GH2 Declicked Lenses

J

Jim Simon

Veteran
Is there a list compiled anywhere of lenses that feature a proper iris ring suitable for use in video work? (Meaning no hard stops on the iris, smooth movement from fully closed to fully open.)

If not, can folks please chime in on which lenses they know to be so designed - both primes and zooms, whatever the mount.
 
SLR Magic 12mm F1.6
Rokinon 35mm T1.5
Voigtlander 17.5mm F0.95

all have smooth aperture controls. My Duclos-cinemodded Contax Zeiss lens feels very nice.
 
In addition to the above, all of the Rokinon/Samyang 'Cine' lenses feature a smooth aperture.

You could mount a B4 broadcast lens with x2 extender and they all have smooth iris. Most, if not all Nikkor lenses with an aperture ring can be de clicked easily.

You would think that Metabones would have made the Nikon-MFT speedbooster with a clickless aperture ring as that would have given all the G lenses a smooth aperture but they weren't clever enough!
 
It has been my experience that even with a declicked iris, most of these lenses do not have a geared iris ring, making it impossible to use a wireless FIV type controller allowing smooth iris change, and due to the position of the iris so far back on many of these lenses, it is very hard to get fingers into this area without disturbing the shot.
 
David W. Jones said:
It has been my experience that even with a declicked iris, most of these lenses do not have a geared iris ring, making it impossible to use a wireless FIV type controller allowing smooth iris change, and due to the position of the iris so far back on many of these lenses, it is very hard to get fingers into this area without disturbing the shot.
Click to expand...

Using the D|Zoom from Jags35 with the Samyang CINE lenses to pull aperture looks like a pretty slick solution (about halfway through this walkthrough of the 35mm):


The other nice thing about the Rokinon/Samyang CINE lenses is that since they are full frame you can use the MetaBones SpeedBooster on them as well meaning with just the 24mm and 85 mm you have:

17mm T1.1 (boosted)
24mm T1.5
60mm T1.1 (boosted)
85mm T1.5

In just two lenses.
 
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It's really not that hard to change aperture on those cine lenses without knocking the camera. Using a device like the Dfocus leaves a much greater potential for the lever to get knocked and you aperture changing when you don't want it to.
 
Thanks guys. A few nice prime lenses on the list so far. Anyone know of any (affordable) zooms with a proper iris?
 
Affordable zooms with proper iris?

Duclos 11-16
Red 17-50
Red 18-50
Red 50-150
Cooke 20-100

Also look for the newly rehoused zooms like the GL Optics 18-35.
 
David W. Jones said:
Duclos 11-16
Red 17-50
Red 18-50
Red 50-150
Cooke 20-100
Click to expand...

OK, affordable for me is defined as less than $2,000, and even that's pushing it. Less than $1,000 would be better. I ain't shooting Avatar III here.

There are plenty of zooms in that price range, but all the models I look at seem to have hard iris stops. It can't cost any more in manufacturing not to have those stops. In fact, I'd wager it costs more to add them than to simply have the iris ring move continuously.
 
Jim Simon said:
OK, affordable for me is defined as less than $2,000
Click to expand...

Samyang Cine Primes

Also Samyang has camera lenses that should soon ( 6-12 months ) be added to their Cine range: 16mm f/2.0, 10mm f/2.8, and a 50mm f/???

For un-geared lenses, there is the Voightlander 17.5mm f/0.95 and 42.5mm f/0.95 lenses where their iris control can switch between clicked and un-clicked.


EDIT: I just noticed that the Rokinon Cine Lenses ( re-branded Samyang lenses ) at B&H Photo list the 16mm lens for pre-order.

Rokinon Cine Lenses
 
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Any number of Nikon-mount zooms used with a Novoflex or Metabones adapter should do the trick. Metabones now make their SpeedBooster and standard NikG-MFT adapters in clickless versions, or the clicked ones aren't difficult to de-click. In each case you'll have to calibrate what the number readout on the adapter corresponds to in f-stop for each lens.

Currently I'm using the Tokina 11-16/2.8, Sigma 50-150/2.8, and soon a Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 and 18-35/1.8
 
Good options, though I understand Nikon lenses do the focus thing backwards. That's likely to cause me some grief I'd rather avoid.

I have to say that Sigma 18-35 looks promising - if only it has OIS...
 
For less than $1000 (even $2000) for a smooth aperture zoom, you are going to have to make some compromises. My advice would be a Nikon G lens with Metabones Speedbooster. No IS and reverse focusing. Personally, two compromises I am more than willing to make for the many advantages this combo gives you.

i mentioned earlier in the thread, you can get a B4 broadcast lens with x2 extender and use that on the GH3 via an adapter. $1500 for both should get you something decent. Again, it comes with a few sacrifices but you can't have it all at this price.
 
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