RED T1.9 Prime Lens Set

RED T1.9 Prime Lens Set

  • Yes - make them now, I want, I want, I want

    Votes: 121 87.7%

  • No - don't make them I'm going to use Still Lenses or other Cine Lenses

    Votes: 17 12.3%
  • Total voters
    138
Will the newest Canon AF lenses work in the RED ONE?
Yes, there is no iris ring, and Red will not have any device to control this. But if you have a SLR camera you can easily change the f number. You will need to remove the lense, but i think it is ok if you allready have many Canon lenses.
 
macgregor said:
Will the newest Canon AF lenses work in the RED ONE?
Yes, there is no iris ring, and Red will not have any device to control this. But if you have a SLR camera you can easily change the f number. You will need to remove the lense, but i think it is ok if you allready have many Canon lenses.
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There are no power functions sent out of the Red1 lens mount, so the modern Canon lenses would be stuck at one aperture while on the Red1 body. But as you mentioned, that doesn't mean the lenses will always be stuck at their widest aperture...

If you put a Canon auto lens on a Canon SLR body, set the lens aperture using the camera's aperture priority mode (or manual mode), then press the DOF preview button and unscrew the lens from the body before releasing that DOF button, the result will be that the lens will keep that new aperture. If you don't have a DOF preview button on your Canon SLR, you could shoot a long-exposure picture with the aperture set where you want it and then remove the lens mid-shot. You'd get the same result but it would mean more risk to the shutter/mirror system in the SLR body.

Problems with this method:
-It requires carrying the Canon SLR body around with you if you plan on changing the aperture of the lens at some point.
-It takes a while to get the lens on and off the camera body, increasing it's exposure to dust and the elements.
-There's a slight chance that it might be unhealthy for the lens to be separated from the camera body while the DOF button is depressed. Time would tell on this issue, but my gut tells me it wouldn't cause any problems.
-It's a huge pain to be unable to adjust aperture on-the-fly.

The biggest difficulty though, is that the EOS lenses require a completely different mount than the manual Canon lenses from yester-year. With the method mentioned above being so convoluted, I don't think Red will feel there is demand enough to manufacture an EOS mount, so the EOS lenses are pretty much out of the picture.
 
I've been using Canon EF lenses with my M2 and doing the DOF button workaround and its a really pain.

I'm switching over to Nikon lenses as I've had enough with the Canon workaround.

I'm seeing RED as my big move into a proper Professional camera setup so want proper Cinema lenses to work with the setup, but thats just me and where I'm at at the moment. My Canon + M2 setup has served me well and I've learnt many things using it.
 
Although I cannot answer for Jim or the Red team I believe he already stated his intention if possible would be to make a set of primes once the camera had shipped. Likely 2008 - Again don't take this as gospel but I'm sure this is where this thread initially stemmed from. Besides a poll like this is crackers... who the hell is gonna really say no? Having as many options in the market is only ever gonna be beneficial to us. It'll come down to the ammount of reservations put down on a prime set once Red has established a means to make them to the required standard and given a price for them.
 
yosem said:
In my opinion anybody can say yes without the specifications of the lens, I think that 1.3 is much better than 1.9... In my case I will work all the time with the red zoom or red 300mm except in low light condition or when I need an 16mm. In this case I think that rent the lens is the better option. If red can make a set of T1.3 Master Primes I will buy it because it's 2 stop better than the red zoom lens and it is worth the trouble.

-------------
Jose Miguel
Red One #730
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nicely said!

T1.3. nothing less please..
 
Honestly, old Zeiss T1.3 perform so poorly that I just prefer renting the 2.0's. If RED future primes are indie priced, and of good but not awesome quality, I'm a little suspicious that good results would be obtained with 1.3 primes. The reasons for using primes are not just clarity. Size/weight (as in steadicam) is a good factor, as the price. If they can make a good prime lens for less than 2000 dollars (around 1500), that open to T2, it would be already awesome. For 1000 dollars, would be revolutionary.
 
taubkin said:
If they can make a good prime lens for less than 2000 dollars (around 1500), that open to T2, it would be already awesome. For 1000 dollars, would be revolutionary.
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Considering that even the new Russian primes (not Zeiss, Cooke) go for $8000 a pop, then $2K would be amazingly cheap. Probably $3500 would be more realistic, IMHO.

I agree that I'd trade off speed for price in this lens bracket (within reason). One also has to realize the axiom - good, fast, or cheap, pick any two - applies to lenses too.

I would have loved to pick up a set of primes to go with my RED camera, but that'd probably mean a year or two delay to get the camera. Me no like that scenario.

Still, one day I'd like to have a fully kitted RED camera - high quality from end to end. :beer:


RED#'s Vive La Resolution
 
Sweet spot

Sweet spot

My suggestion is to aim for $2K to $5K per lens. More than $5K each, considering most people will want at least 4 focal lengths, is just too much for most indies and owner/operators. Anything less than $2K will either be too slow, too poor in terms of optical quality or both.

Blair S. Paulsen
RedOne #19
 
I agree.. hitting 5 grand per prime would be a nice sweet spot. Considering the 300 mm prime is 5 grand.. perhaps a 5 prime lens set could hit the 25,000-30,000 mark. A prime set for the price of one cooke would be quite nice.
 
If Red Makes a 5 lens set thats T1.3 that costs around $10-12k and are better in quality than Mk3 1990's zeiss super speeds I would buy them,

While Cooke and Zeiss have long histories Red had no track record at all with cine optics ( sorry sunglasses don't count here ) It's hard to guess what a set of Red lenses might be worth in 5 or 10 years.

I know Jim has a passion for quality, but there are a lot of different characteristics that DP's expect from a cine lens and it's hard to know if Red will be able to meet expectations at a competitive price point.

The 300mm that Red has shown sounds nice but nobody outside the company has tested it. It's still to be determined if it's an orig. design or a rehoused still photo prime. Cinematographers are not exactly clamoring for yet another 300mm 2.8 when there are several zooms that go from around 150mm-450mm+ at a 2.8 and plenty of used PL mount Canon and Nikon teles out there available on the used market for much less than $4950....

I am planning on buying a set of primes to go with my Red, it will either be Red made ones, Zeiss Super Speeds or possibly the Russian Elites. While the Cooke S4's and Zeiss Masterprimes / Ultra Primes are awesome lenses and don't leave much of room for improvement. However I can't see the economic sense of making a 60-120k investment with the kind of jobs that I think I'll be doing with my Red. ( and anyway I live in Hollywood, there are at least 10 good camera rental options within 20 miles of my house if any job needs these lenses and can afford them it's an easy matter to rent. )



Matt Uhry
www.fuzby.com
 
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Prime fantasy

Prime fantasy

Anybody with easy access to top flite rental houses or who is doing features exclusively has little incentive to buy lenses, beyond possibly the Red Zoom. For those of us who shoot many different genres and/or do not work in close proximity to first class rental operations and/or often have shoots that are less than 3 days renting is much less attractive.

Why are people like me pimping a company like Red with no track record in optics beyond sunglasses to market a set of "affordable" primes? First of all they seem to have a serious commitment to the digital cinema movement and have already chosen to market two lenses. Second, there is gaping chasm between the "still lenses as subs for cine lenses" level and the Cooke/Zeiss level in terms of both price and operating characteristics. For an owner-operator like myself, the ability to have a set of decent primes in my kit, lenses that can be racked smoothly with minimal breathing would be tasty. It may be a fantasy but if you never ask...

Blair S. Paulsen
RedOne #19
 
Yes to prime lenses

Yes to prime lenses

I would say yes to a set of primes.. It is all I use form almost everything I shoot....

Like everyone pointed out... If they are priced right... But at T 1.9 you had me at hello....


Keep up the work...

I can't wait to get mine...
 
nycfilmmaker said:
cooke and zeiss have been around for decades. they specialze in optics not making cameras not making radios -- just optics. Millions of dollars and years upon years of engineering have gone into those optics. how could anyone say that red lenses will be better or even comparable than ziess or cookes? that's insanity. love the Red camera though.
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WOW.....

You can't be American!


Such nay saying.

This is how we get better and better.

Punctuated Equilibrium.


Get some Sun for G-d's Sake!
 
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