Looking for cinematography accessories

Z

zjrt02

Active member
We're building an HVX200-based system for a movie shoot and I'm looking for the most cost-effective accessories.

Does anyone have any experience with Zacuto, both as a vendor for camera packages and for their baseplate/rail system?

We're looking for the standard stuff: lens adapters, monitors, matte boxes/filter holders, focus controls, etc.

I realize these questions have problably been asked countless times and if there is a single place to look for the answers I'll be happy to look there.

Thanks in advance to all who reply, and for making this such a great site!

Richard Thompson
T4 Media
 
Wow this m2 is actually affordable, I dunno why but I thought 35mm adapters were much more expensive but this is doable.

I never used anything but a zoom lens before, what lenses would you use with the adapter?
 
mk23 said:
Wow this m2 is actually affordable, I dunno why but I thought 35mm adapters were much more expensive but this is doable.

I never used anything but a zoom lens before, what lenses would you use with the adapter?
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You can use whatever lenses you like -- zooms or primes. Quite a fews of us on these boards have the M2 and love it. If you do a search, you'll find all kinds of great footage and discussion.

P.S.: Cavision (cavision.com) also makes a lot of very good (and affordable) "cinema" accessories (follow focus, matte box, etc...).
 
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darwinandpaine said:
You can use whatever lenses you like -- zooms or primes. Quite a fews of us on these boards have the M2 and love it. If you do a search, you'll find all kinds of great footage and discussion.

P.S.: Cavision (cavision.com) also makes a lot of very good (and affordable) "cinema" accessories (follow focus, matte box, etc...).
Click to expand...


yeah i've seen a few clips and threads about the M2, but since i'm a total n00b I was hopin for some examples of prime lens sets so that I could get an idea about prices. I'm sure other noobs would also appreciate this.
 
mk23 said:
yeah i've seen a few clips and threads about the M2, but since i'm a total n00b I was hopin for some examples of prime lens sets so that I could get an idea about prices. I'm sure other noobs would also appreciate this.
Click to expand...

I have nothing but primes.
Niknon 24mm f2.8
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 85mm f.2
Nikon 100mm f.2.8
Nikon 135mm f2.8

My favorite of these is the 85mm.

Basically, the faster the lens, the better. You lose about 1-1.5 stops with the M2, so an f2.8 requires quite a bit of light for interiors. Plus, most lenses are not at their best completely wide open. If you can afford to get the faster lenses, do so. Otherwise, I'd say f2.8 is about as slow as you'd want to go, unless you know that you're only going to be using the lens outdoors with plenty of daylight (like you might do with the longer lenses).
 
To those using the M2, does the m2 change the viewing angle or perspective of a 35mm lens? I mean does an 85mm nikon look like an 85mm through the m2 on an hvx? or is it more like 100mm?


and when it's time to flip the image in post, what's your tchnique? do you flip everything, render, and export BEFORE you edit anything? are there plugins/shortcuts for FCP for this?


Thanks!
 
zjrt02 said:
Does anyone have any experience with Zacuto, both as a vendor for camera packages and for their baseplate/rail system?
Click to expand...

I am very happy with the Zacuto baseplate, the quality is top notch and allows you a lot of flexibility when time comes to mount accessories. Its not cheap, but you are getting a quality product that is future-proof, and will only need to buy one in your lifetime. I highly recommend.

-p
 
Here is a pic of my setup
hvx200.jpg
 
Replicant said:
To those using the M2, does the m2 change the viewing angle or perspective of a 35mm lens? I mean does an 85mm nikon look like an 85mm through the m2 on an hvx? or is it more like 100mm?
Click to expand...

Different people have gotten different results on this question. I think it has a lot to do with how far down the motor is sitting in the M2, and how far in you have to zoom to get past it. I had Brian Valente (of Redrock) move mine all the way up (down?) to get it out of the way, and I can now keep my zoom setting at around 73 or 74.

The short answer is, you're not going to get exactly 85mm with an 85mm lens. But depending on how well-tweaked your M2 is, you can get pretting close (90mm, 92mm?). On my 24mm lens, I have to pull the matte box back just a little behind the front of the lens because the image is so wide.

P.S.: Here's a quick photo I took of my rig when I first got the M2 (hadn't even flipped the Marshall yet): http://15minuteslatermovie.com/hvxrig.html
 
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More on prime lenses, please

More on prime lenses, please

darwinandpaine said:
I have nothing but primes.
Niknon 24mm f2.8
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 85mm f.2
Nikon 100mm f.2.8
Nikon 135mm f2.8
Click to expand...

Are these cine primes or SLR primes? How well do follow-focus attachments work with SLR lenses in this configuration?
 
zjrt02 said:
Are these cine primes or SLR primes? How well do follow-focus attachments work with SLR lenses in this configuration?
Click to expand...

These are all SLR primes. I bought every one of them used, and they all work very well. Some are sharper than others, and, of course, some are faster than others. But I only paid about $700 for the lot, so I can't really complain.

As for the follow focus question, I'm still waiting for my bigger gear to come in that will match the gears of the focus rings I ordered from Redrock. So I can't fully answer that question. But Brian Valente (at Redrock) has my exact set-up and says it works really well. I'll let you know once everything comes in.
 
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