C300: Lens advice for c300

T

travelman

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Hi all I'm getting a c300 soon. Cost is pushing me to the edge so I don't have huge cash left over to spend of lots of lenses, however I want to get good glass - even if it means only buying 1 really good lens at a time. So...

a. If you could only buy one lens now what would it be?


b. What would then follow to complete your lens range or kit? (please don't mention Zeiss CP2 - I would love them but can't get near them cost wise right now)

Thanks in advance
 
The only 'good' lens you can buy to shoot on the C300 is definitely Zeiss. Don't need be the CP2. The C300 has a powerful sensor, and in order to make the best out of it, you need some powerful glass.

Another very good option (if not better and cheaper) are the Leica's R lenses. You can buy these lenses second hand for half the price of a new Zeiss, and Leica's are the best glass you can get anywhere, period.

I don't know what type of shooting you do, but if primes are not your friend, then you'll have to content with the best Canon zooms you can afford, meaning all L.
 
I'm doing mainly documentary. Its not run and gun stuff but yet its not drama. I need speed and versatility. Its this reason I'm going for the c300 over the f3 S-log and Gemini combo. I also need it to be broadcast acceptable and have good headroom for grading or green screen shooting. I do mainly documentary and and some drama docs. So good camera and good glass.

I was thinking zoom lenses - however there is a theory that if you get a 24, 50, 75 prime that pretty much 70% of standard shooting bases are covered.

I've always worked with zooms you see, so I'm wondering do I get one good L zoom, then in a few months a second - cover my bases then start acquiring primes over time, or do I just start with three nice zeiss or Leica R primes.....
 
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Well, here's my take…

Personally, I'd start with the Canon 24-105 f4L zoom lens. The range is great, and given the sensitivity of the C300, even at f4 it shouldn't be a problem to get a good exposure in most shooting circumstances. It also has IS built-in, which could come in handy on doco shooting.

Next, I'd probably add the Canon 16-35 f2.8L wide zoom, or the 35mm f1.4L prime lens, depending on what your specific needs/shooting style might be.

Then, I'd likely move to the Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II tele-zoom. This would give you a range of coverage between 16mm and 200mm, with a good fast 35mm prime lens (always a good thing to have in the bag).

While I love primes (and I've owned plenty of them), the versatility of zooms for doco work really can't be beat. And again, with the C300 you've got sensitivity to spare, so having zooms that are f2.8 or even (gasp) f4 are perfectly fine for most situations.
 
Stephen Mick said:
Well, here's my take…

Personally, I'd start with the Canon 24-105 f4L zoom lens. The range is great, and given the sensitivity of the C300, even at f4 it shouldn't be a problem to get a good exposure in most shooting circumstances. It also has IS built-in, which could come in handy on doco shooting.

Next, I'd probably add the Canon 16-35 f2.8L wide zoom, or the 35mm f1.4L prime lens, depending on what your specific needs/shooting style might be.

Then, I'd likely move to the Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II tele-zoom. This would give you a range of coverage between 16mm and 200mm, with a good fast 35mm prime lens (always a good thing to have in the bag).

While I love primes (and I've owned plenty of them), the versatility of zooms for doco work really can't be beat. And again, with the C300 you've got sensitivity to spare, so having zooms that are f2.8 or even (gasp) f4 are perfectly fine for most situations.
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I can't agree any more - this is your best advice right there. I do have primes as well, but just 24, 50 & 85 L lenses. They are a dream for narrative projects, but I prefer zooms for documentary. The 16-35 L and 24-105 L are the most useful for doc work, I think. A lot of people really like the 17-55 IS, but I'm not a big fan of the zoom and focus control on that lens - it doesn't feel as solid or smooth as L lenses.
 
travelman said:
Hi all I'm getting a c300 soon. Cost is pushing me to the edge so I don't have huge cash left over to spend of lots of lenses, however I want to get good glass - even if it means only buying 1 really good lens at a time. So...

a. If you could only buy one lens now what would it be?


b. What would then follow to complete your lens range or kit? (please don't mention Zeiss CP2 - I would love them but can't get near them cost wise right now)

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

But to precisely answer your questions, an keeping in mind you're doing doc:

a. 24-105 L IS
b. 16-35 L
 
Thats really good advice,thanks a million, thats the more or less the direction I was thinking myself. I and the DP's I've worked with always use zooms for doc work. Im a director/editor for the last 20 years but in the last 2 years have totally fallen in love with cinematography and am shooting more and more.

Someone was also telling me that the Tamron 11-16 is a beauty (even better than the canon of same focal length) any experience with this lens?
 
If you mean the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8…then yes, it's a great lens. But I'd still go with the 16-35mm f2.8, as it covers a larger range.
 
travelman said:
Someone was also telling me that the Tamron 11-16 is a beauty (even better than the canon of same focal length) any experience with this lens?
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I think you mean the Tokina 11-16. It's a very nice lens, but a little too wide for me to be useful in more than a handful of situations. Not a top priority lens.
 
Sorry yes I mean the Tokina.....

Okay then the advice given it is - I'll start with the 16-35 and 24-105 and then save for a few months/years for a 70-200.

Thanks Guys.
 
Like Steven and Cowpunk said: all the same here. Only I use the 70-200/f4, because 2.8 is tough to focus in that zoom range and the f4 is much lighter to carry. And cheaper also.

On the prime-side I can recommend the Samyang 35 and 85. Both are fully manual and have a long focus-throw. Both have Zeiss-like structure in their images and they are very affordable (around 400 each)
 
Sorry but the 17-55mm 2.8 is cant be beaten. Unfortunately i dont have a c300 but yet it has a crop sensor and it doesnt make sense to buy a 16-35 and 24-105 vs 17-55.
for zoom a 17-55 and a 70-200 will give you all the coverage you need with is
then you could get yourself a prime or 2 for all theother situations or a wide angle
tokina 11-16 will give you that

my favorite lens is the 24mm 1.4. But complementing the above you could also choose a canon or samyang 35mm 1.4, 85mm depending on what you like
f
 
17-55 is an amazing lens but its a fair weather lens or a studio lens as it is not weather sealed. The original poster said he was doing documentary so Stephans recommendations were all weather proofed L series.
 
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Hi have the Tamron 17-50 and find the 17-50 too short very often.
But 2.8 on the other hand has its advantages.
 
Wanted to revive this thread and see if opinions on 17-55/24-105/etc have changed over time. I'm preparing to pick up a C100 and will need to pick up one or two all purpose zooms for news/doc work (handheld, mainly outdoors (in LatAm), travelling light and inconspicuous, etc

Thanks!
Dave
 
I have Zeiss ZF.2 25mm 2.0, 50mm 1.4 and the 100mm 2.0 macro. Love them to death. Also just picked up the classic Nikkor 12-24 zoom. Right now I'm looking for a zoom in the 24-50 range to fill out my collection I think or I'll pick up a 35mm Zeiss. Still haven't decided, but I have a hole in that range. I have a couple other cheap canon lenses, a sigma 8-16 and a canon 70-200, but I haven't tried those yet on my C100 yet.

I do really love those Zeiss lens. Wonder if the new 55mm Zf.2 1.2 is worth checking out?
 
xocomil, I have been using the 24-105 on my C100 all over the place and it has been performing great, and so handy to use the zoom for run & gun and events, though in some low light situations I have also been using my 35 f1.4L. Those are the only 2 lenses I own at the moment and have been great with the C100.

Based on the advice on these forums I am thinking of getting next the 70-200 F4 (to save weight and $), then the 16-35. Sounds like a good plan to cover the 16-200 range for docos and events and one good prime when I need it. Then the long slog of saving for some Canon Cinema Primes lol.
 
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