Greetings. I shoot lots of corporate video for my company. Quite a bit of product demos, technology overviews and such. Most of the time they are shot in the studio on a green screen. Currently I'm using an FS100 with the kit lens. However, I'm budgeted to upgrade to an FS700 and an Odyssey 7Q or an Atomos Shogun. Anyway, I want to upgrade my lens. With an FS700, what lens would you recommend? Most of my framing is waist up, to close up shots. The kit lens is a bit soft. I need something much sharper. Zoom lens vs primes? Canon 24-105? Sigma 24-105? Fist full of Rokinon primes? And if so, what mount type? EF, e-mount, etc... I'm sorry for the somewhat scattered request. I'm just looking for the best lens match for an FS700 with the type of video I'm shooting. Thanks in advance!
Lens preference help
- Thread starter rawnster
- Start date
I use the canon 24-105 a lot - it's not bad but it's a shame it's not f4 for the whole range. I dont know the Sigma (it reads good). I also love every single Rokinon prime. They have a great look and are cheap compared to their alternatives. I would definitely get the all of them with EF mount.
I have had very good luck with Canon EF f/2.8 100 L IS macro. Its tack sharp! The fact that its tight and macro makes it perfect for product shots too. Lots of detail and close ups. And did i mention tack sharp? Even with the FS700 bad internal codec its super sharp.
Canon 24-105 is soft.
Sigma 35 Art
Sigma 50 Art
Sigma 24-105
Canon 100 L IS
This is a premium bugdet package. Very sharp lenses. Lacking only in weather sealing in my opinion. But you are in a studio anyways.
Canon 24-105 is soft.
Sigma 35 Art
Sigma 50 Art
Sigma 24-105
Canon 100 L IS
This is a premium bugdet package. Very sharp lenses. Lacking only in weather sealing in my opinion. But you are in a studio anyways.
alaskacameradude
Veteran
My favorite 'tighter' interview lens is the Sigma 50-150 F2.8. Rumor has it, that the Red 50-150
zoom lens is this Sigma lens, rehoused. It's great for motion pic shooting. It was so good, I bought
another Sigma for my 'wider' interview shots....the Sigma 18-35 F1.8. That one is just as good and
maybe even better. My favorite two lenses on the FS100/700.
zoom lens is this Sigma lens, rehoused. It's great for motion pic shooting. It was so good, I bought
another Sigma for my 'wider' interview shots....the Sigma 18-35 F1.8. That one is just as good and
maybe even better. My favorite two lenses on the FS100/700.
Clermond
Veteran
yes it is unbeaten in macro shots but for standard shooting I don't like it too much as the bokeh is everything but nice.
And it's a focal length I don't use too often. If your budget is limited you still cover this length with your kit lens.
I was on a tight budget and I started with this combo:
Kit lens
Tokina 11-16
Rokinon 35/1.5 cine version - big bang for the bucks.
Sony SEL 50 1.8 - image stabilizer, auto focus. Pretty nice portrait lens, surprisingly good
and mostly underestimated due to the low price.
If you don't have a Canon DSLR and don't do booth photo stills and video shooting
I don't see the need to go the Canon EF metabones route.
cuervo
Veteran
+1 for the Canon 24-105. I really like the look of this lens. It's only real problem is it's slightly variable f/stop as you zoom. Contrary to other reports, this lens is very sharp, even with 4K, with better MTF than the Canon 24-70. Focusing is problemmatic because of the spinning focus wheel, but, nothing that's too serious if you have an O7Q.
Thanks guys. Very helpful. My budget is not that limited. I was definitely looking at picking up the Canon 24-105 until I saw a few reviews on the Sigma compared to the Canon. Perhaps I should get both and return/sell the one doesn't work out as well.
Hey Alaska, that Sigma 50-150 F2.8 sounds very nice. I'll try to find one to rent. I've rented the Sony A 70-200 a few times and find it at bit too soft. I would usually use this focal length on speaking engagements where I'm stuck in the back of the room shooting a keynote speaker. Anyway...I'm renting a Canon 28-300 next week for a speaking event on the Queen Mary in Longbeach. See how that works.
You can see as I describe what i do, that I need lenses for both occasions...studio work and on location events.
Hey Alaska, that Sigma 50-150 F2.8 sounds very nice. I'll try to find one to rent. I've rented the Sony A 70-200 a few times and find it at bit too soft. I would usually use this focal length on speaking engagements where I'm stuck in the back of the room shooting a keynote speaker. Anyway...I'm renting a Canon 28-300 next week for a speaking event on the Queen Mary in Longbeach. See how that works.
You can see as I describe what i do, that I need lenses for both occasions...studio work and on location events.
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compa...F4-DG-OS-HSM-A-Canon___886_436_164_436_1255_0
Both 24-70 and Sigma 24-105 is better than Canon 24-105.
What i hate about the Canon 24-105 is that its one of the darkest lenses out there. The Sigma is almost a full Tstop brighter, despite being rated at the same f/4.
Another huge plus in favor of the Sigma 24-105, is the nonexistant noise from the IS. You can barely hear it ! Whereas the Canon 24-105 has the oh-so-known Canon BZZZZZZZZZ sound ruining the audio.
(I still use the Canon 24-105 though, and no intention of selling it. Sigma 24-105 for FS700 and Canon 24-105 for backcountry stills photo, since its weathersealed, like my 5D`s.)
Both 24-70 and Sigma 24-105 is better than Canon 24-105.
What i hate about the Canon 24-105 is that its one of the darkest lenses out there. The Sigma is almost a full Tstop brighter, despite being rated at the same f/4.
Another huge plus in favor of the Sigma 24-105, is the nonexistant noise from the IS. You can barely hear it ! Whereas the Canon 24-105 has the oh-so-known Canon BZZZZZZZZZ sound ruining the audio.
(I still use the Canon 24-105 though, and no intention of selling it. Sigma 24-105 for FS700 and Canon 24-105 for backcountry stills photo, since its weathersealed, like my 5D`s.)
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Clermond
Veteran
great! I just bought some used CP.2 lensed and the quality is awesome also in 4K.
I can highly recommend them esp. when you are in studio environment.
Nice. CP.2 lenses go for around $3k right? I haven't seen too many used ones though.
alaskacameradude
Veteran
Borrowlens and other lens rental places have them.....between 30-50 dollars for 3 days.
Also if you are interested, I posted a review of the lens on my blog on my website
www.gforcevideo.com It was awhile ago so you will have to look around a little.
Nirv who used to be around this forum picked one up after
he saw my review and sent me a message saying he was a bit skeptical at first but was
happy he took the chance as he really likes it too. Nowadays with the 18-35 F1.8 and the like,
Sigma is getting a better reputation. And the 50-150, honestly feels very similar to the
18-35 in zoom and focus handling. I really like it as a mid telephoto zoom, it honestly
almost feels like it was made for motion and not stills.
Ive got the Canon 24-105 on the speed booster - no problems with lower light shooting and I've never heard the IS motor noise unless I put my ear right against the lens. Never heard it picked up when using a shotgun camera mounted, but then again main sound is from either lapel mics or shotgun on a boom. Camera mounted mics are normally a backup in most of my shooting.
I also have a canon 70-200 2.8 IS USM II which of course is fantastic, even better on the speed booster. Also have the full kit of samyang (rokinon) cine lenses. For interviews in tighter spaces, the 24-105 is incredibly good IMO. The 70-200 great when you've got a bit more distance to play with and need to get wider IV shots without swapping lenses. I'd DEFINITELY recommend the speed booster though!
For event filming (conferences etc), I still use my PMW350 as an ENG style camera, it's SO much better suited to this kind of filming. I do use the 700 as a B camera though, locked off wide. Even with follow focus on the 700, the 350 is so much easier to use. I wouldn't want to use the 700 as a main camera where focus, exposure etc are critical where speakers are moving around and interacting with bright screens etc.
Hi Pgale, actually I came close to picking up a few PMW350s. However, I only do about 4-5 conferences a year. The buik of my work is shooting product demos, interview sessions, talking heads, executives sitting in their offices. Basically, I'm shooting glorified corporate commercials. So the need of good lens options for an FS700 is of a more expedient need.
Pgale, you don't find 24-105 canon too soft? It does sound like you enjoy those lenses. In fact, those two lenses (canon 24-104, and 70 - 200) were the first lenses that popped in my head when I started this quest. They both have such a good track record that I'm sure I couldn't go wrong. Even so, I'm really looking for the "best" option for my situation. I'm sure there really is no best...it's just preference.
The Sigma 50-150 and the Rokinon primes have peaked my interest the most I guess. I need to give borrowlenses a call. For that matter, I already own the 35mm Rokinon w/e-mount. Just haven't found the correct situation for it yet. The Rok 85mm would be more useful. anyway....
Even now the 350 is an excellent camera. I got the 700 and lenses + O7Q to do IV shoots and improve my creative options with shallower DOF etc. I was running into limits in smaller rooms etc with the 2/3" lenses on the 350. FS700 has really opened up IV shoots without having to touch nasty DSLR! 
I don't find the 24-105 soft at all - on the speedbooster it obviously makes things even better. Plus, using the O7Q in 4K2HD mode (supersampled HD from 4K RAW), I get stunningly sharp images in 422 10bit Prores HQ The O7Q is so worth it
I don't find the 24-105 soft at all - on the speedbooster it obviously makes things even better. Plus, using the O7Q in 4K2HD mode (supersampled HD from 4K RAW), I get stunningly sharp images in 422 10bit Prores HQ
The O7Q is so worth it Oh, and the Rokinon / Samyang primes are fantastic for the price - and mounted on the speedbooster, are amazingly fast (sorry to keep going on about the speedbooster but it really is good). The big downside I find with the corporate work I do - there's often not much time to keep on swapping lenses, so I reach for the canon zooms most.
The next big thing I'm hoping will revolutionise my IV shooting is using 4K compressed, framed wide, with the option in post to re-frame for more creative control. The O7Q should be bringing 4K compressed fairly soon. Will need to experiment and see how natural looking I can get the results - maybe introduce a little movement in the cropped image (if it's not a super stable image I'm after) from within AE etc. Lots of experimentation to be done.
The next big thing I'm hoping will revolutionise my IV shooting is using 4K compressed, framed wide, with the option in post to re-frame for more creative control. The O7Q should be bringing 4K compressed fairly soon. Will need to experiment and see how natural looking I can get the results - maybe introduce a little movement in the cropped image (if it's not a super stable image I'm after) from within AE etc. Lots of experimentation to be done.
This is interesting because Photozone.de - who are very respected for their lens tests - tested both the Sigma 24-105 f4 and the Canon 24-105 f4 and they found the Canon to be BRIGHTER than the Sigma. In fact their biggest complaint about the Sigma lens was: "From a real world perspective, the light falloff is also a bit disturbing at f/4 at the long end of the range."
Personally, I've had several Sigma lenses and I've sold all of them. Not sure if this applies to the art series, but their old lenses had this yellow tint that I did not like at all.
Here's the reviews on both lenses. Basically, they rated lenses a tie in terms of optical quality. Built quality, the Canon is better due to it's weather sealing. The Sigma is a bit less expensive though.
Canon
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/420-canon_24105_4_5d
Sigma
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/864-sigma24105f4eos?start=2
The Sigma is heavier because of metal body. Not so much plastic as the Canon.
I love the Art series. Swapping out some of my Canon L primes for Sigmas now
Other people having trouble with the loss of tstops in the Canon.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-309352.html
I love the Art series. Swapping out some of my Canon L primes for Sigmas now
Other people having trouble with the loss of tstops in the Canon.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-309352.html
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Great stuff! This is exactly the approach I'm wanting to take with 4k compressed and the O7Q. Being able to reframe shots in posted is extremely liberating. I'm doing this now, but with the end product being 1280x720. I'm wanting to do this at full HD, and thus increase our video file standard. Our audience is 98% web-based. Thanks for the input!
groveChuck
U-matic Member
The Rokinon 85mm t/1.5 is a steal for $318!!! :thumbsup:
For rentals, try comparing lensrentals.com to borrowlens, see who gives you the best rate...