Wide angle lens

GhostFace

GhostFace

Member
Yesterday we got our new DVX 100b. This thing is awesome. It came with some lenses. A Digital Optics Limited Edition Hi Definition Pro 72mm Wide angle Lens. Wow thats a lotta words. Anyway I need to know how I can get the most out of using a lense like this. Anyone know of any good tips and tricks?

Any help is appreciated.
Thanx
 
Yea, that sounds like an off-brand lense. I would say stick with Century optics, or Collinscraft. Any other brands you're risking poor image quality due to low quality glass. But beside the point, to "get the most" out of a wide angle lense, generally speaking, you're going to want to use the camera at z00 (zoomed all the way out) and, if you wan't any sort of shallow DOF you're going to want to keep your iris as open as possible, and control your light using shutter speed, and ND filters. Don't expect to get much though, since wide angles by nature create a very deep DOF (depth of field). Also, a big thing is when you're screwing on your wide angle, make sure to use one of those canned air blowers to clean any dust or particles off of the lenses. Sometimes, the camera can focus on the dust on the lense, and you don't want that...Other than that, I don't really have any other tricks or tips to using a wide angle.
 
xl70e3 said:
I'm guessing ebay?..
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Yea, that's what I was getting at. If your camera came with all kinds of accessories, most likely they are crap and there is also a chance that you didn't get a camera from an authorized dealer. If so, your cam could be a grey market cam and isn't covered under warranty.
 
Thanx for the tips. No the camera didn't come from ebay. The company I work for ordered it. If it doesn't have a warranty which I am sure it does. They can get another one. If I had bought it with my own cheese it would be another story.
 
DCERVENKA said:
I love the names they come up for these so called "Professional" lenses: Digital Optics Limited Edition Hi Definition Pro 72mm / Crystal Optics / Opteka High Definition / Titanium Pro.....
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lol...
 
Digital optics is awful, sorry, but there is a quote going around that if you were to buy a digital optics lense that you would get better quality if you cut an ice cube into the shape of the lense and used it instead. sorry but stick to century optics.
 
The century optics looks awesome. I will run it by my supervisor when the time comes. He has to approve ordering things. I appreciate the info on the lens.

Also I did check and we do have a warranty. The DVX came from a panasonic dealer. It is registered. My supervisor just decided to order extra stuff with the camera, it didn't come with the lens. If the lens is crap its crap, I will find out. But as far as him ordering it, he thought he was doing something nice. So our graphics people are greatful to have such a cool guy to buy us stuff anyway. I would like to have the best of the best tools if I can get em. If I can't I will make due with what I have or don't have.

There are so many replies to this post. One of them is the only response to what I asked. Some tips or tricks that could be pulled off with a wide angle lens. Maybe someone experimented and discovered something cool with one.

Instead we end up with comments about the type of lens I have is crap and where my camera came from.

Oh well, all that matters is the filmaking to me.
 
I don't think anybody was trying to dog on your lense. I mean, it's not a very good quality lense, and I think what people mean by that, is that if you have this lense, its of such poor quality that you would be better off not using it. I don't think it's about snobbery, it's more about getting the most out of this camera with the tools you have available. If one of those tools is going to degrade your image quality, don't use it. If you can, get something better so that you *do* have that tool in your arsenal.

My personal opinion is that you don't HAVE to have a wide angle. Yes they are nice, and sometimes neccessary, but I went for a long time without one and did just fine. The DVX's lense by nature is really wide, so I would say don't use the wide angle you have for now, because the quality is poor enough that there will be a noticable difference between your shots when you don't use it. Anyhow, just my two cents.
 
GhostFace said:
Instead we end up with comments about the type of lens I have is crap and where my camera came from.
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Indeed. Here I thought this was a forum about the use of the DVX and accessories, as they relate to filmmaking and story telling. :huh:

Nice to see so many answers in this thread to your original question.

Now to address some of your questions:

You will have a couple of options on how you shoot, depending on the type of wide angle you have. Some allow for zooming, others wil not. So, depending on what kind, your filming will be constrained to what each lens allows. There aren't many "tricks" to using a wide angle, more like "techniques", and again, that is dependent on the type you have. The best "tricks" come from attaching and learning its capabilities, and then beginning Previs accordingly, using your own vision and creativity. That, and posting questions here and hopefully getting real answers.

A wide angle lens will help to bring more elements into the picture, giving you a wider look and "bigger, more professional" feel. The rest and bulk of how that is used lands directly on your shoulders and on how to make the most of it.

There are different types of wide angle lenses as well, in addition to the kinds that allow you to zoom or not. A .6 will give you 40% more viewing area, a .7 around 30% and so on. So, figure out your shooting desires and frame composition to help determine which one you need (and how to use it).



To the others who so “generously” granted us their time and wisdom in this thread, instead of taking that time and energy to do things like finding links to help ridicule someone’s purchases and posting off topic debasing, either post noting or post something relevant. That is what this forum is about.

Lastly, welcome to DVX User Ghost.
 
GhostFace said:
The century optics looks awesome. I will run it by my supervisor when the time comes. He has to approve ordering things. I appreciate the info on the lens.

Also I did check and we do have a warranty. The DVX came from a panasonic dealer. It is registered. My supervisor just decided to order extra stuff with the camera, it didn't come with the lens. If the lens is crap its crap, I will find out. But as far as him ordering it, he thought he was doing something nice. So our graphics people are greatful to have such a cool guy to buy us stuff anyway. I would like to have the best of the best tools if I can get em. If I can't I will make due with what I have or don't have.

There are so many replies to this post. One of them is the only response to what I asked. Some tips or tricks that could be pulled off with a wide angle lens. Maybe someone experimented and discovered something cool with one.

Instead we end up with comments about the type of lens I have is crap and where my camera came from.

Oh well, all that matters is the filmaking to me.
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I almost got ripped off on ebay when I first looked for a cam. In your original post you stated that the lens "CAME" with your cam. You also stated that it is a "Digital Optics Limited Edition Hi Definition Pro 72mm Wide angle Lens". Alot of people rip off the unsuspecting by "including" such things that end up being total crap. I was wondering where you got your camera because I didn't want you to keep ordering from someone if they were scamming you, and I also wanted to bring the warranty issue up so you could make sure you did indeed have a valid camera and not a Grey Market cam. I don't own a wide angle, so am not inclined to comment on tips and tricks. My guess would be to pop it on and play with it. What I DO know is that many people get ripped off on accessories, apparently yourself included. Sometimes your question isn't the only thing you can learn something from. Sorry about the Snobbery, I'm 50% Asian.
 
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