How to Invest? Sony, Panasonic, Canon, etc.

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Glyph

New member
As a student I have used all kinds of different gear and have been able to get a feel for different kinds of gear but I wanted to get some advice before investing in my own. Hence the question:

You always hear "invest in the glass, cameras come and go." So from that standpoint, which line would be best to start from? My understanding is that Sony has the e-mount all the way from little nex to fs series making it very easy to maintain gear continuity at any level. Panasonic doesn't have as wide variety but seems to really be listening to customers during development and providing tools at incredible price points (gh3 i.e.) Canon has a great lens lineup, but not too friendly to the lower budget crowd when it comes to cameras. Also to throw in there, the mirror-less mounts are WAY more adaptable than an EOS mount.

So on that note, which would be the wisest investment route long term?
 
Glyph said:


So on that note, which would be the wisest investment route long term?
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The wisest investment advice is hang on to your money as long as possible.

Long term these days is short. In the past few months many game changers have been released. I've been shooting Sony and Canon professionally for the last number of years, and invested in Canon. I've been very satisfied with Canon, but about to move to GH3 and then BMC next year because Canon is dragging their heals with HD video resolution on DSLRs.
Lenses are a great investment, but electronics are brand dedicated. I know you can adapt lenses to other brand bodies, but they work best with their own clan.
Vintage manual lenses are a great place to collect because the price is low and they are inherently easy to adapt.
I would be cautious investing in anything that you can't sell quickly. Every filmmaker should have a camera and there are many good quality low cost cameras available. You may consider buying used, and let the original owner absorb the depreciation, then when you sell your losses will be minimal.
No camera you buy today, you will want to keep for the rest of your life, so buy with selling in mind.
Just decide on a budget and compare what's available in your price range.

The most secure investment you can make is in a decent fluid head tripod. They will outlast any camera or lens if future proof is on your mind.
 
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ROCKMORE said:
Vintage manual lenses are a great place to collect because the price is low and they are inherently easy to adapt.
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Agreed. I have a set of Nikkors: 24mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4, and a 50mm f/1.2. This collection cost me a little over a grand, and then an extra $250 to have them declicked (allow the aperture ring to turn smoothly). Some people don't like Nikkors because they turn the opposite of Canons and other lenses for focusing between far and near, but what makes these the best, in my opinion, is their quality and versatility. I have seen these lenses used on everything from the GH2 to a Red One, and they've always performed. Canon FDs are great lenses too, but are unusable on Canon DSLRs without a glass adapter, which can soften them up. If you don't plan on going in that direction, then Canon FD lenses are great to have too. But for me, I have both the 60D and the GH2 and it's nice to have a set of primes like these that can easily go on either.
 
Again, agreed. The "hang on to your money as long as possible" thing is quite important, but really, really hard to follow through :) - And yes, "future proof" usually means "completely manual, and with a versatile mount", so vintage glass is a very cost-efficient way to get a great set that will last you some time. My set is made of Leitz lenses from the 60s and 70s for the Leica-R mount. Check this http://www.similaar.com/foto/lensmount/lensmount.html read other parts of the forum http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...g-my-lens-set-looking-at-this-in-the-long-run and be aware of this http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsc.html then head over here: http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsa.html http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsv.html http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/bokehtests.html
 
Michael has given you good advice. I know when you are a younger student just starting out sometimes money burns a hole in your pocket and you feel like you just have to spend spend spend. Heres a little business advice... Don't purchase gear unless you need it, and don't purchase until you do need it. If you sort through this board you will see all kinds of posts where wannabe filmmakers discuss which tools they should buy next... Should I get a slider or a Steadicam or maybe a jib? They then tie up funds into gear which they do not really need or use because of peer pressure from other posters rather than purchase gear which they actually do need to earn income. Why spend your hard earned cash to buy gear which just sits on a shelf just so you can post on line that you have gear X. You have to become your own gate keeper. Would it be cool to own a new set of Zeiss CP2 lenses, absolutely! Do you have clients lined up wanting to give you money to shoot with a new set of CP2's? No! next. You can really go far by exercising good common sense when making gear purchase decisions.

All the Best!

Dave
 
I was a college in er.. 1991, I used to shoot my Nikon MF with the two lenses I managed to buy a nikon 24 and a nikon 50 1.4

What do I use on my 2012 FS100..

The same nikon 24 and a nikon 50 1.4, plus a few more.

Also when I was (even more poor) I managed to have the discipline to buy minimal amounts of good kit, not piles of crap, like a used 60s gitzo beast tripod.. also still in use

S
 
Would it be cool to own a new set of Zeiss CP2 lenses, absolutely! Do you have clients lined up wanting to give you money to shoot with a new set of CP2's? No! next. You can really go far by exercising good common sense when making gear purchase decisions.
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one of the best pieces of advice any young shooter could get!

i say get a GH2 an m4/3 to nikon adapter and start finding good deals on old manual nikon glass (easy to do!)
you'll get a high-end looking result for as little out of pocket as possible (and you wont have to worry about all the moire/aliasing of the various canon cameras)

if you learn to wield a gh2/nikon rig well, anything else will be cake.
 
ROCKMORE said:
The most secure investment you can make is in a decent fluid head tripod. They will outlast any camera or lens if future proof is on your mind.
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Exactly. Spend your money on good lighting and tripods, those will improve your filmmaking more than any camera ever will, and they will last forever if properly taken care of. As for cameras and lenses, they are cheap to rent. Try some out and see what works for you.
 
"Investing in glass" I don't think was meant to mean spend a grand on some old nikkors. Good, great glass that is an investment is still massively expensive to buy new or used. Some old Nikkors - great value. Some old Angenieux or Zeiss PL glass - great investment.
 
I would see investing in glass as a cine set placed with a hire shop, probably the realms of an experienced business person.
 
muroshi said:
Which Nikkor can you use with a GH2?
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There are two types of Nikon adapters for the GH2 camera:

- The F Type that simply adapts the lens mount, and works with any Nikon lens with manual aperture control

- The G Type that can control the aperture of Nikon G lenses, which do not have a manual aperture control

If you are on a budget, you can find lots of fully manual Nikon AI-S lenses on eBay for a good price.

You can also find unusual deals if you look hard enough. For example, a friend of mine bought a KIRON 70-210 f/4.0 zoom lens with Nikon F mount in perfect condition from eBay for $50. It's a very good lens that used to sell for $300 - 400 in the 1980's.
 
TheDingo said:
There are two types of Nikon adapters for the GH2 camera:

- The F Type that simply adapts the lens mount, and works with any Nikon lens with manual aperture control

- The G Type that can control the aperture of Nikon G lenses, which do not have a manual aperture control

If you are on a budget, you can find lots of fully manual Nikon AI-S lenses on eBay for a good price.

You can also find unusual deals if you look hard enough. For example, a friend of mine bought a KIRON 70-210 f/4.0 zoom lens with Nikon F mount in perfect condition from eBay for $50. It's a very good lens that used to sell for $300 - 400 in the 1980's.
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I have a 28mm and a 50mm AI, but I thought they are unusable due to the crop factor. How do you get wide shots?

Thanks for showing me the difference. I need an F Type then. How much is this adapter?
 
Why would they be unusable because of the crop factor of the GH2?

I think that there are many misconceptions concerning crop factors.
 
muroshi said:
I have a 28mm and a 50mm AI, but I thought they are unusable due to the crop factor.
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With a Micro 4/3 camera your Full Frame 35mm lenses still work, but the Field of View is roughly half as wide. So your 28mm lens becomes a "standard" lens, and your 50mm lens becomes a short-telephoto which is great for portraits and interviews.

muroshi said:
How do you get wide shots?
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With shorter focal length lenses. For the GH2, wide lenses start at about 20mm and go all the way out to 7mm.

I own an Olympus 17mm f/2.8 "pancake" lens and a Panasonic 14mm f/2.5 "pancake" lens that I use with my GH2. At some point I will probably add the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 lens.

muroshi said:
I need an F Type then. How much is this adapter?
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Depends on who makes it. If you look on Amazon.com or eBay.com you can find both Type F and Type G adapters that start at about $20, like the ones made by FOTGA.

BTW, the Type G adapter can work with all Nikon lenses, so you don't have to own two different types of adapters.
 
TheDingo said:
With shorter focal length lenses. For the GH2, wide lenses start at about 20mm and go all the way out to 7mm.
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The GH2 has an 1.86x crop factor. 7mm fisheyes on it, because 8mm most certainly does. I'd say wides go down to about 10-11mm (I can use the Tokina 11-16 at 11mm and it looks fine).
 
Gary Huff said:
7mm fisheyes on it, because 8mm most certainly does. I'd say wides go down to about 10-11mm (I can use the Tokina 11-16 at 11mm and it looks fine).
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I was thinking of the Panasonic 7-14mm f/4.0 which is a rectilinear lens and is pretty much distortion free, even at 7mm.
 
I guess the 14mm pancake would be about right for me if that's 14mm*1.86. Does autofocus work with this lens? And does anybody know if there will a new lens will become available with GH3?

Maybe the tokina 11-16 is an alternative for it.
 
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