Fast lens for 7d filming

T

TheSoulhunter

Member
I just got a 7d...
Thing is, the 15-85 kit lens rocks for still images but seems a bit slow for filming.

So, I'm looking for a good fast (but not too expensive) lens, maybe you can help me...
My budget is 300-500 bucks. So far, from my own research, this two lenses look atractive to me:

Sigma 30mm F1.4
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=320&sort=4&cat=all&page=15

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=29&sort=4&cat=all&page=13


Which one should I get? And, is there something better in this price range?


Tia,
Soul
 
Are you doing mostly set-up filming or is it more run and gun style? If it is more run and gun then you may want to consider a zoom like the Tamaron 17-55 2.8 but if it is more of a set-up style in which you can easily move the camera I think that either of those primes would be a good idea.
 
TheSoulhunter said:
I just got a 7d...

Sigma 30mm F1.4
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=320&sort=4&cat=all&page=15

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=29&sort=4&cat=all&page=13


Which one should I get? And, is there something better in this price range?


Tia,
Soul
Click to expand...

They are different lenses, and will look different for your shots. The 30mm is going to be closer to a "normal" look. I actually went with the canon 35mm f2 lens as my "normal" lens. It's still very fast, and wide enough for close shooting without distortion.

These stills and video grabs were all shot on the 7D with the canon 35mm f2 lens. ISO was 1250, shutter speed was 1/50th, and stop was generally f2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=173430&id=649258486&l=746c14d8aa

I have the 50 1.4 and the Sigma 24mm 1.8 as well, and I am very happy with all of them.
 
david335 said:
Are you doing mostly set-up filming or is it more run and gun style? If it is more run and gun then you may want to consider a zoom like the Tamaron 17-55 2.8 but if it is more of a set-up style in which you can easily move the camera I think that either of those primes would be a good idea.
Click to expand...
I have the Tamron lense on a 350D and I really like it for stills. Dont know how well still-performance translates into video performance, though.

I also have the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II and it is great for portraits and playing with DOF, but I think it is to narrow on a 1.6x crop to be my only lense.

I have been looking into the Sigma 30mm but I get the impression that there is a lot of variation in quality.

-h
 
GET SOMETHING WITH IS.... I couldn't stress this enough... I shoot all handheld and shouldermount and the rolling shutter issue is night and day...
 
Internal Stabilization does make a world of difference in helping control the rolling shutter jello. If you get an IS lens and some sort of shoulder-mount rig, you should have practical handheld capability.
 
I echo that... for the love of God get something with IS, VC, etc...

I just grabbed the TAMRON f2.8 17-50 with VC.... Nice lens for the dollar

With the IS on, your shakey handheld hands become akin to the stabilzation of a shoulder mount.... if you add a shoulder mount to the equation, you can really get some great stable work off the hip.
 
So would it be better to have a faster prime or a slower zoom with IS. I've got a Nikon 50mm 1.4 and just bought a tamron 70-200mm 2.8. I'm trying to decide now between a Sigma 30mm 1.4 or the tamron 17-50mm 2.8 without VC. But now i'm questioning whether it's worth getting either since both don't have image stabilization. At the same time I always seem to be reading these threads where people recommend using primes. I would be using it mostly on a shoulder mount so maybe a zoom with is or vc would be best?
 
I got the Sigma 30/1.4 and the Tamron 17-50/2.8VC
Both have their uses:
Sigma is my second best lens (I also have a 85/1.4 which is amzing) and is not only a lightbeast, but also a great lens as 50mm-fullframe-replacement. But ahndheld is pretty much a no-go. Rolling shutter and these small handheld jitters will be all over the footage.
The Tamron is my run-gun lens. The VC helps tremendously, 2.8 is plenty fast and I often stop them down to f4 anyway. it has two little problems though, because the focurs ring a) in the wrong direction and b) as a short travel. But when you have that figured out is a bret bang for the buck.
This clip is made with these two lenses:
http://www.youtube.com/user/meinetheresa#p/a/u/0/C_l0C9Rjmhc
And this one also http://vimeo.com/8385767 (her closeup in the middle is the 85/1.4)
 
I just ordered my 7D with a Sigma 30mm F1.4...are you guys telling me that even with a shoulder-mount and counter-balance weights (I have a Redrock Micro rig on order), I'm gonna get crazy rolling-shutter? And what if I use a Glidecam HD2000...is it still gonna be "jello city" ?
 
Jean Dantes said:
I just ordered my 7D with a Sigma 30mm F1.4...are you guys telling me that even with a shoulder-mount and counter-balance weights (I have a Redrock Micro rig on order), I'm gonna get crazy rolling-shutter? And what if I use a Glidecam HD2000...is it still gonna be "jello city" ?
Click to expand...

My recommendation is to head over to vimeo and take a look or two at different videos shot with different lenses.

For instance, many of Philip Blooms now (in)famous "People" videos were shot using prime lenses without IS and relatively little stabilization - a Zacuto Z-finder or Z-finder and Gorilla Rig. The footage definitely looks as though the camera isn't locked to a tripod, but doesn't really show much in the way of unacceptable skew, either. Looks rather like hand-held film. Of course, the shallow DOF helps, too.

Then again, Philip really knows how to handle a camera with these impromptu street montages - he worked in news for years, after all.
 
Michael Olsen said:
My recommendation is to head over to vimeo and take a look or two at different videos shot with different lenses.

For instance, many of Philip Blooms now (in)famous "People" videos were shot using prime lenses without IS and relatively little stabilization - a Zacuto Z-finder or Z-finder and Gorilla Rig. The footage definitely looks as though the camera isn't locked to a tripod, but doesn't really show much in the way of unacceptable skew, either. Looks rather like hand-held film. Of course, the shallow DOF helps, too.

Then again, Philip really knows how to handle a camera with these impromptu street montages - he worked in news for years, after all.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Cause there is this video here...

http://www.vimeo.com/7713444

...it was shot with a 7D + Sigma 30mm and doesn't have much skew. According to the dude that shot it, all he used was a Gorillapod (http://professionalsnapshots.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/gorillapod-family.jpg) to stabilise lol
 
I'm also looking for a very fast lens, have been thinking about the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens, which is very cheap... but no image stabilization - will I get awful shaky footage? If so can anybody point me towards a similarly budget prime v.fast lens with image stabilization?
 
After doing some more research...
It seems there are no IS lenses below f2, huh?
So, back to square one, Sigma 30mm F1.4 vs Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 :undecided
 
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