Really dumb question re: Lenses

M

mrWr0ng

Well-known member
Not sure where to post this, but it's about as basic as you can get, feel free to laugh.

I was at MacWorld last week and grabbed the Nikon brochure on their lenses, studying the different types of glass and how they work for the different shots, but one thing that I don't know is - is there a difference between still photo lenses and video camera lenses? I'm thinking about the M2 for my HVX, so I'm studying lens styles now but I haven't seen it addressed and don't know if there's an obvious difference, or perhaps simply a adapter-size difference.

Are they basically interchangeable? Is there an adapter issue? Are they one and the same? I figure even if they're not swappable, the theory behind the lens is the same, so I can still get something out of studying the brochure, but it only talks about photography cameras.

Thanks :cheesy:
 
Still photo lenses "breathe" (A slight zoom in or out when racking focus) video or cine lenses are designed to minimize this, but with still lenses it does not matter.
 
Okay, that makes sense. Since you're only taking one photo at a time it doesn't matter if the image distorts as you focus.

is this true for pretty much all lenses, zooms or primes only? I'm glad that at least the studying I'm doing now is paying off
 
For use on an adaptor I would forget about new autofocus lenses, and go for older s/h manual ones. Less electronics to get in the way, and you will have a longer focus scale. Having said that, the new Zeiss F-Mount primes look rather tasty, if you can afford them.
 
the longer the focal length, the more it will breathe. There are worse problems a lens can have other than breathing. Chroma Abberation, and reolution fall off is worse.
 
My canon FD's are working pretty well on the M2, hard to find high quality second hand though and when you do they can be exe. There is breathing, but not so much that I have worried about it.
 
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