Is it possible to pull focus on a lens while crash zooming?

[Brian Drysdale]

Buy the earlier versions of stills lenses, they'll be manual focus. Canon lenses are usually at the higher end of the quality scale, even older ones.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, but I went to the store, and you can also get Tamron that is a mechanical focus that goes up to 400mm as well, if that would be better at all. I can look for some earlier ones as well such as a Canon 150-500 or something like that.

As for getting Rokinons when it comes to wider shots, the Rokinons do not have image stabilization though, so does that mean I should avoid them since I have a light camera, where IS may be needed?

[Brian Drysdale]

The Rokinon lenses will be better if you are serious about film making. The life of the camera will be shorter than the lenses, buy a rig for the camera to make it more suitable. The DSLR form factor is pretty poor for shooting video, so it's best to regard it as a module and accessorize it.

You can see some listed here: https://www.productexpert.com/9-best...shoulder-rigs/

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, but what do shoulder rigs have to do with it? I already decided to get the Moza Air gimbal, but don't I still need image stabilization, especially when moving the camera, even on a rig?

[Brian Drysdale]

A good well balanced rig means you don't need IS. Professional digital cinema cameras don't use IS on their lenses, when shooting hand held shooting because the camera is shoulder mounted, rather than held out in front. For other body positions, the handles are at the balance points. Having a reasonable mass also helps steady things.

The JVC GY-HD100 is example of a small video camera that didn't use IS, because of it's ergonomic design (it looks like a small ENG camera), while every other HDV camera needed IS. It was steady enough to be shown on a cinema screen.

Of course, you also need to practice.

If you're going to use a gimbal, you shouldn't need IS (auto focus may be another matter), although a hand held shot is different to a gimbal shot,

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks. Here is me using a rented gimbal for a short film I did way before though, and in this section of the shortfilm at 0:35, I am using the gimbal, yet the footage is shaking. I was using a Rokinon lens I had borrowed:

new cut of following - YouTube

I was told that in order to avoid that, that I need to have IS on. So why is it shaking on the gimbal, if IS is not the problem?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

This is why you should use telephoto lenses only when needed. The longer the lens the more they magnifying things you don’t want such as camera shake. Even on a tripod they show up any vibration and make smooth pans difficult. Putting them on a gimbal is a real no no. The wider the lens on a gimbal the easier it is to keep a shot smooth.

In the video you posted you are misusing the gimbal. There were still shots that a tripod should have been used instead of a gimbal. I can also see it was filmed under windy conditions that’s problematic for gimbal work. Most people use gimbal for following a subject walking or as inexpensive dolly replacement.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh yeah the example in the video was a wide lens, sorry, for the confusion.

I had to do all the shots on the gimbal in the video, cause he had to do a limited shoot time, and I didn't have time to switch from gimbal to tripod, and switch to gimbal again, cause the re-balancing would take too much time, and I had to do all the shots on the gimbal to save time.

But even if some of the gimbal shots are still and not moving, as you can see, there is still vibration in the footage. So how do you get rid of that vibration without IS?

[Brian Drysdale]

I suspect the low mass of these cameras doesn't help, plus there is an element of operating skill. I would test putting a small metal plate (eg 1/4" steel) under the camera with a screw that goes into the camera and a threaded hole so that you can mount it onto the gimbal. This should add some inertia, so that the camera is less prone to vibration.

Scheduling is key, you must have a realistic schedule otherwise the results will be poor.

Gimbals are limited in what they can do, you have to work within their restrictions.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

You can either use a dedicated camera that remains on the gimbal or attach quickly release plate carrier to the gimbal that allows you to quickly take the camera on and off.

Like Brian said light weight camera/gimbal are susceptible to wind.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks. But let's say I do that and only use the gimbal for shots where it's absolutely needed then. As you can see, there is still vibration in the footage, when using the gimbal. What do you do about that, if a lens doesn't need IS to solve it? Cause even if I were to use the gimbal for even just one shot, the vibration problem, without IS, is still there, even if it's just for one shot.

[Brian Drysdale]

I would try increasing the weight of the camera to dampen the vibration. although a certain amount of the vibration looks like it may be contributed by the operator.

I wouldn't use longer focal lengths on a gimbal.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, but that example was not a long focal length and it was not a telephoto lens. I think it was a 24 or 35mm if I am correct. But if you have to add weight to camera, that just makes heavier. Wouldn't it just be easier to get a lens with IS, rather than add weight, for a heavier gimbal to operate?

Also when it comes to using a long telephoto lens on a tripod, and the lens doesn't have IS, is the footage going to vibrate when panning on a tripod?

[Brian Drysdale]

You're supposed to switch off the IS when the camera is on a tripod.

Adding mass to the camera will increase its inertia, so damping its tendency to vibrate. You should also hold the gimbal with the lightest touch possible, a finger tip touch,

Compared to a higher end camera, this is still light.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks. But why is it bad to have IS though? Like why is adding weight better, compared to just switching IS on? Does IS have any problems, that are frowned upon?

Also some of the scenes I want to shoot are car driving scenes, where the camera will be hooked up to the Selens car camera mount. Shouldn't I have lenses with IS, while driving, cause that will cause vibration if the lenses do not have IS?