D810/Otus 85mm - any video experiences?

S

stoppingby

Active member
Has anyone tried the D810/Otus 85mm combination for video?

It beats everything I've seen what stills are concerned, but online video footage is pretty rare.

So, it would be nice to hear your experiences - and even better to see a few samples... :)
 
You may strike out here… $4k for a lens that really won't give you anything more for video than a Nikkor or other quality 85? Don't know if this will become a popular video lens. The Nikkor 1.8 is just exceptional and you could get 10 of them vs. one Otus. If I were shooting film stills and doing giant enlargements - no, I'd get a Rodagon G enlarging lens before an Otus!
 
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your reply. I actually wanted a 1.8g or a 1.4g, until I saw the Zeiss. I loved the Otus bokeh and the clarity you get at 1.4, so I decided to get one.

But then I saw this frame: http://i2.wp.com/www.nakedpixel.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/experienta-zeiss-otus-1-485-027.jpg and now I'm trying to find a camera/lens combo that can match those skin details.

The video was shot on an A7s/Atomos/Otus. But here's the thing: I've never seen an A7s (with or without the external recorder) achieve anything like it, so I'm currently 'blaming' the Otus. And I'll probably continue to do so until/unless I see something similar shot on another camera/lens combination.

There's a pretty long thread about it here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?341428-Which-camera-can-do-this-Is-A7s-the-only-option
 
Yes, I saw that thread. But at stills resolution, any of my Nikkors at F5 could achieve that detail, even at a 4K size… so I'd assume this is more about sensor & compression.

That excites me much more for a more modern sensor feeding 4K to a 4K pro res recorder than $4k for a lens. Could be wrong here, but I imagine you could stick any of several good lenses on that setup and see similar results. Whomever shot that test - get them to do some side-by-side with other glass!
 
Michael Carter said:
at stills resolution, any of my Nikkors at F5 could achieve that detai
Click to expand...

Yes, but this isn't a still, it's a frame from a video - and it's still much sharper at 1080p than any other video frame shot on prosumer gear that I'm aware of:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU3XsnZ5KFc

Michael Carter said:
Whomever shot that test - get them to do some side-by-side with other glass!
Click to expand...
Best advice yet - I did contact the guy and hope he's going to respond.
 
This does lead us into interesting territory as 4K (and now 6K) becomes more popular as a shooting format (even if it's a ways off from being a consumer viewing format). The ability to reframe/stabilize and the keying power you get with 4K, 4k Prores recorders becoming more affordable, media costs plummeting - the benefits are very big. Hopefully we'll see some more reports and insights into how various glass works out.

That said, the detail in that frame was impressive - but too much for most uses where humans are the subject (but would kick some real ass in a keying scenario with good solid 4k capture). And it's easy to filter at the lens or in post to soften that stuff up. Zoom in on that girl's face and you're like "wow, pretty girl with skin that bad!". Wait for the first corporate interview with a 40-something female CEO… and bust out the stockings!

Still, $4k for a single prime… ouch. Rental territory!
 
For video, it's also worth remembering that the Otus offers something like 270 degrees of focus rotation, with silky smooth mechanics - that makes a BIG difference operationally for motion picture work.

A huge plus on top of incredible optical performance the new Zeisses offer.
 
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