DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

so just to make sure I'm on the same page, I looked up a "Nikon Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 lens 5467427 Manual Focus" on eBay and it was running about $85. Are we talking the same lens here? This kind of pricing would sure be welcome compared to nearly $1k for canon XL lenses :)
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

It's never so simple as that. Lens choice is a complex processes and has a lot to do with the artistic style of the cinematography/director.

50mm is considered the "normal" focal length (closest to that of the human eye) so it's the best lens to start with. 200mm is the pretty extreme side of telephoto, and 25mm or so is wide angle, good for landscapes. That nikon lens is pretty nice, but Canon's f1.4 50mm lens is about as good, too. Both Canon and Nikon have an excellent choice of mid-range lenses, but since most do not have manual aperature adjustment, older manual lenses from ebay are often the best choices if you want good, cheap, glass.

As for the best aperature, the wider open, the shallower the DOF (also, telephoto lenses give very shallow DOF but compress space.) For some shots, a blurred background can hide distracting details. For other shots, you'll want everything in focus to show what's going on in multiple planes. Different apertures are good for different shots. Citizen Kane, for instance, was shot all stopped down quite far to get a wide DOF and it looks AMAZING.

The same goes for focal length. John Woo shoots only extreme wide angle and extreme telephoto for the most part because they distort space is visually striking ways. Citizen Kane was almost entirely wide angle lenses to maximize DOF, except for close ups (I'd assume) since wide angle lenses distort everything pretty badly. Zoom lenses can also "crush" space, meaning that a character running towards the camera as filmed with a 200mm lens will appear to move forward much more slowly. Combined with slow motion, this can give a really nice look. But if you want a location to look larger, a wide angle lens helps.

Really, there are no "best lenses" to use for any situation. Work with the mis-en-scene, see what needs to be in focus, see what you might want to keep out of focus, then see what lenses and lighting set ups will work. From there, make artistic decisions.

I'd probably look on ebay for three cheap manual primes: one 25mm or so, one 50mm, one 200mm. Primes are nice since they usually have sharper images, are cheaper, and their apertures open wider. Unless you need to zoom during a shot, of course, but no one likes that.
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

A fast 200mm prime glass is going to come in at at least f= 1:3.0 plus a minimum of 1-1/2 stops for the DOF converter.

Shooting at a 5.6 outside isn't the end of the world, but that's a good deal of light to achieve indoors!

e
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

If you're using 500-1000 watt lights you should be able to shoot at f5.6 no problem, plus, I wouldn't personally use a 200mm lens indoors except very occasionally and f1.4 50mm lenses aren't too hard to come by, but you're right that a 35mm adapter would make any low-light shooting nearly impossible....plus, I'm pretty terrible with cinematography so I always get hideous cast shadows when I use strong lights.
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Then again, we're dealing with a film style adapter so I suspect the setup would be very filmish - lots of setup light.
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

policar - understood and I agree. Even a basic understanding is helpful. Like others here I have recognized that shooting the filmic style on DV (read: not transfer to film, but to get the film look, at least that's how I'm approaching things) does require a shallow DOF for certain applications. So a manual 50mm as a starting point is really helpful feedback. I realize a lot depends on style, desired effect, etc. but it's good to have somewhere to start!

Cheers
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

I have absolutely zero understanding about 35mm lenses, primes, etc. etc. yet I have been experimenting with making my own static grain 35mm lens adapter. I am pretty satisfied woth the results I am getting. Sure the image is not clear and clean but the "look" but amazing. i am learning more and more about.

My suggestion is to get out there and experiment. It will open a whole new world to you.

You can follow the thread titled: "35mm Enormous Apparatus / EASY AS HELL!?!?!" found at the HARDWARE section in DVXuser.com. There is a couple of us who are toying with this little adapter.


If you want to check out my experiments results go to:

http://moviegroovy.com/35mmadaptervideo.html

or you can check out more videos at:

http://moviegroovy.com/MovieLinks.html

by the way i am using an old 1969 50mm lens..nothing fancy...just a chinon lens

im out
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Well I fished around eBay for a bit and I found an f1.4 50mm nikon for about $65. One suggestion I have (again - this is for dvx-centric people like me) is to look at manual focus lenses, which tend to carry the primes. example: Cameras & Photo > Lenses & Accessories > Lenses > For 35mm SLR > To fit Nikon > Manual Focus
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

[ as you can tell I have insomnia thinking about this and rehasing the sample clips!]

This is such a fantastic development - 24p, anamorphic lens, and now truly cinematic DOF.

But how do we get back to 16:9? If it doesn't work with the anamorphic lens (then again, what DOES work with that lens) how can we produce high quality 16:9 output? How do folks think about this?

I noticed redrock's sample clips are 16:9. Are we back to squeeze mode?
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Ok so its now March... any updates? Also can a few things be clarified - the 'rails' are what attach the 35 unit to the camera? And these are something that we can not build, but need to buy fom you and they cost $250?? Or have i totally missed something. Also, I dont know much at all about lens, but are most stil camera lens zoom? I hate zooming on video, but how else are we to focus without zooming in to focus on the subject then zooming out/framing? I am trying to weigh the pros and cons to see if it makes sense to use this unit. Finally, if we are to buy this guide for $45 how much money do we need to spend to get a working unit? Assuming we have a lens already, and thats it. No rails our mounts or anything. Thanks, cant wait for this. I just spent 30 minutes reading all 22 pages of this.

Edit - First on page 23!!
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

As I understand it, the preassembled kit is targeted at $495. It does require rails to attach (the whole setup is getting pretty heavy so that makes sense), and I get the impression the rails that are provided are actually pretty cheap. you don't require zoom lenses, you can focus using, well, the focus ring, and from what redrock says most of the cost in $495 is labor, not parts. However, you can always spend thousands on the mini35 if you don't like these answers! ;)
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

[quote author=Double_IT link=board=Links;num=1097454631;start=330#330 date=02/28/05 at 22:27:59]Ok so its now March... any updates? I hate zooming on video, but how else are we to focus without zooming in to focus on the subject then zooming out/framing?[/quote]

You can open up the iris and check focus by eye or you could measure the distance from the subject, just as everybody does. Film was invented far before the zoom lenses...
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

YEAH Double_IT, IT IS MARCH. any news on the guides? It's been over a month since the 500 guides went to the printer. I've got some important stuff coming up I wanted to use the adapter with... but, I dont know how long this will be. Any dates for the guides? cos... I'm dying here. wait. im dead.
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

But how do we get back to 16:9? If it doesn't work with the anamorphic lens (then again, what DOES work with that lens) how can we produce high quality 16:9 output? How do folks think about this?
Click to expand...

For the moment, yes, squeeze or crop in post are your only options. This will lower your resolution significantly though giving you only about 250 discernable lines of resolution.

I've been working on and off on an anamorphic attachment for these 35mm adapters. Still no date on when it will be finished (I want to make sure everything works perfectly) but if there is enough interest I've thought about making and selling some. The great thing is you can get any aspect ratio you want when you design the lens yourself :D
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Hey Shaw - if you're making then I'm buying. That's been one of the biggest frustrations with the anamorphic lens: It doesnt work with anything else. Not that I don't appreciate the reasons why, but no filters, no matte box (unless I want to drop $1500 for the chrosziel)...
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

Hey shaw - is the idea that this anamorphic adapter sits in front of, behind, or instead of teh 35mm lens?
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

I think the word is that the new GG and prime lens have no res loss. This is an exciting thing to hear, especiall if this ana thing gets going for the mount.

(r)Yan
 
Re: DIY micro35 kit (New Footage!)

so when you say "the new GG and prime lens have no res loss" you mean "the new rev of micro35 including new GG" plus the prime lens of your choice.... right? (vs. a specific prime lens)
 
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