Lens route advice for FS700?

A

alohype

Veteran
Hi, I've just purchased FS700.
What would you recommend, what lens route to go with FS700? I haven't got any glass from previous setups, so I am open to go and invest in any route.
SpeedBooster and Canon/Nikon glass, e-mount, a-mount glass? Please advise.
Many thanks for your help!
 
I mainly use Zeiss ZF Primes (Nikon Mount to Canon adopter for each lens which goes on top of Metabones) and for Zooms it's Canon + Metabones.
 
So basically you're completely bypassing Sony mounts? (a and e) At the moment I've got that kit lens that comes with FS700 and 3 a-mount zoom lenses (but nothing special, none of them is constant and faster than F3.5, that's why I've stated that I haven't got anything)
 
OK. I would go the standard "Canon Route". This is the most versatile setup for use with the camera for any and all shoots you will be encountering at first.

Get a Metabones EF adapter with Speed Booster. This will let you be good in low lighting. And use those Canon lenses.

Lenses of choice. First off the Canon 24-70. It is just the standard lens everyone goes to. You will be asked for it if you are on other people's shoots with your camera. Second one is the 70-200. It is great for a zoom if you are further away or for interviews. Clients love that for interviews. And again you are asked for it on other shoots by other people. While it is nice to get the USM II's in each of these it isn't needed. You can get the USM I's and be fine. Buy each for $1000ish. Turn around after making money off of them (I charge $75/day for each), sell them for the same price you bought them and buy the USM II's!! Also you can use these with any EF mount camera (expecially the Canons like the 5dMKIII, C100-500, etc. So if you get another camera... yay!

After that I'd get a 16-35 Canon L Series and a 11-16 Tokina EF Mount. Both lenses are useful. Sigma 18-35 is another good choice. If you need it you also have the mount for much further zooms from Canon!

You will want primes. Man are there plenty of choices out there. It is at this time, though I would also get a PL Mount for your camera. You might need to rent some better lenses for a shoot and you can do that now. Also get a height adjustable baseplate that works with rods! You will need the support for heavier lenses. And the height adjustment is good because the FS700 is not setup with the industry standard height for PL lenses. I have put the Angenieux Optimo 24-290 and Arri/Fuji Alura 45-250 lenses on FS700's. Both cases bottom to top it was: Large dovetail, bridgeplate w/19mm Rods, zacuto baseplate adjusted for height w/ 15mm rods to support the PL mount on the FS700.

But back to the primes it will depend on your budget/clients. Just look take your time to decide.

Finally it is ACTUALLY nice to have a non-speedbosted mount just in case you need to use a lens where vignetting will be an issue with the speedboster, OR if you want a bit of extra zoom out of your Canon lenses. But I would get the speedbooster first. It will be the one you use most.
 
You can also do Nikon instead of Canon actually. Same thing as above basically just substituting Nikon for Canon. BUT 49/50 shoots I rent gear for or go on are Canon or PL Mount. Nikons are the other 1/50. You might end up limiting yourself if you go Nikon. Good luck!
 
I completely dont get 'the canon route'

Canon lenses are no good for making films, the focus throw is too short, just because everyone jumped to canon glass when they got a 5d2 doesnt mean it was a good idea in any way shape or form.

Id look for long throw manual glass, canonFd, leica, contax, samyang

I exclude nikon from the list as they focus the other way - if you go nikon - go nikon and stick with it.

S
 
He didn't say making films so I didn't go that route. BUT they are routinely used for:

-Corporate shoots/industrials spots/pharmaceuticals
-Lower end commercials
-Sometimes for spots for the news
-REALITY TV (ewwwwww...)
-Event coverage
-Internet... anythings

Almost always this is what I've had FS700's out on jobs for.

If you are going for cinema see Morgan's post above and get a PL mount.
 
I have only e-mount lenses a couple of Sony's and two Samyangs.
Moat are primes. Which is fine. Except most jobs I do are under time preasure and sort of improvised. So the changing of lenses takes a bit too much time. So a nice zoom lens is one of my top priorities.

If you plan on doing any sort of hand held filming, I'd say image stabilisation is essential, which is why the Sony A-mount route is bad, as those lenses don't have stabilisation.

Personally I'm eyeballing the Tamron 24-70 2.8 as that's the only 2.8 zoom lens I know of with stabilisation. Anyone have any experience with that lens?
 
What ever you choose try to standardize as much as you can. As Morgan Moore states, if you go Nikon stay Nikon all the way. There are MANY nice AI and AIS Nikon lenses to choose from. You can add EF adapters to the back of Nikons to standardize on the EF to E-mount if you choose.

If going PL I have nothing but good things to say about Solid Cameras PL mount and camera support. Pricey but you get what you pay for.

I started converting FDn lenses to EOS with FDTOEOS non destructive mounts and have looked at Ed Mika's EOS mounts for more options. FD is kinda dead end but manual focus lenses in EOS mount are very versatile. Plus the price is right.

Personally I'm all PL cine glass, but I have to say old primes look great with digital and converting old Nikon or Leica R or Canon FDn to EOS mount would be very versatile and cost effective. Many new lower cost cine lenses also have multi mounts- PL and EOS and sometimes Nikon so I feel an investment in EOS mount glass is worthwhile.

Further modifications with focus gears, decliking iris and a common front are worthwhile too. Anything and everything to speed production on the day because we are always short of time.
 
Also want to further stress what Morgan says: there is a world of difference using a true manual focus lens and using an autofocus lens in manual mode.

Just ask any working 1st AC.

Even shooting a sit down interview with a longish lens at f2.8- if the subject moves around in their chair you will need to pull focus to keep their eyes in.
 
The Tamron 24-70 is my go to lens for running and gunning indoors or at night (i.e. whenever the need for light trumps the reach on the 24-105). The IS is incredibly useful, and at nearly 1K less than the Canon 24-70 MKII is a total steal. Note, however, the focus wheel turns in the opposite direction (Nikon-style) and the wheel is somewhat close to the lens mount, and fairly narrow (though still works totally fine with a zip tie FF gear).

Also, on the Canon alternatives, the Tokina 16-28 is worth considering over the Canon 16-35 -- half the price, sharper, and less vignetting on the speed booster -- but you do trade in range, it's heavier, and doesn't have filter threads.
 
morgan_moore said:
I completely dont get 'the canon route'

Canon lenses are no good for making films, the focus throw is too short, just because everyone jumped to canon glass when they got a 5d2 doesnt mean it was a good idea in any way shape or form.

Id look for long throw manual glass, canonFd, leica, contax, samyang

I exclude nikon from the list as they focus the other way - if you go nikon - go nikon and stick with it.

S
Click to expand...

Canon zooms are great for a cheap-ish price and modern zooms are much better than vintage manual zooms in terms of flare, sharpness, minimum focus distance and just have a more modern look which most clients tend to like. While primes may not have improved by leaps and bounds, zooms certainly have. And zooms are great for really rushed situations, which is a lot of the time.

I have several Canon FD lenses and they have a pronounced green bias and look very vintage, which is great only if you want that vibe. To me, I just don't like Samyang as they feel cheap and have a pronounced yellow bias. Leica is $$$$ and even though they focus the wrong way, Zeiss ZFs are so lovely both in image and mechanics, which is why I love them. And PL mount? Let's be real here... Who really owns any because of the insane price. Rental only for the most part.

i still say Zeiss ZFs and Canon zooms, at least that works for me. And of course you can make a movie with Canon zooms... It might not be the top choice by any means, but that doesn't mean you can't use it and tons of nice video has been shot with it.

And if the gig can afford a first AC for you, you can probably rent real cine lenses. DSLR / SLR glass is affordable so you can just grab you camera and shoot without always renting, a huge freedom.
 
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I use nikon personally, I have MANUAL 1980s 28-85 zoom (perfect 'one lens' with a booster on the FS) and also use my manual 35-70 zoom no booster (perfect interview range) , I also have the 50-300 4.5 zoom, perfect conference (manual 1980s) - I do appreciate the ability to reframe without a lens change (reframing is different from zooming 'in shot' which should be only done with cine zooms)

BOth the 28-85 and 35-70 have 'macro' facilities and focus pretty close (I also have 55micro- $100 which is a proper macro lens)

Personally I find them mechanically in a different class to modern zooms - not to mention costing peanuts - optically the seem fine to me. I did a test of some old glass and the only one that was soft was a 1980s 28/2 at 2

Ive wanted lenses like the 24-70 nikkor modern zoom and 17-55 modern zoom but after testing just did not feel I could work with them - and that is just pulling focus on an interview, not doing heavy drama with an A/C

I flogged my canon 24-105 (which is dark at 105 and bent at 24) but still use various AF 70-200 lenses which are OK just, personally I find the one with the worst focus is the canon 70-200 2.8 - I prefer the 70-200F4 canon and nikon

I also had a tokina 17-55 which was flary open and had super short thow - unusable.

I would encourage eveyrone to pick up a manual 35-70 for $150 and give it a go, one will then laugh at the $1800 modern options!

Conversly I also have the total crap 18-200 sony kit lens - that lens has the worst MF Ive ever seen - you cannot pull at all mid shot -but with AF and IS it is really handy with the FS series of cameras - a must have! :)

S
 
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it really depends on your budget and what you want to shoot.

If you don't own already EF Canon lenses I would not buy them for e-Mount film making.
I started with the Kit lens, the Sony 1.8 50mm and a 35mm Rokinon. I also bought the
Tokona 11-6 with a metabones adapter for my other Canon lenses from 5D still photography
The only lens I use sometimes is the 70-200 and the 16-35 (rarely!)

In the meanwhile I own 3 CP.2 primes and I replaced the Tokina 11-16 with the Sony 10-18
It was a perfect start for me with the Rokinon 35mm and the SEL50F18. Good quality for a
reasonable price. I also found myself in more run and gun situations than I had planned and
therefore I used the Kit 18-200 more than I expected. As a one man show AF and IS can be
very helpful.
 
Well lots of good advice here but we haven't heard from the OP on his thoughts and what he does yet. Hopefully he can chime in on the info!
 
OsakaTom said:
The Tamron 24-70 is my go to lens for running and gunning indoors or at night (i.e. whenever the need for light trumps the reach on the 24-105). The IS is incredibly useful, and at nearly 1K less than the Canon 24-70 MKII is a total steal. Note, however, the focus wheel turns in the opposite direction (Nikon-style) and the wheel is somewhat close to the lens mount, and fairly narrow (though still works totally fine with a zip tie FF gear).
Click to expand...

I have to agree with the Tamron 24-70... love this lens. Use it way more than I thought I would. Incredibly sharp too, even in 4k. The person I bought it from solid it because of the focus direction, it definitely is weird. Luckily I have edelkrone's follow focus which has a "reversing" gear on it, so i am able to continue using it like the Canons.
 
Has anyone else ever used the Zeiss/Sony Alpha 70-200 f 2.8 SSM II with Alpha adapter? Optically excellent, nice bokeh, very good optical stabilization, better focus manually than Canon, and incredible AF which can be amazingly useful in a lot of situations.

Surprised it's never mentioned by FS700 owners. It's the bomb with that cam
 
Thanks everyone for a massive amount of great information. I will probably go Canon route but at the beginning it's pretty painful to spend money on speed booster (that alone, without lenses, is doing 'nothing' :) Shame that autofocus is not working properly with MBSB - and I'am not even talking about filming but about taking photo (it's good to have AF when using other Sony camera for stills or for some gimbal shots). Are there any other caveats when using speed booster? Lagging when adjusting aperture or anything like that?

Canon 24-70 F2.8 would be my first lens but lack of IS is a bit of a "no no" as I will do a lot of run n gun shots (I have to bit those micro shakes...). Does anyone have an experience (or example) how bad those micro shakes are on FS700? Maybe I am exaggerating a bit.

Canon 24-70 F4 have IS but then it looks kind of pointless when 24-105 is F4 as well and you can have that extra focal length (I know it's not truly constant, but from 24 to 70 it is close enough right?)

Canon 70-200 F4 or F2.8 is a lens that I will definitely get as a 3rd or 4th lens in a row, I will chose one dependant on available money.


About Sony e-mount lenses. Can you recommend one general purpose focal lengths lens with IS? (that I could use for gimbal and photos)


I'm not going to be bother with buying PL lenses - I will only rent them on occasional situations.
 
Have you taken a look at the Sigma 24-105 f4 is?

Its optically better than the Canon 24-105, it works better with the FS700 (mine at least) and its super versatile. I find myself using this lens 90% of the time.
 
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