My Lens Choices - Any Advice?

[AndrewSP]

As I mentioned in the other thread, I am shooting something coming up soon and though the budget is small, I feel I made the right choices for glass. However, I'm curious what you guys would have to say and if you have any more experience than I do with them.

I recently rented a Tokina 11-16 2.8 which I have been dying to try out. I really like the performance and decided on that. However, my second lens I have never used before, the Rokinon 24mm T1.5, which I'm excited to try out.
The others are just Zeiss primes at 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4, and 85mm 1.4. I've shot with Zeiss a lot, but my FS700 is relatively new and I haven't shot with Zeiss much on it or had a chance to experiment with my own projects.

So that's what I picked, did I make a glaring mistake? I feel like these will cover the whole gamut of shots we need.

The List:
Tokina 11-16mm 2.8
Rokinon 24mm T1.5
Zeiss 35mm 1.4
Zeiss 50mm 1.4
Zeiss 85mm 1.4

All of these will be paired with my Metabones Smart Adapter II for canon EF lenses.

 

[Jim Ritscher]

My only question is, what mount? If it's e-mount, I'd say you're putting a lot of eggs in one basket, though some people do it. If Nikon mount, not so bad. If you are buying one Rokinon lens, maybe wait for the entire Rokinon cine series. Also, only one zoom lens. Fine for drama, but some people like a midrange zoom for doc., run and gun. You have the main focal lengths covered pretty well.
--Jim

 

[KMA_WWC]

My only question is, what mount? If it's e-mount, I'd say you're putting a lot of eggs in one basket, though some people do it. If Nikon mount, not so bad. If you are buying one Rokinon lens, maybe wait for the entire Rokinon cine series. Also, only one zoom lens. Fine for drama, but some people like a midrange zoom for doc., run and gun. You have the main focal lengths covered pretty well.
--Jim

Well, I don't really think those lenses are e mount because he states in his text that its EF mount lenses.

 

[Gene Sung]

Personally I would avoid getting the Zeiss lenses in EOS mount because its electronic aperture. Get the Zeiss ZFs in Nikon mount with the manual aperture ring. That way in the future, the lenses will be compatible with any camera since Nikon mount is the most universal and you won't need an electronic adapter like the Metabones. Future proof your lenses now and save cash later.

Since you are on a Zeiss kick, I would get the Zeiss zf 25mm f2 over the Samyang. Also, I've read that the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 has strong chromatic aberrations, so you might be better getting zeiss 35mm f2. It's cheaper as well

 

[AndrewSP]

Personally I would avoid getting the Zeiss lenses in EOS mount because its electronic aperture. Get the Zeiss ZFs in Nikon mount with the manual aperture ring. That way in the future, the lenses will be compatible with any camera since Nikon mount is the most universal and you won't need an electronic adapter like the Metabones. Future proof your lenses now and save cash later.

Since you are on a Zeiss kick, I would get the Zeiss zf 25mm f2 over the Samyang. Also, I've read that the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 has strong chromatic aberrations, so you might be better getting zeiss 35mm f2. It's cheaper as well

Well the budget allowed me to spend a little money on buying myself some new glass, which meant the Tokina and the Rokinon. All the Zeiss are rentals, but I'm really glad you reminded me about the CA of the 35 1.4, I completely forgot about how rough that can get wide open.

If I were to buy Zeiss in the future, I would certainly go all manual just because I'm not a fan of electronic aperture control at all.

My only question is, what mount? If it's e-mount, I'd say you're putting a lot of eggs in one basket, though some people do it. If Nikon mount, not so bad. If you are buying one Rokinon lens, maybe wait for the entire Rokinon cine series. Also, only one zoom lens. Fine for drama, but some people like a midrange zoom for doc., run and gun. You have the main focal lengths covered pretty well.
--Jim

As much as I love my FS700, buying E-Mount lenses never crossed my mind. I feel like I'd lose flexibility in the future and like I'd be limiting my camera choices, hence the Metabones for EF mount. This project is a drama, so the primes make these most sense but I totally agree that a zoom is pretty essential for midrange stuff. I just got rid of my 24-105 L series which I really liked for doc stuff, but it was a tad too soft overall for my liking, but a great lens for the price.

My plan right now is to invest in the Rokinon cine lenses, next on my list is the 35mm.