of dialog, you have to scrap it. You can simply weigh the camera down and you'll be fine with handling longer lenses, barring that you actually take the time to learn your camera and work with it.

IS, to me, is not the way to go for capturing any sort of action. If it works for others, great. It's not something I would recommend, though.
 
Mike Brent said:
I received my ZE 50 mm 2.0 a few days ago and I am SO worried about pulling focus... I can't understand how anybody can do it unless you're at f. 8 . 90% of the ring is for 0.2 - 1 feet and then 10% is for 1 - 5 feet and infinity. Was it a mistake to get the Macro or is the 1.4 the same?

How can anybody pull focus like this?!
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Pulling focus on that Rev 2 50mm ZE is cake. Try pulling constantly and consistantly on a 17-35/2.8 Nikon Nikkor ED and let me know how you feel about your ZE afterward.

Haaaaaaaa~
 
Revsta said:
I don't think I want the kit lens. I'm doing a sub 10g feature. I'd probably want a 24/35/50/85 or something like that. F1.4 is nice and all that, but I probably won't use it that much. I just really need 2/2.8 I suppose.
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Smart thinking.

Especially if you're shooting with a 5D. Don't worry about trying to shoot @ 1.4.

I would definitely say find yourself a set of Contax Zeiss on Ebay in the range that you mentioned. 28/2.8, 50/1.7 (it's cheap) and 85/2.8

You'll be able to roll an entire feature with those three. Take a tip or leave it: Don't shoot without NDs and a Polarizer if you can help it. For EVERY shot. I prefer step-up rings for every lens and two sets of Hoya HMC NDs in .3, .6, .9

If you can find a pair of 1.2's, you'll be set.
 
Mike Brent said:
Here is the rotation ring on the 2.0 :

http://www.zone-numerique.com/uploads/Objectifs/Carl%20Zeiss/Distagon%2028mm/zeiss_distagon_28mm_450.jpg

HOW THE HELL CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND IT OVER THE 1.4??!!?!??!?! The whole point of these lenses is that they have a LARGE rotation ring so its EASY to pull focus but if that large ring is 90% macro then WHO CARES?!
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Photographers don't "pull focus", they set it and snap. These lenses weren't designed for the application, the pocket primes were.
 
Kholi said:
Photographers don't "pull focus", they set it and snap. These lenses weren't designed for the application, the pocket primes were.
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Tell me about it. I called a photo shop up here and the guy was telling me "You won't really need to PULL focus if it's a long shot away.....you shouldn't be PULLING that much"

I was like -_-

Thanks for the advice on the Contax Zeiss up there too, man.
 
Revsta said:
Tell me about it. I called a photo shop up here and the guy was telling me "You won't really need to PULL focus if it's a long shot away.....you shouldn't be PULLING that much"

I was like -_-

Thanks for the advice on the Contax Zeiss up there too, man.
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Yeah, the term doesn't even exist! Haha.

Oh, that reminds me: If you're doing ANY exterior long shots, spend 30.00 dollars on ebay for a 100-300/4.5 or 5 Zoom of any cheap kind.

The image is super flat and washed out when you shoot with it, but when you take it into post and do a bit of correction, it looks great. It's a nice extra and cheapy to have for exterior daylight shots, but won't do you much good indoors, not just because of the slow aperture but distance.
 
well I got a german made Zeiss Distagon 25/2.8 and so I guess up next is the 50. Thanks for the input guys.
 
Is it the C/Y version? Ick. You should start doing tests immediately, as the C/Y version of the 25 is the worst of the batch.
 
I was shooting a film about domestic violence last week in a house. One advantage of the nikon ai glass is the big range of focal lengths available. We were shooting in tight spaces and getting shots like a dolly in on a kid hiding in a cupboard. I used almost every lens in my kit- 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, 180mm. I don't have a 135mm but could have used one. I also have a 16mm fisheye and a 28mm. The dolly in and out shots would have been really tough with a short throw zoom. The 5D was the perfect tool for the job and I was able to get shots like mounting the 5D to a noga arm on a c-stand for a pseudo jib shot over a bed.
 
The 25/2.8 is a love it or hate it lens - technically it may be problematic but lots of people like the way it presents an image.
 
I have no issues with it so far in terms of image quality. It's the T*. I am anxious to get the 50 and 85. Not sure if I have the dough to buy both though, might just get the 50.
 
Revsta said:
I have no issues with it so far in terms of image quality. It's the T*. I am anxious to get the 50 and 85. Not sure if I have the dough to buy both though, might just get the 50.
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The 50 is very, very good. You want that lens. f/1.4 if you can swing it, arguably the best 50mm f/1.4 ever made.
 
You're still gonna want an 85mm lens if you're doing a feature, especially on the 5D, if you can't swing a Zeiss 85mm f/2.8 or f/1.4, this might be a good option:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/600851-REG/Vivitar_85MMC_85mm_f_1_4_Series_1.html

I have this lens and it's really quite good - and you can find the Samyang/Bower/Polar versions for even less, especially on eBay - it's a very inexpensive lens, no question, but it's really quite good at f/1.4 and is a very decent performer for the money - also full manual aperture and focus, another plus.
 
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