Which primes for video - 5D2?

C

crammond

Active member
Can someone suggest some primes in the 35-70mm range (older lenses, can be M42 or other) that work well on the 5D2. Also please tell me if they hit the mirror (I heard that there are problems with some lenses).

My budget is about 200 USD (or less).

I already own a Samyang 35mm 1.4 so I'm mostly looking for something at the 50mm mark.
 
There is a Takumar 50mm 1.4 as well as a Yashica 50mm 1.7 that are M42 mount. The Takumar is a better lens, but the Yashica has a lot of good qualities too (same excellent all metal build, long stiff focus throw). Neither hit the mirror. It's wides (35 and 28) where the risk of hitting the mirror usually rears it's ugly head. You can probably find the Yashica for $50. Not sure how high the Takumar has gone. I paid $40 for mine over a year ago. I expect they are more now.
 
vision_filmz said:
Whatever you do, DO NOT buy this lens. Horrible cheap plastic that you will have to replace sooner or later. Go with a Nikkor 50mm AI-S and you will be more than happy.
Click to expand...
Cheap Plastic Lens with outstanding glass and beautiful picture. Check the reviews on BH and the rest of the sites...The quality on the outside is Kmart cheap but the footage or Photos are outstanding.
 
Go the 50mm f/1.4 smc takumar or super takumar, best value for money at around $100-$130. Long smooth focus throw, very nice bokeh. It's the next best thing to a Leica. The nikon 50mm has ugly bokeh. I've owned and used all 3. I wouldn't touch the Canon if I found it lying in the street.
 
JoeJITSU said:
Cheap Plastic Lens with outstanding glass and beautiful picture. Check the reviews on BH and the rest of the sites...The quality on the outside is Kmart cheap but the footage or Photos are outstanding.
Click to expand...


The lens is sharp and provides nice contrast, BUT very bad bokeh and build quality. Also very tine slim ring for focus. I owned this lens & I can honestly say pay the money once and cry if not cry over and over again. As a professional on ANY kind of level I would never recommend the 50mm f/1.8 over vintage Nikon/Nikkor glass that you can find around the same price.
 
vision_filmz said:
The lens is sharp and provides nice contrast, BUT very bad bokeh and build quality. Also very tine slim ring for focus. I owned this lens & I can honestly say pay the money once and cry if not cry over and over again. As a professional on ANY kind of level I would never recommend the 50mm f/1.8 over vintage Nikon/Nikkor glass that you can find around the same price.
Click to expand...
lol, I'll have to check out that Takumar then for sure.
 
35 f2, 50 1.4 (the 1.8 is actually better..WAIT for it!), the 85 f2, all NIKKOR, all three for less than $500 if you look hard enough. Although I have a few Leica R lenses that are just plain gorgeous and have nice long focus rings for follow focus.
 
The issue (besides cheap plastic crap) with the 50mm 1.8 (and really all the canon lenses) is the short throw and imprecise manual focus. If I needed a cheap 50mm stills lens it would be an option, but wouldn't (as someone else said) pick up up off the ground for video use. I sold my Canon 50mm 1.4 because I literally never used. I always picked up the Takumar instead.
 
Buy the brand new 40mm 2.8 STM pancake lens.

Great MTF, really good reviews so far, 1/2 the size of the 50 1.8, plus a special, silent autofocus system specifically developed for video autofocus on Canon's new DSLR.

You might not think you want the autofocus, but if the DSLR can sub for a camcorder in run & gun situations in eth future it helps expand your creative tools & the usefulness of your kit.

The negative is the small manual focus control. But it would be a great lens for street shooting with video or stills. The regular rear lens cap is about 1/2 the size of the lens.

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/06/canon-ef-40mm-f2-8-stm-quick-review/

Michael
 
Another great vintage lens is the Olympus Zuiko OM 50mm f/1.4 !!! The 50mm f/1.8 is also a great lens and can be found for only $35 some times in the classifieds. The f/1.4 can be found for about $100 pretty easily. Add another $75 for a macro tube set and a $20 adapter to give you all kinds of options that come in under your budget nicely.

I think it is one of the best lenses I have and another advantage of the vintage Zuiko's is that they focus the same direction as the modern Canon lenses.

Here's a couple samples of the f/1.8 and f/1.4 on a T3i.
http://vimeo.com/33387227
http://youtu.be/WMRrFBavr9A?hd=1

Cheers,
Pete
 
I love the Canon 50mm 1.4. For video, the 50mm 1.8 is not worth it because you can not really do manual focus, it is so cheap. The main lens I use is the Canon 17-55 2.8. It is great quality with IS!
 
Thanks for the answers, I'll get the Takumar 50 1.4.

@unadog: I don't need/want the new 40mm for video because:

- so small lens, probably pain in the ass for manual focusing
- can't use my follow focus on it (seems like there is not enough space)
- I want something with an aperture around 1.4-1.8
- don't need the AF function since I only use 5D2 which doesn't support this (afaik)

But for stills I bet it's great since it's so small and light :)
 
Coming from a photographer and videographer, I would not get an old MF lens just because I have a budget and want all my lenses to be good for both stills and video. I have heard mixed things about the Canon 50mm's.. However, I know that the Sigma 50 1.4 is just as sharp as Canon's but has much better bokeh due to the fact that it has many more aperture blades than the Canon. A good one to consider.
 
Depends on what kind of stills you do. For studio type work, no reason you have to have auto focus. I shoot stills with my vintage lenses all the time. Wouldn't want to shoot a wedding or a sporting event with them though.
 
I fell in love with the old Nikkor ais primes while on a shoot. We used Canon Ls for the main shoot, and the Nikkors for pickups, and they matched up beautifully, minus the Nikkors being a bit flatter. They're extremely cheap compared to their Canon L counterparts as well.
 
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