GH3 Lens advice? (Beginner/Short Films)

J

jibberjazz

Member
Looking for lens advice for GH3. Beginner wanting to make short films ie suspense, comedy etc.
Budget is 1k or under Total for a few prime lenses or whatever you would recc is a good basic setup. Also if i will need special adapters etc and info and specifics on lense models. Total newb here but am learning.

Did some research over the last few days and am considering:
Sigma (cheaper option)
Rokinon cinema lenses

From my understanding, i should be looking for just a set of primes to get going? No zooms? Also read that Panasonic lenses are not good for short film stuff?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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The Rokinon cine primes are good but you won't get a full set for under a 1,000. If you're looking for primes, you might get more bang for your dollar with manual Nikon AIS lenses on eBay. You'll need a speed booster to get Super35mm field of view. The Metabones is the best but it's 400 some dollars. You can get a chinese knockoff for 100. I have one I'm pretty happy with. A straight adapter (no focal reducer) can be had for peanuts...I wouldn't totally rule out the Panasonic lenses. The 12-35 f2.8 is well regarded and is a good zoom range for filming (24-70mm equivalent). You get stabilization and auto focus over the manual lenses.
 
Hmm. I don't know why you say primes and not zooms. I'd think to begin with - when you have no lenses yet - it would be the opposite. Start with a good zoom, and once you get experience with that, and notice that you keep using a particular focal length, you can consider if a nice prime in that length might be a good idea. So, I'd start with a native zoom like the Panasonic f/2.8 18-35 - for your short films, and if you need more reach, there is the other Panasonic f/2.8 35-100, but that's getting expensive, so maybe take a look at the Panasonic 14-140 (which is slower, but OK with more light). The advantage of the native zooms is that they are all stabilized. Zooms today are not like your father's zooms - the quality of image really is quite good, and most people cannot tell the difference from a prime at any given focal length.
 
If you're doing narrative work, you definitely want the lowest F-stop you can afford to better control your depth of field, basically anything under f2.8. There are several Panasonic and Olympus zooms and primes with low f-stop, at varying price points. The thing with the native micro four thirds lenses is that they are really sharp and contrasty, which can accentuate the 'video-look', but there are ways to knock down the sharpness and contrast in camera and in post.
 
I think you'd be perfectly fine starting with a couple of cheap kit zooms until you personally hit a wall with what you have and know what you need to go further and why you need it.
 
Can you tell me some specific lenses which may be a good kit to get started? I don't understand all the jargon and measurements yet...so specifics mean a lot
 
Will i need a special adapter to attatch to gh3? Do i need a specific type of that lens that is compatible with camera? What speed booster do you recc? Sorry for all the questions etc
 
Yes, you need an adapter to attach anything that isn't a micro four thirds lens, which is what the GH3 takes. The panasonic lenses are micro four thirds and don't need an adapter. If it's a nikon like the Sigma mentioned, you need a nikon to micro four thirds adapter. With a regular adapter or micro four thirds lens, all your lenses will be cropped by a factor of 2, or about 2.3 in video mode. So a 25mm lens becomes a 50mm lens. With a speed booster adapter (focal reducer), you only get roughly a 1.5 crop. Basically this mean you can get physically closer to your subject with a wider field of view, and the physically closer you get, the shallower your depth of field will become in relation to the background. This is desirable if you want that film like depth of field. Without it, you'd have to move farther away from the subject to get the same field of view, but the depth of field becomes greater, so it's harder to separate the actor from the background, especially if indoors. You also get one extra stop of brightness with the focal reducer, handy in low light situations.
 
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David W. Jones said:
My suggestion.... Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 zoom with a SpeedBooster.
Click to expand...

+1!

If it was my money, this is EXACTLY what I would get.
And even if you get a couple longer lenses later, like a 50mm and 85mm - you'll STILL be using the Sigma over half the time, maybe more.
Plus, the Sigma is just an excellent image. You'll never find yourself saying: "if only we could re-shoot that with a better lens".
Later you can get like a manual Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8....and the Samyang(Rokinon) 85mm only costs like $330 anyway.
 
Thank you for all the responses. You have been a helpful community. I am gonna go with Sigma 18-35 and the booster.
For booster, will i need expensive Metabones one or can someone link me to clones or alternatives?
Also for adapter, I want to be sure i don't get wrong one so direct link would be helpful. Thank you for all this new knowledge etc
 
Well something else you will need to decide, is whether you want to go Nikon mount, or Canon EF mount.

Some folks prefer Nikon mount, and I am probably in the minority but I happen to have Canon EF mounts on many of my other cameras so that is my preference.

I have a few different focal reducers, but the Metabones SpeedBooster Is my first choice.
 
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Well, Metabones is the gold standard. It is a chunky bit of coin, but it is not IMHO worth saving a $100-$200 for something much inferior. Since it will serve you for all sorts of lenses, it's worth getting the best for not that much more money. And yes, the mount becomes a question - do you already have Nikon lenses, then go with Nikon, Canon - go with Canon etc.
 
Starting out I would select an inexpensive yet sharp Panasonic zoom lens. I have the Panasonic 14-45mm. I am satisfied with it. They can be picked up used pretty easily.
 
Ok so i put a cart together on b n h photo. Can someone let me know if this is correct gear that matches up so i don't order wrong stuff:
Panasonic gh3 camera
Sigma 18-35 mm DC HSM art lens for Nikon
Metabones Speed Booster xl .64 adapter for Nikon F mount to 4/3
Vello lens mount adapter- Nikon F mount to micro 4/3

(I will be amazed if this is all right) let me know
 
jibberjazz said:
Ok so i put a cart together on b n h photo. Can someone let me know if this is correct gear that matches up so i don't order wrong stuff:
Panasonic gh3 camera
Sigma 18-35 mm DC HSM art lens for Nikon
Metabones Speed Booster xl .64 adapter for Nikon F mount to 4/3
Vello lens mount adapter- Nikon F mount to micro 4/3

(I will be amazed if this is all right) let me know
Click to expand...

This is all good. Have fun shooting! Might want to invest in a good variable ND filter if you are going to shoot outdoors and want to use a low f-stop.
 
The Sigma 18-35mm zoom has 72mm filter threads.

It's usually a good idea to purchase screw-on filters which fit the largest diameter lens you own, and then use step rings on the smaller diameter lenses to mate the filters. That way you only have to purchase one size filter set.

For example... all of my screw-on filters are 77mm.
 
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