Some rental gear help, pls

U

USLatin

Panamaniac
Ok, so I am going to ask a few things here and there, hope you can give me some objective opinions based on experience pls guys:

1. First I'll start with the lenses. What should I get for use with an HPX-170 + SGpro... doubt it makes much of a difference but just fyi it will be freakin' freezing.

I will likely end up renting from Minneapolis from Cinequipt. If you click on the link and select Film and then 35mm you will see what they have for yourself: http://www.cinequipt.com/rental.aspx

They have Zeiss Super Speeds (1.3f) which are the most affordable and only $10 more each than the Zeiss Standard Primes (2.1f) and you get them for $70 each or $300 for all of them... well it says for five of them but I am guessing that's a typo... if it isn't then I'd be fine with dropping the 65mm and getting the 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. They also have Zeiss Ultra Primes (1.9f) for $100 each. I am hoping to get the Super Speeds and to hear from you guys that the Ultra Primes will match them well, so that I can get the set of Super Speeds and the 135mm Ultra Prime, which seems to be the best deal. Or, finally, they have the Cooke IV Series (2.0f) for $100 a pop, they also go up to 135mm.

And finally, they have some zooms:
Angenieux 15-40 Optimo T2.6 $475.00
Angenieux 24-290 Optimo T2.8 $600.00
Angenieux 25-250 HR T3.5 $275.00
Century/Canon150-600 T6.3 $350.00
Cooke 14-70 T3.1 $375.00
Cooke 18-100 T3.0 $275.00
Cooke 20-100 T3.1 $175.00
Cooke 25-250 Mk2B T3.9 $200.00

I am guessing that the Super Speeds will be more than enough for 1080p and for most people anything better than that is just personal choice. I personally want to save some money so long as we can focus properly and all of the Super Speeds will be good enough for the 1st AC, right? I know they look great... so I should put my money else wear, like the aerial shots or the few stunts. I wish we could get the 15-40mm and 24-290mm Optimos, but we might need the extra speed quite often, and they are more money. Also, the 24-290mm will be a brick to carry around in the cold... it still might be the best bet... does anyone think we should get the 24-290mm 2.8f alone? It would be nice not to have to switch lenses, it might also help with condensation that we keep it on the whole time?

2. Will we be fine with an O'Connor 2060? It claims to balance all the way down to 0lbs. but will it be just as fluid with the light rig?


That's what I have so far, I'll probably post a few more on this same thread. Thank you for your posts!
 
Also, what would be the best mount adapter from the SGpro mounts to PL? Am I treading on thin ice here? Or should I just get the LEX? I personally want to use the SGpro, that is my favorite by far, but if I am going to have problems with mount adapters then I would be happy to get a different look but gain light in the process... And if anyone has a solution for the SGpro then what mount should I start with on the lens adapter?
 
If you've the budget for all those wonderful lenses forget about the HPX 170 / SG Pro combo and rent a PS Technik / HDX 900 package or something like it. It'll work out the same after you factor in the light loss from the HPX/SG compared to the PS / HDX 900. The latter is about a stop and half more sensitive which means you can get away with a much smaller lighting package which will save time and money. And the real kicker is it'll be a much cleaner/sharper image.

I never use my Ultimate / HVX package with anything better than still lenses because once I start renting cine glass, the price puts me in a different and better league.

Budget it out. You'd be surprised. Smaller lights, less electricity, smaller generator, easier on crew and better image versus bigger lights, more juice, and an image that isn't nearly as good.

Tim Naylor DP
 
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