Confused about lenses

[nouou]

I'm a noob, and I just learned that in order to use these fancy Nikon 1.4/1.8 etc lenses that I'd need an adaptor, so there goes that plan. I've been looking at Century Optics lenses on bhphotovideo, and wow they are expensive.

My question is, do people actually buy multiple lenses at these damn prices? I'm looking at a Cent. Optics 0.7x Zoom Through lens for $689.95. Instead of buying a lense for wide, medium, and close up shots, is there one or even two lenses I can buy without buying so many for each shot, that could zoom and still have a sharp focus, so I could cover all necessary shots?

 

[Alex H.]

I'm a noob, and I just learned that in order to use these fancy Nikon 1.4/1.8 etc lenses that I'd need an adaptor, so there goes that plan. I've been looking at Century Optics lenses on bhphotovideo, and wow they are expensive.

My question is, do people actually buy multiple lenses at these damn prices? I'm looking at a Cent. Optics 0.7x Zoom Through lens for $689.95.

Well, you can find them a lot cheaper... but what you're paying for there is glass that won't kill your image. In high-end productions (mainstream, big-budget), the camera body is the cheapest part of the rig. It's the lens that really add the cost... $20k, $30k, $40k, or lots more. A single prime lens can easily cost two or three times what the camera body costs.

Instead of buying a lense for wide, medium, and close up shots, is there one or even two lenses I can buy without buying so many for each shot, that could zoom and still have a sharp focus, so I could cover all necessary shots?

What are you trying to achieve that you cannot already? You might invest in a wide-angle/fisheye, and possibly a 2x extender if you feel you can't get in close enough. But outside of that, you won't increase much performance from your DVX lens the way a 35mm adapter will.

The point to using an 35mm adapter with Nikon lenses (or Canon, or Pentax...) is so that you can get shallow depth of field for the coveted out-of-focus background. You'll get a more flexible rig with interchangeable lenses that offer wider options. You won't get the same results from attachments to your stock lens. The ground glass also adds a little "film-like" grain to the image.