Lens Packages

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mikeallensutton

Member
Hey Everyone,

This is my first time posting here. I've browsed around and have found a lot of very helpful information around the forum.

I work for a corporate video company and we've got three FS700s. The bulk of our shoots are talking head, interview-esque type scenarios, but we also do much more engaging things as well, such as live band performances. Right now, we've got (aside from the kit lenses), a Canon 50mm prime and 85mm prime, but we're looking to expand our lenses for all of the cameras. I'd be interested to know what lenses people here prefer to shoot with on the FS700.

For the band performances, we're pretty much forced to use zoom lenses. I've had a really tough time finding nice zoom lenses, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd really welcome any and all. We don't have a specific budget, but I'd prefer to keep them down to as close to $1k as possible.

Here's a link to some of our band performances, so you can see what we're doing and what we'd be needing the lenses for.

www.amazon.com/liveatamazon

The Leagues song is the most recent one we've done (these have evolved quite a bit), so that's closest to what they look like right now. We also mix in a 5D alongside the three FS700s (which is an awful pain to match).

EDIT: The video player is disgusting and extremely embarrassing. It's in the works of being replaced, so this isn't what these are going to continue to look like. :)

Again, any input would be greatly appreciated and I'd love to start a dialogue about what others prefer and why.

Thanks!
 
I got with Zeiss Primes and Canon zooms. I think for the price, the Canon zooms work really well. Of course you can go all out and higher end cine zooms, but those are super expensive. So for those of us with not a lot of cash, it's Canon zooms + Metabones.

I have 4 zooms

1) Tokina 11-16 f2.8
2) Canon EFS 17-55mm f 2.8 IS
3) Canon 24-105 f4 IS
4) Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS

They are all great lenses.

For set / sound stage work, I use the 17-55 f2.8 the most. For field work I tend to use the 25-105 f4, often with speed booster which on a Super 35mm format, it essentially becomes a 17-75mm f2.8 (which is a great range).

So yeah, if I have to work fast, it's zooms. If I have more time or for something super buttery looking, it's primes.
 
Thanks for the reply!

The ones we're looking at first are:

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS EF USM AF Lens
Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di USD Lens

We generally use our 50mm and 85mm primes for the interview style shoots we do, and I LOVE the look of them, but for the music performances, we pretty much need zoom lenses.

Can you explain what Metabones is? I've also never had experience with speed booster... Talk about learning on the job! Hahaha!
 
Yeah, I feel like kind of an idiot for asking what they are. I did some searching around and they look a lot better than the adapters we currently have.
 
I would say for music stuff if you are shooting low light (which lots of times it is), you would need the Speed Booster if you are using the 24-105 f4. Opens up a whole stop, quite a difference in low light.
 
The 24-105 IS F4 is my favourite lens whilst working outside. To have that kind of range with an image stabilizer is fantastic. The 70-200 IS II although a bit of a beast is also a great lens. If you're not on such a tight schedule and have the time to change lenses then you will always get a better image out of a prime though. I have the canon L series 24 1.4 and the Canon L series 85 1.2 and between these two manage pretty well in most situations.
 
Yeah, I think we're pretty much set in the prime department, at least for the short-term. It's the zoom lenses I'm most concerned about. That being said, I've gotten some awesome feedback here and I'll definitely be testing out as many of the suggestions given as possible!
 
Sony is shortly releasing (at least announcing) a 18-105 f4 power zoom lens according to sonyalpharumours. I think that will be quite good for live performances. Also there will be a Zeiss 16-70.
I've gotten away with using the 18-200 PZ with my EA50 in pretty dark venues... But it's too slow most of the time...
I like using the face detection and push auto focus when shooting live stuff, works really well. That and not having to fiddle with adapters makes using the emount lenses quite nice for this application, imo.

PS - no way to see those live at amazon videos in higher resolution? As they are now, you could just use the cheapest lens available cause I'm only seeing blocks of pixels ;)
 
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