T2i Canon T2i lens help for films

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monsterkenny

New member
Hello all, i am extremely new to DSLR's and shooting video. On the other hand i have had much experience in the industry as an special fx artist. I am moving up to filming my own now. Here is what im doing at the moment.
I am filming a series of things that will highly resemble Alfred Hitchcock films. Very retro feel.
I just purchased a Canon T2i and a Sigma 50mm f1.4. But im not sure if this lens is for me?
Can anyone be some assistance and point me in a good direction for the type of lens i would be looking for as my prime lens? Thanks,
MonsterKenny :thumbsup:
 
MonsterKenny,

That Sigma 1.4 prime lens will be perfect for low lit and night shots. A keeper. Just make sure it is mounted on a Tripod or some sort of stabilizer as those primes 50mm and above look awfully shaky when handheld. For daytime and all around shooting, I recommend the 18-135mm Canon EF-S IS (image stabilizer) zoom lens. It is a nice "walk around" and hand held lens that is affordable (the IS stabilizer is good for handheld). Also, get a HOYA 67mm ND 1/8 filter and you are good to go for sunny outdoor shots with shallow depth of field. I know some might disagree but the Monochrome mode in camera is nice. I shot some footage at Old Tucson (a Wild West movie studio) this weekend of a re-enactment of Billy The Kid and it looks mighty nice done Monochrome in-cam. I also might point out that the in-cam monochrome mode helps hide moire colors that the T2i tends to show with deep DOF. Since you mentioned Hitchcock I started thinking Black and White.

You can also get a Nikon to Canon EOS adapter relatively cheap on ebay and score some Nikon Series E prime lenses (namely the 28mm and 35mm) at a very affordable price. Those will give you a wider view than the Sigma 50mm prime so you will even have more framing options (at the expense of constantly changing lenses!).
 
Artscroll said:
MonsterKenny,

That Sigma 1.4 prime lens will be perfect for low lit and night shots. A keeper. Just make sure it is mounted on a Tripod or some sort of stabilizer as those primes 50mm and above look awfully shaky when handheld. For daytime and all around shooting, I recommend the 18-135mm Canon EF-S IS (image stabilizer) zoom lens. It is a nice "walk around" and hand held lens that is affordable (the IS stabilizer is good for handheld). Also, get a HOYA 67mm ND 1/8 filter and you are good to go for sunny outdoor shots with shallow depth of field. I know some might disagree but the Monochrome mode in camera is nice. I shot some footage at Old Tucson (a Wild West movie studio) this weekend of a re-enactment of Billy The Kid and it looks mighty nice done Monochrome in-cam. I also might point out that the in-cam monochrome mode helps hide moire colors that the T2i tends to show with deep DOF. Since you mentioned Hitchcock I started thinking Black and White.

You can also get a Nikon to Canon EOS adapter relatively cheap on ebay and score some Nikon Series E prime lenses (namely the 28mm and 35mm) at a very affordable price. Those will give you a wider view than the Sigma 50mm prime so you will even have more framing options (at the expense of constantly changing lenses!).
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thanks for the reply. I just was hoping to go cheaper with the lens. I saw some really well shot shorts with the nikon 50mm and canon 50mm 1.4. I also just ordered a rig and mattebox.. ill look into that zoom lens. how is the dof on that?
 
thanks for the replies. im leaning towards a nikon lens.. but im stuck on which one. and ill be getting some older lenses as well g
 
Why not get the old Contax Zeiss lenses? They are a little spendier but they are still way cheaper than modern AF lenses. They also have a very nice look to them that should aid you tremendously.
 
if you want an old look id suggest lots of vintage glass.

I love my nikon 50mm 1.4, and it only cost me like $65. Tons of great options out there.
 
I bought the Sigma 50 1.4 and while it is a fab lens, both copies I got from BH front focused by an inch or so. This is a big problem at f1.4. I returned them for a refund. I would say that the canon 1.4 is a better option even though it is not as sharp as the sigma wide open, doesn't have 9 bladed aperture like the sigma does and tends to have lower contrast (dreamy) look all the way open. If you use manual focus only I suppose the Sigma would be ok, but I didn't really like the focus ring either and need AF for stills too. I love the focus feel of my leica primes and wouldn't trade them for anything. For stills I use the canon 50 1.8 and it is right on with AF every time. Not a great lens for video since the focus ring is undamped and small, but still a great lens for $99.
 
saneproductions said:
I bought the Sigma 50 1.4 and while it is a fab lens, both copies I got from BH front focused by an inch or so. This is a big problem at f1.4. I returned them for a refund. I would say that the canon 1.4 is a better option even though it is not as sharp as the sigma wide open, doesn't have 9 bladed aperture like the sigma does and tends to have lower contrast (dreamy) look all the way open. If you use manual focus only I suppose the Sigma would be ok, but I didn't really like the focus ring either and need AF for stills too. I love the focus feel of my leica primes and wouldn't trade them for anything. For stills I use the canon 50 1.8 and it is right on with AF every time. Not a great lens for video since the focus ring is undamped and small, but still a great lens for $99.
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thanks for the replies.. i actually ended up getting the canon 50mm 1.4f. Just for starters. i will be upgrading to a ziess one of these days.. sooner than later and a wide collection of the older glass lenses.
 
Canon 50mm f1.4 is a GREAT lens. I love it. The Canon 85mm f1.8 is also a great lens.

I have the Sigma f1.4 and it's a good lens also, but I do like the Canons better (longer focus throw and the Sigma seems to skew a bit towards the yellows). I really love Canon's color rendition. However, the Canon 28mm equivalent is not that good from the reviews, so probably get the Sigma 30mm for that focal length.
 
gene_can_sing said:
Canon 50mm f1.4 is a GREAT lens. I love it. The Canon 85mm f1.8 is also a great lens.

I have the Sigma f1.4 and it's a good lens also
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What kind of lenses are these? I ask because I just bought a T2i and I am wondering if any canon lens fits on this camera, or if it has to be an EF/EFS.
 
Peckhammer said:
What kind of lenses are these? I ask because I just bought a T2i and I am wondering if any canon lens fits on this camera, or if it has to be an EF/EFS.
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all canon EF and EF-S lenses fit on the T2i, EF lenses focal lengths are 1.6x more on the T2i since it isn't a full sized sensor and they were built for full size sensor cameras, so an EF 100MM would be 160MM. EF-S were designed specifically for the 1.6x crop sensors, it's a bit weird not all EF-S lenses display the exact MM as the lens so read up here (just found this btw, helped me alot cause I need a wide angle lol) http://ezinearticles.com/?Overcomin...-Factor-For-Wide-Angle-Photography&id=3385988
 
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