T3i - Lens Advice

iamlance

iamlance

Well-known member
Hey, so I have a Canon T3i with the 50mm f/1.8 and I'm looking at some other lens to purchase. The types of films that I work with vary, but I currently do some interviews and short stories, and am experimenting with other types as well. I'm a perspective film student at a college and so don't have a large lens budget at the moment, but any information as to the quality and value of these lens will be much appreciated!

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens - $149
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens - $369

I've heard that Cine Lens are worth their weight, but like I said, I can't go around buying those expensive Canon or Zeiss Cine Lens. I've found a few other brands that make fairly cheap cine lens, though I haven't heard much about these brands:

Samyang 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens - $449
Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens - $449
Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine Lens - $549
Samyang 85mm T1.5 Cine Lens - $349
Rokinon 85mm T1.5 Cine Lens - $349

Finishing off my questions, do I really need an expensive UV filter? It seems all it does is protect the lens from scratches and remove some glare.
 
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If you are on a limited budget get a Tamron 17-50 2.8 non vc. Great and sharp lens on a tight budget. Cine primes are great if you have cash for a set. If you have a 50mm already you will need at least 2 of the primes in your list to cover the range. good luck and have fun with the camera.
 
* the canon 40mm is a great lens, but basically useless for video: the focus ring is a nightmare (small, ackward, and, being fly-by-wire, with a mind of its own)

* samyang lenses are sold under many brands, including samyang, rokinon, bower, opteka, falcon, etc; they're all the same; some of them (8mm fisheye, 35mm, 85mm) are absolutely awesome, some, not so much (the 24mm is kind of a lottery, the 14mm is cheap but not awesome)
 
Hi guys! I'm seeking for lens advice too. I got a deal and turns out that I got some old Nikkon Lens Nikkor-T 135mm 2.8F and Nikkor-Q 50mm 2.8F. I tried to find some lense adapters for those on B&H and I find out I didn't really know what I was looking for, for the adapter I mean.

The old owner of those lenses told me that since he got them, he never used them. So I don't have a clue of what kind of lense adapter for old nikkon lense to a T3i.

If someone have some advice about this, that would be great! Thanks!
 
ROCKMORE said:
If you are on a limited budget get a Tamron 17-50 2.8 non vc. Great and sharp lens on a tight budget. Cine primes are great if you have cash for a set.
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Im still stunned at how many times i fall back on this lens, it never fails.
 
Get something like a 17-50 f2.8 zoom and a 70-200 f2.8 zoom and you will be able to cover a lot of ground. After you have the zooms for a while, you will have a better idea of which focal lengths you shoot at most, and you can focus on getting those prime lenses when you have the funds.
 
How about the Sigma 18-35 1.8. Sharpness wise, it is suppose to be very close to the quality of a good prime but with the flexibility of a zoom. Well built, great feel to it.....
 
iamlance said:
Hey, so I have a Canon T3i with the 50mm f/1.8 and I'm looking at some other lens to purchase.
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At some point in the future you could think of trading this one for a 50mm 1.4. It's faster than the 1.8 one, has a better finish and the result is much better, everything else being equal. I've used both on my T3i and have kept the 50mm 1.8 as a backup lens. Search for some comparisons between both lenses here or on YT.
 
vtwiz said:
How about the Sigma 18-35 1.8. Sharpness wise, it is suppose to be very close to the quality of a good prime but with the flexibility of a zoom. Well built, great feel to it.....
Click to expand...

Yes, there is finally something to trade my loyal Tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC for. Sigma 18-35 1.8 is a stop faster, newer design (probably sharper) better construction and as it turns out has little if no breathing when rack focus. Truely a great deal for the price and I wasn't even looking to replace the Tamron.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULK4x6YVMzU

Watch the window frame on the right in shot 2 on the house when rack focusing
 
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Thank you everyone! A year later, and I'm finally in the position to use this info. I'll be looking into those Sigma and Tamron lenses mentioned.
Much of the lenses that came up while searching for a new one were ideal for photography work and not video, so I'm glad that I rediscovered this post.
 
iamlance said:
Thank you everyone! A year later, and I'm finally in the position to use this info. I'll be looking into those Sigma and Tamron lenses mentioned.
Much of the lenses that came up while searching for a new one were ideal for photography work and not video, so I'm glad that I rediscovered this post.
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Get what you can afford with the best resale
 

I use M42 vintage manual glass on my 600D/T3i DSLR. It may not be the sharpest choice for lenses, but certainly has a lot of character compared to some of the cheaper Canon EF glass. The above video was mainly shot on a Chinon M42 200mm lens, can be purchased for around £30 on ebay, certainly a great choice if you're on a super tight budget. I've heard good things about the Samyang lenses as well, technically they shouldn't be considered cine lenses, but they are certainly better than EF glass.
 
I myself am researching a new lens purchase for my T3i. I am looking at getting either a 35mm or a 28mm. I sortof lean to the 28mm for the little extra width, my issue is does it "fisheye". I don't have the ability to test either of them at this point but I need something a little wider than my 50mm for areas that are a little closer. I really hate that fisheye look which is why I do not have a gopro (yea I have seen where they use software or whatever to flatten it out but I have no desire to mess with that and do not believe it to keep quality). If there is no problem with the 28mm, how far can you actually go down without getting that fisheye look. So although I plan on getting both at some point (provided the 28mm does not fisheye) which is the one I should get.
 
I had a Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, a Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS, a vintage Olympus OM 50mm f/1.4, an EF 70-200 f/4 L IS, an Olympus OM 300mm f/4.5 and a Nikkor 600mm AIS ED f/5.6 with my T3i.

After I got the 24mm IS, I basically shot everything on a stabilizer with it and then all my wildlife shots on the 600mm with and without the 3x crop zoom function. Between the 24 and the 3x crop with IS I had everything covered, barring the novelty super wide with the Tokina. Don't underestimate the value of doing head shots back and forth with the 3x crop on a wide vs buying and swapping out more lenses.

I've now sold all my Canon lenses and shoot on a GH4 with a 17mm f/1.8 almost exclusively. Those two lenses for their crop factor are almost the perfect do all lenses. Especially if you can use the 3x crop zoom or ETC function to effectively create a super fast 85-100mm equivalent focal length with the switch of a button.

Just my $0.02 on the perfect lenses.

Cheers,
Pete
 
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