Which lenses: 24-105mm 4.0 or a 50mm 1.4 & 85mm 1.8?

Inoran

Inoran

Well-known member
So I heard zoom lenses are a nightmare for pulling focus with video, so i made the guy at the camera store an offer to keep the 24-105 4.0 L lens and swap it for a 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8 prime. Was this a bad decision? My thought was I would be using primes more for video anyway. However now people are telling me i made a big mistake. I talked to the camera guy and he said he would be willing to swap them back if i want. I'm on a budget so I think the zoom would help me out with having all my focal points down.

Any advice would be very appreciated.
 
The 24-105 is pretty much a solid go to general lens which has IS. If you plan on doing any hand held stuff it is wise to keep it. If you will only ever shoot locked down shots then the primes are going to be better for lower light but without IS. I personally would keep the 24-105 as mine has served me well... I also have a 50 1.4 and 85 1.4 which get used just slightly less. It just depends on your plans and what and how you want to shoot :)
 
I would've stuck with the L lens. I have the 50mm 1.4 and i use my zoom so much more. For the same reasons Brad said.
 
I agree totally - the 24-105 is a very sharp and well balanced lense (with a little barrel distorsion). I own a 1,4/85 and a 1,2/50mm as well and sometimes I use them because of DOF, but the 24-105 is my everyday lense and I wont miss it.
Benn
 
24-105 is your utility lens, there are a lot of situations that you'll use it, so for bang-buck factor it has to be that. But the 50 1.4 is a real nice lens, definitely something to look to purchase after you have the 24-105! :P
 
Ok - I'm going to stick my neck out here and disagree. I never use the 24-105L for video - in fact I'm selling mine. F4 is far too slow for indoor shooting without getting in to ridiculously high ISO settings or mounting lots of lighting. I've got a job next week (and did one last week) where I'm going to have to shoot at f1.4 - f2.0 max AND at ISO1250-ISO1600 in order to get good exposure. F4 will not even get me in the ballpark. Focusing at f1.4 is critical, but you just have to get used to it ;)

Contrary to what others say, there IS distortion on the 24-105L below 35mm, and it gets worse as you get nearer 24mm. It may not be obvious until you put some decent primes on and then compare the same shot!

I have 9 lenses (6 primes and 3 zooms) and the 24-105L is without doubt the least used lens with the possible exception of the 15 fisheye which is pretty specialist anyway.

I guess if I was shooting hand held outside in good light then maybe .....

Zooms are wonderful bits of kit but the 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 will give you many more options in low light or depth of field.

HOWEVER,

50mm on a 7D is still a long lens and if you need wider options then it's not going to be cheap (at least not if you want fast glass). A 24mm-XXXmm is always an option (we use the 24-70 f2.8L), as is the 16-35 f2.8L.
 
1.4 AND ISO above 800 is a bit daft in my opinion, you really are in the realms of needing lighting for that. Even if it's just an LED panel, dedos/reds/blondes or even practicals, 1600 iso is going to do more of a detriment to your footage than the finnicky focus at f1.4 and is worth avoiding where possible.

Having said that, it all depends on where your footage is going to end up. If it's on a DVD then a bit of noise reduction and the 1080p to PAL scaling is going to help mask the problem somewhat, but its by no means ideal - and especially not for HD usage.
 
I agree ... if you are needing 1.4 at a minimum then you are also in need of lighting. Light it! Of coarse with weddings etc that's a bit easier said then done, but trying to focus a 1.2 1.4 hand held in the dark is a nightmare looking for a place to happen any way you slice it.

Again it depends on what and how you are going to shoot.
 
Calomile said:
1.4 AND ISO above 800 is a bit daft in my opinion, you really are in the realms of needing lighting for that. Even if it's just an LED panel, dedos/reds/blondes or even practicals, 1600 iso is going to do more of a detriment to your footage than the finnicky focus at f1.4 and is worth avoiding where possible.

Having said that, it all depends on where your footage is going to end up. If it's on a DVD then a bit of noise reduction and the 1080p to PAL scaling is going to help mask the problem somewhat, but its by no means ideal - and especially not for HD usage.
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BradM said:
I agree ... if you are needing 1.4 at a minimum then you are also in need of lighting. Light it! Of coarse with weddings etc that's a bit easier said then done, but trying to focus a 1.2 1.4 hand held in the dark is a nightmare looking for a place to happen any way you slice it.
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Nobody wants a bright light in their face in a low-light bar at a wedding reception! We're supposed to be being discreet!

Not everything worth shooting ends up on the big screen, and provided the footage is sharp to begin with there are no real problems with using a little neat video on it. Focusing is the tricky bit but that's why we have fast glass.

If I had other options I'd use them (we do use lights for the first dance), but ISO 800 in a dark bar would give me not far off a black screen! I checked 6db on the video camera and it was way too dark, 12db was just about getting there but was waaayyyy too noisy. f1.4 & ISO 1250-1600 works a treat and picks out the intended subject nicely.
 
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You could try aiming the LED panel straight up so it wont be in anyone's face and you'll get a little bounce from the ceiling. I know what you mean about shooting in low-light bars, I swear tons of them are like, EV 0-1, I'm surprised you can even get 1/50th at f/1.4 at iso 1600 to be honest.
 
The lenses are so different..thats what makes this so hard to answer. The lenses you have are great for indoor low light. But the 24-105 is my favorite lens for outdoor shooting. F4 is easy to focus and still gives great DOF. the image quality out of it is amazing and its a "L". Also in a outdoor run and gun..this lens had simply the best IS of any lens I have ever used. Its like a tripod in your had..thats what I love about it. So it really boils down to what are you are going to shoot..then pick the lens you need.
 
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If you're shooting documentary or hand held work, then the 24-105L is a great all round starter lens. If you're shooting fiction on sticks with the option of multiple takes, then the 28 f/1.8 and 85 f/1.8 are a nice combo. I wouldn't go with the 50 and 85 because it leaves you with nothing on the wide end.

Also, if you're trading the 24-105 for the 50 and 85, then you're losing by about $300 and your salesperson ought to add something else to the mix.
 
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