My lens has a spot on it, is there anything I can do?

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks. It's just with the rental stores, you have to book in advance weeks or longer and a lot of times shoot dates change, so in the past, I found rental stores to not be the most reliable therefore.

[Brian Drysdale]

The major rental companies are extremely reliable and are used to production companies wanting kit at extremely short notice. This occurs with commercials and TV productions, when they may only get a couple of days notice in some cases. I've hired kit on the day before a shoot.

If they don't have the kit in their store, they'll often bring it in from either their other branches or contacts in the industry.

They are also used to shoot dates changing.

What you don't want is a focus ring that turns continuously, if the focus ring has a set range with focus markings you can work with it, The Tamron appears to have one that can be engaged with the auto focus, but it doesn't seem to turn continuously. Nearly all new stills lenses will have an auto focus system, but you need to select one that doesn't have a continuously turning focus ring.

A cinema lens would be ideal, but they're not in your budget range if you want to purchase one.

This seems to be going over old ground.

I would get your current lens repaired/replaced under the warranty, then decide on a new lens.

[Paul R Johnson]

All the lenses that have distance markings on the focus ring tend to be the repeatable ones. Lenses that have a ring and either a display or other means are servo operated, and the ring is just optical coupled to the servo drive, and they can be non-linear and unreliable. If I don't see a mechanical scale that can be read, I'm suspicious.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

We can only hope and pray one day Ryan will get his cinema crash zoom lens.

[Paul R Johnson]

I was speaking to a long standing well respected UK cinematographer, with countless credits about this topic. He no longer owns a camera, or lenses - and has some grip kit he hangs onto. Everything else is hired depending on the project. His attitude is that ever project now needs different things so owning a camera doesn't mean you use it!

You phone up your normal supplier. If they can't help, you phone a fairly small list, and there will always be somebody with what you need on the shelf. He tells me the biggest issue is people, NOT equipment. Finding the people you want when you need them is the biggest problem. Getting a camera of almost any kind delivered next day is easy - and in the US, being larger, surely easier still? Few professionals are now content with just one product for everything.

Ryans movie stuff and deer in the woods scream for totally different equipment. If budget really isn't an issue, I'd be sourcing the ideal kit for the shoot and not trying to find solutions to problems that really should not even exist.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, I thought I could use the same camera and lenses for every project, as long as I had versatile equipment. I can try the rental stores, again.

So far I've been making the markings myself with a grease pencil or a DP will do it on his camera, but is that a bad way of doing things? Like how do you know what your markings are going to be, on the lens when you buy it, since the focus marks for the actors, are different for different shoots, unless I'm not understanding?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Paul, I tend to agree unless you do a very specific job all the time you’ll constantly need to buy different equipment to do different jobs properly. Although I’m guilty of violating that rule. I just dropped $1k on led panel lights so I could film a proper interview but a month later I need to buy an led fresnel for a wedding because the panel lights aren’t the right tool for that job. I could have rented the lights but I needed time to learn how to use them and interview date couldn’t be confirmed until a couple of days prior. It be a problem if they weren’t available or if I rented them and the interview got pushed back.

Like you said the ability to know what equipment is needed for a specific situation, how to use it is more important than the actual piece of equipment. In addition too much equipment can complicate, hinder or distract you from a more important aspect of the job.

In this instance Paul is saying a cinema lens is only good as your focus puller. Try to use that lens inappropriately live event with the subjects moving around you’ll end up with useless out focus footage.

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

So far I've been making the markings myself with a grease pencil or a DP will do it on his camera, but is that a bad way of doing things? Like how do you know what your markings are going to be, on the lens when you buy it, since the focus marks for the actors, are different for different shoots, unless I'm not understanding?

The 1st AC will usually check the focus markings with a tape measure, if they're not accurate they usually wrap tape around the lens barrel and put on their own markings using a sharpie onto the tape.

High end cine lenses are hand calibrated with focus markings at the factory, still lens markings are more a rough position and the scale is small compared to modern cine lenses.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah things like that, is what we've been doing so far, but is that not good enough, and I could really use one with previous markings?

[Brian Drysdale]

A 1st AC will usually make their own markings in order to ensure they're correct, they may also check them so on a regular basis.

[Brian Drysdale]

On documentaries long focal length lens will be eye focused and this can also be the case on dramas, depending on the subject matter. The 1st AC may also get their focus marks by doing this, because it's not practical to use other methods.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Oh okay, I thought I could use the same camera and lenses for every project, as long as I had versatile equipment...

There’s a considerable difference between videography and cinematography when it comes to gear and staffing.

The biggest difference in workflow is that in cinematography you (or someone) is in control of the set. Blow a shot? Do it again. Relight. Discuss blocking and characterization. Emotional context and subtext. Whatever.

In videography you are not in control of the set. There will be no retakes. There will be no AC. You just have to nail every shot, usually working alone.

The OP’s wildlife shoot is different than the indie-style features and shorts projects described in previous posts. The latest greatest AF is really going to help for wildlife - that’s going to be on a fly-by-wire focus controlled lens. Use of super-telephoto lenses is a common need for wildlife - it’s a basic tool for such work.

So, no, although one may find oneself using a common set of tools for a particular kind of work, no one set does equally well at all of it. And, the gap between videography and cinematography is particularly wide, even wider for wildlife work.

Rentals! In the professional world you make your gear purchase decisions primarily on the basis of whether you will make money or lose money on it. And, sound, grip and lighting tends to age better than cameras, where technology is changing so quickly.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah I would rather just do directing since it's what I am use to, with a collaboration of others, rather than nail everything myself.

As for lenses though, I was told by a cinematographer recently that the reason you hardly see any microbudget indie features use telephoto lenses, compared to Hollywood, is that lower priced DSLR telephoto lenses, are just not sharp enough to be acceptable.

Do you think that's true though, and there is no way to get a softer look in telephoto to be acceptable?

[Paul R Johnson]

Compared to Hollywood? Can you get Hollywood sharpness from budget kit? Of course not, but you can get big improvements with sensible increases in bottom end budget. Good glass, for professionals or amateurs has never been cheap. Look at a sports event. The canon grey sports lenses. Why are they using them? The answer is pretty obvious.

Sharpness isn't just about using a test chart. It changes. Sharpness at the centre, sharpness at the edges, or somewhere in between, and then sharpness at certain focal lengths and then sharpness at different apertures. Cheap lenses might if you are lucky, do a few well.

Years ago, we had people experimenting with x2 adaptors for stills, and some being happy, while others found the sharpness drop off unacceptable. Another choice for you personally, Ryan. Does it pass your test? I suspect most people have a quality standard that is based on a mix of gut reaction alongside what their eyes tell them.

I wonder when you ask opinion from knowledgeable folk, you forget to ask the important supplementary question. WHY? Their answers will be very useful when it starts with 'because'.

[Brian Drysdale]

If you've got a limited lens budget, you are better spending the money on a used higher quality lens, rather than buying a low priced new lens.

A few years ago I saw my old Zeiss Contax f 4 300mm (fitted with an Aaton film camera mount) being sold online for a lot less than I paid for it new. It was still more than you paid for your current lens, but I gather they go for $300 (Contax mount). Downside it's a big heavy lens, with a 300 degree focus (as loved by 1st ACs, but not photographers) . However, you may need to factor in lens adapters when using lenses with older mounts.

Contax Carl Zeiss Tele-Tessar 300mm f 4 - YouTube

Good glass isn't going to be cheap and unless there's either an obsessive cinematographer with deep pockets or a revenue stream for the gear on paying projects, it's unlikely to be around on freebie projects.