Hi all,

I know there have been some threads comparing/contrasting these lenses, but I wanted to give them their own place to be loved/hated/ignored.

The school I work for just got an F3 kit in with a set of Sony's lenses. We had been using a rented F3 with CP.2s and the physical difference couldn't be more apparent.

What do people who have used them think? My biggest concern right now is how they hold up over time. The kids who will be using the F3 are coming up from DSLR courses where the lenses are reasonably small/solid. I live in fear of these lenses falling apart or being dropped, though I imagine this fear would be no different if it were S4s or CP.2s.

Also, is there anybody out there that wants to see any specific tests (that haven't already been done). I have the camera and lenses at my fingertips, and enough hours in the day to play, for anybody curious.

I have the kit lenses with my F3. They look good enough. They feel cheap and flimsy. I don't think my comments are new though. Pretty sure someone has said this already.

Pro gear should last long enough when cared for but in a school situation, it's not "if"...it's "when" is something going to happen.

I taught audio production at a college for a few years and we had a pair of beautiful Neumann U87's that were at least 15-20 years old and had been exposed to not just vocals but brass instruments, drums and all sorts of stuff. One of my students (a senior) got a little excited and anxious to try one on her vocals track and didn't clip it into the shock mount properly....THUD! And with that the mesh windscreen pushed in far enough to crack the capsule. Vintage mic toast! Yay insurance! The capsule was replaced.

And yeah...schools might be a bit more prone but pro's aren't immune either!
Buddy of mine dropped his Canon 16-35 L recently...$500 fix!

Pro gear should last long enough when cared for but in a school situation, it's not "if"...it's "when" is something going to happen.


I concur. I've seen a lot of gear break in ways that I would never believe possible. The right combination of ignorance and apathy.

I believe that since the F3 is going out to the highest level of students, that they will treat it with a certain amount of care, but I'm still curious.

In this case it may just be that enough months haven't elapsed for anyone to have any bad situations with the lenses yet. I'm sure come next year I'll have a lot to write about.

Id be curious abut the results of tests comparing them to the CP2's.

I do compare the Sony lenses to the CP lenses in my F3 training DVD, and optically they are on the same level. Although I'd agree that the Sony's don't appear to have the same build-quality, prefer to shoot with the Sony lenses and at 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. I just like the feel of the focusing and aperture ring better. Just a personal choice. But I rank both of them behind my Cine-Xenars. I love those lenses and they are always my first choice.