wide angle

I

ian515

Active member
I got my new F3 last week. pretty excited about that. I ordered the F3K version to get me started, but am realizing now that I really need a wide zoom of some kind. I know everyone has their opinions on high end glass vs low end glass on cameras like this. Just curious if anyone can point me to a suitable middle ground lens. I have seen some mention the Digioptical 18-50, people seem pretty split down the middle on that one. For the purpose of sit down interviews where I need to be able to adjust focal length without moving the tripod, is that lens somewhat decent? Had a shoot come up 2 days after I got the camera that was very interview heavy, ended up using a dolly to change the focal length, not the best option!
 
The Digioptical is good for the price. It's sharp and gives you a nice range from wide to a medium ish type shot. For interviews its not the best lens especially if you want a close up. I was using the Tokina 28-70 and still didn't get me that full range I was looking for.

I eventually bit the bullet and bought the Red 50-150 lens. It's twice the price and Digioptical once upon a time had the same range but discontinued it. I've found it's the most reasonable price for that range in a lightweight long Cine zoom.

Having both the Digioptical 18-50 and Red 50-150 has helped me cover any ,of my shoots. Especially because they are lightweight.
 
ian515 said:
I got my new F3 last week. pretty excited about that. I ordered the F3K version to get me started, but am realizing now that I really need a wide zoom of some kind. I know everyone has their opinions on high end glass vs low end glass on cameras like this. Just curious if anyone can point me to a suitable middle ground lens. I have seen some mention the Digioptical 18-50, people seem pretty split down the middle on that one. For the purpose of sit down interviews where I need to be able to adjust focal length without moving the tripod, is that lens somewhat decent? Had a shoot come up 2 days after I got the camera that was very interview heavy, ended up using a dolly to change the focal length, not the best option!
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Red PRO 17-50mm T2.9 and Duclos 11-16mm T2.8
 
thanks for the responses. those RED lenses are sweet. I was looking at the 17-50. from this past shoot, I found I was missing the wide angle more than anything, so I don't know if the 50-150 is going to fit the bill for me. That duclos lens looks pretty nice as well, but might be a little TOO wide. so the 17-50 might be the winner.

I think the Angenieux will have to wait for another day!
 
avro said:
and if you rich,then this is the way to go:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._80_OPTIMO_ROUGE_Optimo_DP_Rouge_30_80mm.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...PTIMO_ROUGE_Optimo_DP_Digital_Production.html
:Drogar-SunGlass(DBG
Click to expand...

ACtually.... The second one, the 16-42, and the 45-120 DP optimo is an unbeatabe combination. Two lenses, every length you'll need and they are both of outstanding quality.


I'm just waiting for Cooke to start making new Zooms.....

Also, these lenses arent about being rich. Its about making an investment, and making a return on that investment.
 
There is 12 months wait for 45-120 which is about $45,000.
I hope you placed your order Timur....

((I'm just waiting for Cooke to start making new Zooms.....)) will be a long wait-anyway...
 
If your budget is low you can't beat the still glass. Tokina Nikon 11-16 is the same glass as Duclos for $600. Nikon 17-35, 24 - 70 and 28 - 70 are all optically excellent parfocal and f2.8. You'll need a Nikon adapter though like the MTF .
 
Lenilenapi said:
If your budget is low you can't beat the still glass. Tokina Nikon 11-16 is the same glass as Duclos for $600. Nikon 17-35, 24 - 70 and 28 - 70 are all optically excellent parfocal and f2.8. You'll need a Nikon adapter though like the MTF .
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Nikon Zooms are NOT parfocal-I own them.
 
Some are and some aren't. Which ones do you own? There are web sites with lists.

I was told the 24 - 70 is but I own the others and can testify. 11- 16 may not be. I do admit there seems to be mediocre quality to control exact back focus but it may be the MTF adapter. It's been close enough for 2.8 if I double check . One of these days I need to get my F3 MTF to a collimator.
Anyone know if its easy to get your Nikon lens recollimated? I would like to get them precise. My 80-200 was perfect on my 35mm adapter but I set the back-focus to the lens.
 
Lenilenapi said:
Some are and some aren't. Which ones do you own? There are web sites with lists.

I was told the 24 - 70 is but I own the others and can testify. 11- 16 may not be. I do admit there seems to be mediocre quality to control exact back focus but it may be the MTF adapter. It's been close enough for 2.8 if I double check . One of these days I need to get my F3 MTF to a collimator.
Anyone know if its easy to get your Nikon lens recollimated? I would like to get them precise. My 80-200 was perfect on my 35mm adapter but I set the back-focus to the lens.
Click to expand...

I own Nikons 17-35 and 28 - 70. Tokina 11-16 is more less Parfocal..it is short zoom....Nikons are not.
 
Interesting. My 17-35 is perfect and my 28-70 is very close. Must be quality control. Both are reputed to be parfocal on lists I've seen. Of course do you know if the back focus of your camera is correct?
 
Could you please post info about Nikon Zoom being parfocal please? I am 100% sure they are not.
 
My source of inforrmation is quite simple: Go to local Nikon Store, take my 2 zooms with me, attach my Nikon Zooms to a Nikon DSLR Body and perform test-no adapters needed..
Now tell me what Nikon Zooms do You own?
 
Tokina 11-16, Nikon: 17-35, 28-70, 80-200 and 18-200.
I know from personal experience that the 80-200 can be perfectly parfocal if backfocus of camera is matched to it.
My 17-35 looks perfect right now . 28-70 very close. 18-200 is varifocal.
100% certainty sounds like a bit of a stretch based on your experience. Moreover you don't know if your Nikon is backfocused correctly do you? They vary as well.

I have seen another larger list somewhere else but for now:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/02/photo-lenses-for-video/4
 
So now 28-70 is close....
I can tell You now...unless my 1 year old lens is faulty...I have tested 17-35 on Nikon Body and it is not Parfocal.
For the sake of argument i will call Nikon Distributor tomorrow about it.

But i really wish You were 100% right-I would not need to buy proper PL zoom.
What camera and adapter are you using with Your Nikons?
 
It takes time, but PL lenses will make a return. Its difficult to rent slr glass. I know I've tried. My panchros/cp's have been renting a lot.
 
I'd be careful about asserting 100% certainty unless you've researched thoroughly. . There are many discussions on the web about which still lenses are parfocal and which aren't though I remain dubious about them all until I've tested. I used to work as a film rental tech so i know my way around back focus issues.

I have an F3 with an MTF adapter. Previously I had a Letus, a Brevis and an SG Blade. With the Letus and SGBlade I set my back focus to the 80-200 and it was perfect, and I also checked with a collimator.

There is some potential slop in these issues - both in the adapters and in the lenses themselves. The MTF adapter could be a little bit off. For example most Nikon to Canon adapters are not accurate, thus my 80-200 with a nikon to Canon adapter no longer back focuses correctlty and is different with diifferent adapters.
I haven't really tried to adjust the F3 backfocus yet because I'm wary of throwing off the PL mount which I'm guessing was adjusted properly by Sony though that may be giving them more credit than they deserve.

Tim, I appreciate what you sauy about paying for good glass, but we all have to evaluate our own markets and clients. A PL zoom and PL lenses are far more expensive than my camera. If I had or get the clients I would spend the dough, but right now I don't. Also for much of my work a small zoom lens ( I can carry all 4 on me at once) is more valuable than a big PL zoom and the optics of the Nikons is fine for me so far.
As I recall from my rental days we would sometimes need to send a zoom lens to the shop for shimming of some kind to get proper back focus. I imagine that still lenses are sent out with lesser QC.

Tim - have you needed to adjust backfocus on the F3 for your PL zooms?.

I do intend to check the backfocus on the F3 with my Nikon Zooms. I've been guessing that though they are supposed to be parfocal that its possible the backfocus is slightly off on them because my 17-35 seems perfect. However maybe it just seems that way because the throw is less and the wide angle has more tolerance. The 28-70 and 80-200 are off in the same direction so perhaps a small adjustment on the F3 will bring them all into line. This discussion is kicking my ass - so i woll post my results.
 
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