Lenses to get

Charlie Webster · December 11th, 2010, 09:24 PM

Just remember, for video sharpness is NOT an issue--very soft lenses will seem plenty sharp at 1080 SPEED is.

No lens you buy should be slower than f/2, unless it's a 2.8 zoom.

Marcus Durham · December 12th, 2010, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie Webster

No lens you buy should be slower than f/2, unless it's a 2.8 zoom.

I agree, although the 2.4 I have on order was a good price so took the extra 0.4 hit.

Marcus Durham · December 12th, 2010, 02:22 PM

Actually I just looked at the shipping note and the lens that is on its way is a 50mm 1.8. No idea where I plucked 2.4 from!

Charlie Webster · December 21st, 2010, 01:53 AM

Well I've done some more testing tonite.

The hand-limit for a steady hold is 35mm without the OS of the e-mount lenses. At 40mm you simply can not hold it perfectly steady. Which is not to say 40 + lenses would be worthless--on a monopod, or for the 'shaky' cam effect, hehe.

With this in mind there are two routes to high quality hand-held low-light filming.

1) Fast primes. F/2 seems adequate, but the sigmas mentioned above are really the ultimate, esp the 20, 24, and 30. These can be bought in alpha mount and used with LAEA1

OR bought in nikon mount and used with certain types of 35USD nikon G adapters which allow aperture control.

2) Fast Zooms. After some research there are several candidates,from about 250 to 1300USD, first 2 must be bought used around 250USD if you are patient. So, for 285USD (with adapter) you are in low-light business.

Cheapest:

Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO AF

More money:

Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8 Review

A bit more
Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO FX

next:

Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8

or

Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S review test © 2004 KenRockwell.com

these are all constant f/2.8: there are no faster zooms. They will not match a f/1.8 prime in low light but should be dramaticaly better than the kit lens.

They are expensive (except for the first two) but they replace at least 3 prime lenses.

You should be able to find low-light video samples on youtube or vimeo for most of them.

All will be MF of course. Only Nikon or alpha mount will offer aperture control.

Henry Williams · December 21st, 2010, 07:35 AM

Many thanks Charlie, these posts are a real help and much appreciated.

The sony DT series is looking like a bit of a godsend at the moment for those of us assembling primes on a budget...

Charlie Webster · December 22nd, 2010, 10:45 AM

My Pleasure, sir.

One thing to remember is that these lenses hold value. Much more so than most cameras. How much? Just check completed listings on Ebay.

Watch out for the very high "buy it nows" which are there for every famous lens at 200% or more of acutal value. However, other times you can do well with Buy it now.

mflenses.com has ALOT of info on every lens you can think of, and they are quite nice.

best,

December 12th, 2010, 02:22 PM	#18
Marcus Durham Major Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 693	Actually I just looked at the shipping note and the lens that is on its way is a 50mm 1.8. No idea where I plucked 2.4 from! __________________ Marcus Durham Media2u, Corporate Video Production For Your Business - http://www.media2u.co.uk

December 11th, 2010, 09:24 PM	#16
Charlie Webster Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Sun Valley, Idaho Posts: 81	Just remember, for video sharpness is NOT an issue--very soft lenses will seem plenty sharp at 1080 SPEED is. No lens you buy should be slower than f/2, unless it's a 2.8 zoom.

December 21st, 2010, 01:53 AM	#19
Charlie Webster Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Sun Valley, Idaho Posts: 81	Well I've done some more testing tonite. The hand-limit for a steady hold is 35mm without the OS of the e-mount lenses. At 40mm you simply can not hold it perfectly steady. Which is not to say 40 + lenses would be worthless--on a monopod, or for the 'shaky' cam effect, hehe. With this in mind there are two routes to high quality hand-held low-light filming. 1) Fast primes. F/2 seems adequate, but the sigmas mentioned above are really the ultimate, esp the 20, 24, and 30. These can be bought in alpha mount and used with LAEA1 OR bought in nikon mount and used with certain types of 35USD nikon G adapters which allow aperture control. 2) Fast Zooms. After some research there are several candidates,from about 250 to 1300USD, first 2 must be bought used around 250USD if you are patient. So, for 285USD (with adapter) you are in low-light business. Cheapest: Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO AF More money: Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8 Review A bit more Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO FX next: Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 or Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S review test © 2004 KenRockwell.com these are all constant f/2.8: there are no faster zooms. They will not match a f/1.8 prime in low light but should be dramaticaly better than the kit lens. They are expensive (except for the first two) but they replace at least 3 prime lenses. You should be able to find low-light video samples on youtube or vimeo for most of them. All will be MF of course. Only Nikon or alpha mount will offer aperture control.

December 21st, 2010, 07:35 AM	#20
Henry Williams Major Player Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lewisham, London, United Kingdom Posts: 408	Many thanks Charlie, these posts are a real help and much appreciated. The sony DT series is looking like a bit of a godsend at the moment for those of us assembling primes on a budget...

December 22nd, 2010, 10:45 AM	#21
Charlie Webster Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Sun Valley, Idaho Posts: 81	My Pleasure, sir. One thing to remember is that these lenses hold value. Much more so than most cameras. How much? Just check completed listings on Ebay. Watch out for the very high "buy it nows" which are there for every famous lens at 200% or more of acutal value. However, other times you can do well with Buy it now. mflenses.com has ALOT of info on every lens you can think of, and they are quite nice. best,