Top 3 Lens for Cinematography for 5D Mark II?

We shoot mainly weddings & this is what we use.

I do have one but really don't like the 24-70mm F/2.8L as it's far too bulky & heavy with only so so image quality. The 24-105 F/4L IS on the other hand is wonderful. It's just so sharp & the IS is a real bonus. Nice range too. It's just a pity that the F/4 aperture means that it has to be swapped out in low light. It's going to be an amazing lens on the 1DX.

I love the 16-35mm F/2.8L. I am of the school that believes that generally you can never have a lens that is too wide but prefer this to the 14mm F/2.8L as it is more flexible if there are objects close up it is better to zoom in a bit to avoid mind-bending distortion.

The 70-200mm F/2.8L obviously for anything at a distance although you can get caught out in a smallish room when you can't step back far enough.

The 135mm F/2L is a wonderful lens. The bokeh is so beautiful. The extra stop compared to all the other lenses is helpful. It's not as long as the big zoom but i so much more discreet & lighter to handle.

Finally the 50m F/1.2L. Beautiful lens with beautiful bokeh & perfect for filming black cats in cellars or dark dance floors.
 
with 2 lenses on 2 camera bodies: either

16-35/f2.8 + 70-200/f2.8

or

24 or 35/1.4 + 50/f1.2 or 85 (f1.2 or 1.4)

can cover just about everything general.


Additional lenses are for specialty and variety:

100/f2.8 for macro
1.4x or 2x TC for sports
8-15 fisheye for ? (you name it! Nobody needs this lens, but it gives a distinct edge that otherwise would be impossible)
etc.

BTW, I used to have 24-105 until it went malfunctioning a few times and I sold it. It is definitely better than 24-70 in all hand holding scenarios especially for shooting video. 24-70 has slightly better resolving power than 24-105 in still photography, but that should go away when shooting video due to digital aliasing. However, neither of these 2 general lenses is comparable to fast primes in shooting video.
 
I'm reading everyone espousing the wonders of the 24-105L's IS. My experience is that it is HORRIBLE for video. It jumps around a lot and doesn't seem to stabilize much at all, to the point where I'll just use a monopod and turn IS off. Is it just my copy with the crazy jumping IS?
 
C Lehmann said:
I'm reading everyone espousing the wonders of the 24-105L's IS. My experience is that it is HORRIBLE for video. It jumps around a lot and doesn't seem to stabilize much at all, to the point where I'll just use a monopod and turn IS off. Is it just my copy with the crazy jumping IS?
Click to expand...
I think so as it's really good for handheld as good as the IS on the 70-200mm F/2.8L USM IS II. When I first got a slider I made the mistake of leaving IS switched on & it looked terrible but handheld is great.
 
Is IS really necessary for the 70-200mm L lens for video? I seen some a lot cheaper without the IS , I have even seen the Tokina and Sigma. What do you guys think? Thanks
 
JoeJITSU said:
Is IS really necessary for the 70-200mm L lens for video? I seen some a lot cheaper without the IS , I have even seen the Tokina and Sigma. What do you guys think? Thanks
Click to expand...

This is just me -- I can live without IS, and often have it turned off on my 24-105. Main worries I have are: (1) price -- 70-200 vs 70-200 IS can be up to $1500 difference, and if I had that lying around, I'd waste it on something else; (2) IS seems to exaggerate rolling shutter when panning, or something like that; (3) the noise is irritating. There have been times when I've been forced to use on-camera sound, because I stuffed up the sound recording or forgot to bring an XLR cable, or decided to use sound on a shoot I'd thought I'd only be using vision on -- and then spent hours in post trying to minimize the IS clicking with noise reduction and filters, without in the end really getting anywhere.

I currently believe (and I hope someone replies to confirm/disconfirm):

-- If you're using a tripod, turn IS off.
-- If you're using a monopod, IS helps a little with horizontal movement, but doesn't do much that an image stabilisation plugin won't do.
-- If you're using Steadicam or shoulder-mounted, IS helps, but don't make any fast movements.
-- If you're also going to be shooting photographs completely handheld, IS is very desirable. (My sister, a photographer, bought the non-IS and has since regretted it.)

Can't speak for quality of Tokina and Sigma compared to Canon.
 
C Lehmann said:
I'm reading everyone espousing the wonders of the 24-105L's IS. My experience is that it is HORRIBLE for video. It jumps around a lot and doesn't seem to stabilize much at all, to the point where I'll just use a monopod and turn IS off. Is it just my copy with the crazy jumping IS?
Click to expand...

IS does not (because it can't) eliminate all jumpy movements of a hand-held camera, but it tends to smooth out most jumpy movements and make tiny random hand shaking movements hardly visible.
 
Paper_bag said:
(3) the noise is irritating. There have been times when I've been forced to use on-camera sound, because I stuffed up the sound recording or forgot to bring an XLR cable, or decided to use sound on a shoot I'd thought I'd only be using vision on -- and then spent hours in post trying to minimize the IS clicking with noise reduction and filters, without in the end really getting anywhere.
Click to expand...

Canon DSLRs' built-in audio systems (without third-party hacking such as ML) are unacceptable for serious use, though they may be acceptable in home video or for casual shooting and are good enough for sync purposes in post. Even decent cheap consumer-grade camcorders may have much better built-in audio systems. If you get IS clanking sounds into the built-in audio system of a Canon DSLR, you're merely adding some frost onto an already very high noise level. Technically it does make things a bit worse, but practically that does not matter much.


Paper_bag said:
I currently believe (and I hope someone replies to confirm/disconfirm):

-- If you're using a tripod, turn IS off.
-- If you're using a monopod, IS helps a little with horizontal movement, but doesn't do much that an image stabilisation plugin won't do.
-- If you're using Steadicam or shoulder-mounted, IS helps, but don't make any fast movements.
-- If you're also going to be shooting photographs completely handheld, IS is very desirable. (My sister, a photographer, bought the non-IS and has since regretted it.)
Click to expand...

With reference to 24-105/f4 IS, I merely would like to make 3 comments:

- Software stabilization plug-in (which is now part of latest Adobe AE) is no replacement for optical IS. At the minimum, such a plugin will cut IQ to a certain noticeable extent.

- For still photography, the usefulness of IS totally depends on how you shoot and what you shoot. For instance, if you shoot fast sports or landscapes, IS is totally useless to you except on rare occasions. But if you shoot, say, at 105m with a shutter speed of 1/30 while hand holding your camera, 24-105's IS can help you a lot.

- For video, IS on 24-105 helps, but it's not as helpful as IS on a 70-200/f2.8. With Canon 70-200/f2.8 IS, I personally believe you can leave IS on all the time, hand held or not, though it drains battery.
 
Question: If you had just one lens and rented the rest, which would it be? I've recently sold most of my lenses to fund additional gear and have rented lenses when need be. I ended up keeping just two lenses: The 35mm 1.4L and 50mm 1.4, and typically rent the 24-70mm and 70-200mm when needed depending on the shoot. I'm thinking of trading my 35mm for the 24-70mm however since I find it's just more versatile for video.

What would you keep?
 
mrl72 said:
Question: If you had just one lens and rented the rest, which would it be? I've recently sold most of my lenses to fund additional gear and have rented lenses when need be. I ended up keeping just two lenses: The 35mm 1.4L and 50mm 1.4, and typically rent the 24-70mm and 70-200mm when needed depending on the shoot. I'm thinking of trading my 35mm for the 24-70mm however since I find it's just more versatile for video.

What would you keep?
Click to expand...

Trade up the Canon 50mm 1.4 for the Sigma 50MM 1.4.

I did that and the Sigma is on my 5D most times.
For instance I just shot two TV spots (outdoor winter adventure stuff) Tuesday.
Reviewing the footage, not one image using the 24-105 (which I've filmed dozens of TV spots and films with) was equal to the Sigma shots.
Most of that footage was shot with a shoulder rig IS on the Canon and none on the Sigma and the Sigma shots are smoother and much cleaner and detailed.

The bokeh on the Sigma is, IMO, as good as good as it gets (I've got both the Nikon 85mm and Canon version).

Basically I find the Sigma 1.4 to be every bit the lens that the Canon 1.2 is but lighter.
Also, do yourself a favor and get the Canon 85mm 1.8. There isn't a Canon zoom that can touch it's IQ or bokeh and it's unbelievably light and small especially as it delivers everything but the 1/2 stop that the 85mm 1.4 does.

The Sigma, 50mm 1.4, Canon 85mm 1.8 are probably the single best values in lenses right now, with the most important things for fast lenses like these in film making - world class IQ, resolution and bokeh.

When you consider that they are so much smaller, lighter and less expensive than their L counterparts, it's that much better, especially if you shot on a slider and shoulder rig which I prefer 90% whether shooting narrative or action or doc.

I have the Canon 28mm 1.8, Sigma 50mm and Canon 85mm 1.8 in my bag all the time with the 50mm always mounted and I'd use this setup even if they weren't so inexpensive.
They're that good.
 
Best primes for filmmaking on a canon dslr are the same as the best primes on any dslr, period--the holy trinity of 35L/85L/135L. Superior bokeh, best damped manual focus for pulling, minimal breathing. Throw in a 14L for crazy wide with no fisheye BS, 24 TS for architectural sweeps and a long tele (used 200 1.8L + teleconverters) and you're good for dslr, Red, c300 and Canon's (hopefully) forthcoming AF100/FS100 Killer.
 
16-35 (steadicam, slider, or things that need to be close at the 35mm end)
50 1.2
70-200 (ceremony)

This is for weddings though. :)
 
jimagine said:
Trade up the Canon 50mm 1.4 for the Sigma 50MM 1.4.

I did that and the Sigma is on my 5D most times.
For instance I just shot two TV spots (outdoor winter adventure stuff) Tuesday.
Reviewing the footage, not one image using the 24-105 (which I've filmed dozens of TV spots and films with) was equal to the Sigma shots.
Most of that footage was shot with a shoulder rig IS on the Canon and none on the Sigma and the Sigma shots are smoother and much cleaner and detailed.

The bokeh on the Sigma is, IMO, as good as good as it gets (I've got both the Nikon 85mm and Canon version).

Basically I find the Sigma 1.4 to be every bit the lens that the Canon 1.2 is but lighter.
Also, do yourself a favor and get the Canon 85mm 1.8. There isn't a Canon zoom that can touch it's IQ or bokeh and it's unbelievably light and small especially as it delivers everything but the 1/2 stop that the 85mm 1.4 does.

The Sigma, 50mm 1.4, Canon 85mm 1.8 are probably the single best values in lenses right now, with the most important things for fast lenses like these in film making - world class IQ, resolution and bokeh.

When you consider that they are so much smaller, lighter and less expensive than their L counterparts, it's that much better, especially if you shot on a slider and shoulder rig which I prefer 90% whether shooting narrative or action or doc.

I have the Canon 28mm 1.8, Sigma 50mm and Canon 85mm 1.8 in my bag all the time with the 50mm always mounted and I'd use this setup even if they weren't so inexpensive.
They're that good.
Click to expand...
I find the Rokinon 85mm 1.4 to be better than my Canon 85mm 1.8
 
My kit:
Canon 16-35 2.8L
Sigma 50 1.4
Canon 70-200 2.8L (non-is)
Canon 15mm fisheye

It's a perfect range, IMO. Although, I would like to get the 70-200 IS II, a rokinon 24 1.4 (for reception/low light glidecam work), and a rokinon 85 1.4 for tighter crops in dark situations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top