What should I invest in? Lenses

[avery]

Hey guys, I was thinking about saving up for the Zeiss Compact Prime 35mm lens for my HPX170 which is equipped with a Letus35 Elite adapter. The only thing is its a little pricey, obviously. I have been using Nikon lenses and was wondering if it is worth it to just invest in some better Nikons? An upgrade. I have had a lot of trouble with manual focus when it comes to the Nikons, but then again I have some pretty cheap ones.

What do you recommend? Zeiss? Nikon? Can you guys send me some links.

Avery

 

[Svart]

Having used DOF adapters before, I'd say invest in more nikons instead of going with the zeiss. You lose the benefit of greater optical performance of the zeiss by going through the DOF adapters and then through the HPX's built in lens.

I'd invest in a wider range of Nikons lenses, mainly faster glass and focal lengths that fill out a full set. Might as well get more lenses for you money I say. Besides, some of the older nikon primes are very good, and very cheap.

When I moved over to DSLRs, I simply bought an adapter and kept on using the same Nikon lenses I already had from still photography and from DOF adapters on camcorders.

 

[avery]

thanks svart, do you by chance recommend any specific nikons? I was told that for my letus it is better to have fixed lenses, is this true? or would it be a good idea to purchase some lenses with manual zoom capabilities?

 

[Svart]

Zoom lenses designed for still cameras can be used but they suffer from specific problems that are usually addressed in true cine lenses.

One problem is that the aperture will "breathe" when zooming in/out. It might also change aperture settings too. Say you have a 14-140mm zoom with the fastest F stops being 3@14mm and 5@140. This will mean that your lens will physically change aperture from 3 to 5 as you zoom out. It's something you can't control.

Second is that there is no set focal point when zooming. This means that if you focus on an object and zoom in/out, you lose focus on that object. Cine zoom lenses will generally keep their focus through the zoom.

I generally use older manual nikon primes. I have all different kinds because Nikon never changed their body connectors over the years. You can't go wrong with most of the prime lenses regardless of age/style. They had some zooms over the years that had problems though.

I suggest trying to find lenses with the largest apertures that you can afford.

Other than that you can't go wrong with the 50mm 1.4 as a workhorse lens. I also suggest a 24 or 28mm lens, an 85mm and a 105mm. Maybe something as wide as 16mm if you can get one that isn't a fish-eye. That's pretty much every lens I have and I've never felt like I needed anything else shooting video or stills.