Brevis and Nikon Lenses at DVinfo.net

Justin Connor · August 4th, 2007, 03:17 PM

Just shot some test footage with the Brevis and some Nikon lenses and my HVX...looks cool.

I am new to the SLR Lens world and am wondering what lenses people would recommend checking out and/or buying.

I am looking for 2 or 3 lenses to purchase -- and if someone could give me some specific lens recommendations, I would be most appreciative.

I also have a Century Optics wide angle lens -- do you think this wide angle could work well in conjunction with the SLR lenses or not? Or the aesthetic might clash.

Also looking for a rails/shoulder mount system that would work with this set-up and am unsure of which one...ideas?

Thanks so much,
JC

Dan Brockett · August 4th, 2007, 05:53 PM

Hi Justin:

Congratulations on your new acquisition, the Brevis is a great unit. I have been studying and researching adaptors for the best part of a year. I was a beta tester for the Cinemek G35 that really never was released and I have shot with the Brevis, M2 and SGPro as well.

One of the keys to selecting the correct lenses are making sure that you cover the focal lengths that would need. Personally, I recommend sticking with Nikon prime lenses, the zooms are not really needed in most situations and the zooms are going to be slower than the primes as far as f stop. As you know, it's always more cinematic to move your camera, not zoom the lens.

Depending on what style of filming you want/need to do, I would recommend a three lens package with something somewhat wide, like a 24 or 28mm, then a 50 mm, then perhaps an 85. I have a 105mm prime and it's great but it has such a narrow field of view, I don't know how useful it would be for most filmmaking situations. Once again, your mileage may vary, depending on the types of things you are filming.

As far as Ebay or KEH or someone else who sells a lot of used Nikon glass, this is a case where you want the older manual focus lenses, mainly for the feel of the focus ring. The newer D series lenses especially have pretty lousy manual focusing rings, they feel sticky and not constant. The older AI and other manual focus series tend to have much smoother, easier to turn focusing IMHO.

Buy the fastest you can afford. For the 24 or 28mm, probably the fastest you can find will be a 2.0 or a 2.8. For the 50, look for a 1.2 or 1.4. For the 85, a 1.4 is nice but more expensive and a 1.8 will be the most affordable. I believe that they used to make an 85mm 1.2 but this will be a huge piece of glass and will not be cheap either, if you can find one.

You can probably find all three of these, if you hunt carefully, for less than $700.00 to $800.00 and you will have some very nice glass.

As far as mounts and rods, you can't beat the Zacuto stuff, it's tip top of the line and not cheap. I would also consider the Brevis stuff, it's good and less money.

I too own a couple of Century Optics WA lenses. I would tend to favor the Nikon glass over the Century.

You are on your way to a very nice moviemaking package, have fun with it!

Dan

Justin Connor · August 11th, 2007, 08:09 PM

Thanks Dan!

Great info....

super appreciate it,
cheers,
Justin

Leonard Levy · August 12th, 2007, 01:01 AM

Justin,

It depends what you shoot.
If you are shooting Narrative, then a wide (24 - 35) a 50 and an 85 are a great place to start. if you expect to be shooting talking heads for interviews, longer lenses might be more useful 80 - 135 or even a cheap 80- 200 zoom like a Tokina 2.8

August 4th, 2007, 03:17 PM	#1
Justin Connor Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 73	Brevis and Nikon Lenses Just shot some test footage with the Brevis and some Nikon lenses and my HVX...looks cool. I am new to the SLR Lens world and am wondering what lenses people would recommend checking out and/or buying. I am looking for 2 or 3 lenses to purchase -- and if someone could give me some specific lens recommendations, I would be most appreciative. I also have a Century Optics wide angle lens -- do you think this wide angle could work well in conjunction with the SLR lenses or not? Or the aesthetic might clash. Also looking for a rails/shoulder mount system that would work with this set-up and am unsure of which one...ideas? Thanks so much, JC

August 4th, 2007, 05:53 PM	#2
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Some stuff Hi Justin: Congratulations on your new acquisition, the Brevis is a great unit. I have been studying and researching adaptors for the best part of a year. I was a beta tester for the Cinemek G35 that really never was released and I have shot with the Brevis, M2 and SGPro as well. One of the keys to selecting the correct lenses are making sure that you cover the focal lengths that would need. Personally, I recommend sticking with Nikon prime lenses, the zooms are not really needed in most situations and the zooms are going to be slower than the primes as far as f stop. As you know, it's always more cinematic to move your camera, not zoom the lens. Depending on what style of filming you want/need to do, I would recommend a three lens package with something somewhat wide, like a 24 or 28mm, then a 50 mm, then perhaps an 85. I have a 105mm prime and it's great but it has such a narrow field of view, I don't know how useful it would be for most filmmaking situations. Once again, your mileage may vary, depending on the types of things you are filming. As far as Ebay or KEH or someone else who sells a lot of used Nikon glass, this is a case where you want the older manual focus lenses, mainly for the feel of the focus ring. The newer D series lenses especially have pretty lousy manual focusing rings, they feel sticky and not constant. The older AI and other manual focus series tend to have much smoother, easier to turn focusing IMHO. Buy the fastest you can afford. For the 24 or 28mm, probably the fastest you can find will be a 2.0 or a 2.8. For the 50, look for a 1.2 or 1.4. For the 85, a 1.4 is nice but more expensive and a 1.8 will be the most affordable. I believe that they used to make an 85mm 1.2 but this will be a huge piece of glass and will not be cheap either, if you can find one. You can probably find all three of these, if you hunt carefully, for less than $700.00 to $800.00 and you will have some very nice glass. As far as mounts and rods, you can't beat the Zacuto stuff, it's tip top of the line and not cheap. I would also consider the Brevis stuff, it's good and less money. I too own a couple of Century Optics WA lenses. I would tend to favor the Nikon glass over the Century. You are on your way to a very nice moviemaking package, have fun with it! Dan

August 11th, 2007, 08:09 PM	#3
Justin Connor Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 73	right on... Thanks Dan! Great info.... super appreciate it, cheers, Justin

August 12th, 2007, 01:01 AM	#4
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Justin, It depends what you shoot. If you are shooting Narrative, then a wide (24 - 35) a 50 and an 85 are a great place to start. if you expect to be shooting talking heads for interviews, longer lenses might be more useful 80 - 135 or even a cheap 80- 200 zoom like a Tokina 2.8