Prime Set Decision

[yoclay]

Utterly untrue. A CP.2 18mm will have exactly the same field of view as any other professional PL mount 18mm.

It is true the FF still 35mm cameras like the 5DmkII have a wider field of view for the same focal length. But focal lengths are calculated independently of field of view.

On cameras with smaller chips you need even smaller focal length to get equivilent field of views to 35mm.

For instance, the Sony PMW-EX1 has a 14x zoom with a focal length of f = 5.8 to 81.2 mm, which is equivalent to 31.4 to 439 mm on 35 mm lens.

And in specific regard to the CP.2 18mm lens - it's not a true full frame lenses - and Zeiss is upfront about it - it vingettes on full frame cameras like the 5DmkII - you can actually see the corners of the front bezel in the frame. Works fine on S35 cameras like the F3 though.


**EDIT: The fact is, if a shooter is used to thinking in terms of full frame field of views (5DmkII shooters), then yes - in transitioning to a S35 they will have to adjust to a *percieved* crop for any given focal length of lens. But this is regardless of manufacturer, and is particularly not accurate in regards to the 18mm CP.2 which isn't a true FF lens in the first place. For anyone who is used to Super35 or APSC format lens/cameras, there is no change in field of view or crop, even if the lenses being used are also able to be used on full frame cameras.

In any case the 18mm is the only prime CP.2 conceived for an APS-C or S35 size chip in the Zeiss set. It will vignette on "Full Frame" 35 (ie. the 5DMII).

 

[Rick Burnett]

85mm is a great lens for shooting action scenes (fighting). Lesser lenses just separate too much and it gets very difficult to make the hits looks realistic without descent flattening. Not that is cannot be done, as we have shot with 50 and 30 mm for action, but after doing tests with each of the focal lengths, I felt 85 was the most bang for the buck.

Even further, 85mm is great for more intimate two shots I find. The wider the lens, the more spread out a scene feels. So if I want a conversation to be very intimate, I slap on the 85 and narrow that FoV.

Of course, this is content specific.