stepping up to cine lenses without blowing the bank account

How the heck do you decide which lens to use with that many?!? :) Haha, do you have to use a forklift to carry your lens bag?
 
Postmaster said:
Just saw this - just in case someone else want´s to go that route:

Cooke Varotal 20-100mm, f.2.8 T3:1 PL Mount Buy now for 4000 Euros
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Went for 3300 Euros with a support plate - less than £3K - a very good price! Lens/body looked in great condition.
 
I can hear my wife now... Do you have your camera stuff on my table again?

Both the Hotrod PL mount and Cooke 20-100 get here Tuesday. If the Berkey lens support arrives by then I'll mount everything up and post a pic.
 
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I have a line on an 18-55 Red PL. I already own a Nikon 17-55mm2.8 DX. But I might want to use it on B or C cams, or could use other Nikon glass. Is the Red 'cine' lens worth the $2800 investment? I heard it was Sigma glass, which is or isn't always praised....
 
My two cents - I would put that $3K towards the 17-50mm RED pro. Save up some more if you can and wait. Use still glass in the meantime.
I'm not going to bother with PL glass on my FS personally. I'll wait until I can justify at an F3 or Epic - S purchase, or a future camera that comes with PL (AF-300?). I figure I'm going low budget indie with the FS100 and if I break that mold, I'll do it with a more capable camera.
 
One thing is for sure, the era of high quality inexpensive interchangeable lens cameras is upon us. Cameras like the FS100 and AF100 are so cheap compared to what they offer the shooter, that I almost think of them as throw away cameras. In two years something even more impressive will be released for a price point so low that you and I both will say... damn, I've got to buy one. And many who do will be in the same boat that new AF100/FS100/F3 owners are now. Scrambling to find a lens solution. For some a set of inexpensive Nikon still lenses or the like will be plenty. But for others who will be using their new camera in a professional environment, a set of still camera lenses might not be enough. My take is that it makes the most sense to purchase camera assist and support gear that will last a lifetime rather than replace it each time you purchase a new camera. Things like a very good tripod and fluid head, along with nice cine glass should last you for decades. And as far as waiting till a better camera comes along like the Epic-whatever before you purchase nice glass, the current crop of large sensor interchangeable lens cameras available now can deliver 93% of what an Epic can deliver. If your deliverables requirements are not for the big screen, and lets be real here, how many of you are honestly shooting movies that will be played in theaters, then a 1080HD workflow will be plenty. But Dave, a 5K workflow will allow me to reframe in post. Seriously, if such little thought was put into the production that you need to reframe a shot in post well... Now that I've gone off on a caffeine tangent, I'll put down the coffee cup and close by saying that in my opinion, high quality cine glass is an investment that will last a lifetime and is well worth the investment.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Doctor Wu said:
My two cents - I would put that $3K towards the 17-50mm RED pro.
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I've been thinking this as well and just passed on an opportunity for an 18-50 red zoom. Especially after reading threads like this (link)

David W. Jones said:
One thing is for sure, the era of high quality inexpensive interchangeable lens cameras is upon us. Cameras like the FS100 and AF100 are so cheap compared to what they offer the shooter, that I almost think of them as throw away cameras. In two years something even more impressive will be released for a price point so low that you and I both will say... damn, I've got to buy one. And many who do will be in the same boat that new AF100/FS100/F3 owners are now. Scrambling to find a lens solution. For some a set of inexpensive Nikon still lenses or the like will be plenty. But for others who will be using their new camera in a professional environment, a set of still camera lenses might not be enough. My take is that it makes the most sense to purchase camera assist and support gear that will last a lifetime rather than replace it each time you purchase a new camera. Things like a very good tripod and fluid head, along with nice cine glass should last you for decades. And as far as waiting till a better camera comes along like the Epic-whatever before you purchase nice glass, the current crop of large sensor interchangeable lens cameras available now can deliver 93% of what an Epic can deliver. If your deliverables requirements are not for the big screen, and lets be real here, how many of you are honestly shooting movies that will be played in theaters, then a 1080HD workflow will be plenty. But Dave, a 5K workflow will allow me to reframe in post. Seriously, if such little thought was put into the production that you need to reframe a shot in post well... Now that I've gone off on a caffeine tangent, I'll put down the coffee cup and close by saying that in my opinion, high quality cine glass is an investment that will last a lifetime and is well worth the investment.

All the Best!

Dave
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The camera is the 'throw away' component of the setup thats for sure. I've been noticing this for a while as that is the part that depreciates the fastest and gets replaced the most.

I'm wary of this thread becoming a epic red flame war so I would ask everyone to hold off on that, we have all trudged thru it ad nauseum.
 
I will say that lenses are not safe either as far as investment goes. I've been preaching it for a while and now actually starting to get serious about it. Finally have a client big enough to commission this project. Still lenses offer speed, range and weight advantage that Cine lenses won't touch for a long time- if ever. Their optical performance is adequate for 20+Mpix cameras. Their field flatness, unlike motion lens design- is the basic requirement. Price point is unparalleled. On top of that they are already equipped with fast and silent motors, image stabilization, encoder feedback, etc. No cine lens will scratch the surface of these features.
The only issue with the still lenses for motion is the interface. My ProLock system takes care of the mechanical part. Has been working on RedOnes for two years with great results.
As soon as we finish the electronic interface development you'll see the next phase of convergence. The new breed of DSLRs allowed for still/motion convergence of cameras. The next step is lenses.
Your PL glass will be sitting on the shelf and the only time you'll look at it will be to dedust it once a year.
Breathing? please-unless you buy a set of Master Primes and Optimos all the others breathe the same.
So unless you have work now that requires cine glass and will ROI quickly a 20 year investment this is NOT.
 
optitek said:
I will say that lenses are not safe either as far as investment goes. I've been preaching it for a while and now actually starting to get serious about it. Finally have a client big enough to commission this project. Still lenses offer speed, range and weight advantage that Cine lenses won't touch for a long time- if ever. Their optical performance is adequate for 20+Mpix cameras. Their field flatness, unlike motion lens design- is the basic requirement. Price point is unparalleled. On top of that they are already equipped with fast and silent motors, image stabilization, encoder feedback, etc. No cine lens will scratch the surface of these features.
The only issue with the still lenses for motion is the interface. My ProLock system takes care of the mechanical part. Has been working on RedOnes for two years with great results.
As soon as we finish the electronic interface development you'll see the next phase of convergence. The new breed of DSLRs allowed for still/motion convergence of cameras. The next step is lenses.
Your PL glass will be sitting on the shelf and the only time you'll look at it will be to dedust it once a year.
Breathing? please-unless you buy a set of Master Primes and Optimos all the others breathe the same.
So unless you have work now that requires cine glass and will ROI quickly a 20 year investment this is NOT.
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+1 Awesome. You can see the changes happening already. Like with those coming cine style rehoused zeiss baby primes at 35% less cost than their big brothers. With more big sensor cams coming there's alot of companies working on lower cost quality cinestyle lenses that won't break the bank and the electronic abilities of the lenses is just starting to be dealt with. Nothing stands still even lenses. And the size and weight issue is major.
 
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J Davis said:
I'm wary of this thread becoming a epic red flame war so I would ask everyone to hold off on that, we have all trudged thru it ad nauseum.
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Agreed! This was not meant to be a Red bashing post, As I was a Red owner up until a couple of weeks ago.
Just some insight from someone who has used the platform.
 
optitek said:
As soon as we finish the electronic interface development you'll see the next phase of convergence.
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Electronic follow focus driving precisely internal motor of modern professional still lenses, Jacek?
Birger competitor?
 
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@optek and mico: I don't think many readers quite understand why a cinema lens is a cinema lens. Most people here on dvxuser don't shoot material that requires them, and they don't know it.

there is a reason lenses that cost more than a sports car don't have internal motors and other electronic features. The same reason most performance sports cars don't have automatic transmissions...

not a long term investment? Your af100 and F100's (R1'ls too) will be long gone in 5 years, yet all of you are drooling over super-speed lenses from 40 years ago. I think most of you don't need cine-style lenses and that is confirmed by the features and usage many of you desire or describe.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
there is a reason lenses that cost more than a sports car don't have internal motors and other electronic features. The same reason most performance sports cars don't have automatic transmissions...
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Speaking of which, I have a 1977 Ferrari 308 GTB up for sale if anyone is interested.
Yes I really need to stop buying glass.
 
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