7D whats a good low light lens for the 7D?

C

Crossroads Films

Active member
For the film im doing I need a low light lens to shoot scenes in a dark environment and wanted u guys advice on which lens would help accomplish this...
 
If you want a prime the "nifty fifty" would work. It's the Canon 50mm f/1.8. If you want a zoom the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (non-vc) is great. You'll get more accurate info if you include budget and focal length you need...
 
And why you can't light the scene then close down the aperture which would be the better way to do it (outdoors, in the woods, building with no power....).

I just did some scenes in house that was supposed to have no power (in the script), most of the time we had about 1.4K of lights running.
 
Look for prime lenses with an aperture of f/1.8 or f/1.4. Some examples under $1000 are the Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 85mm f/1.8, Canon 28mm f/1.8, Zeis 50mm f/1.4, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and Sigma 85mm f/1.4.
 
Light it up, depending on how/what is being filmed a 1.4 or 1.8 can be extremely hard to maintain focus if the camera or subject are moving at all. I find that even shooting somthing like a face with a 1.4 the nose can be in focus while the eyes can be out. The DOF becomes very very "thin". I do reccomend the tamron 17-50 2.8.
 
Ricky Perrone said:
Light it up, depending on how/what is being filmed a 1.4 or 1.8 can be extremely hard to maintain focus if the camera or subject are moving at all. I find that even shooting somthing like a face with a 1.4 the nose can be in focus while the eyes can be out. The DOF becomes very very "thin". I do reccomend the tamron 17-50 2.8.
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This ^

There are situations where it can't be helped. For example I am shooting some B Roll in a dance club tomorrow night for The Kohlman Files. I can't control the lighting, I'll have to go high ISO and very open aperture. It is what it is. However, I have also typically shoot scenes that are supposed to be "dark" for example a room lit only by candles with a 650 bouncing off the ceilng and a couple of 200s for Key light at 320 ISO and closed down to 5.6 Dark scenes don't have to be shot in the dark.
 
Another option is a vintage 50mm f/1.4 like the Olympus Zuiko OM or Nikon 50mm f/1.4 with a Fotodoix.com adapter. You can find mint versions for $100 or much less if you have time to shop the classifieds. The adapters are $20 or under. This combo works incredibly well for portrait type work or venues where you need a little reach in poorly lit scenarios. Super cost effective way to get the job done if you don't need to go very wide. Wide and fast gets expensive very quickly.

Cheers,
Pete
 
If you are using the 7D, you will come into the whole lens conversion ratio problem. I have used the 50mm 1.8 on the 5Dmk2 and a 550D. The difference is pretty huge. Not in quality or sensor size. It comes out pretty damn identical and awesome. But, in regards to the focal length, the longer the length, the more it magnifies camera shake. So if you're after a lens for handheld stuff, I would look to the 28mm 1.8, if you can afford a couple of hundred extra bucks. It will come out just under 50mm focal length and should eliminate a lot of the shake with the lens magnification. Just my 2c :)
 
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