Lens recommendations?

Dave Allen · February 7th, 2013, 10:47 PM

These manual lenses, from cine primes to Rokinons, etc. These are also manual iris? Does this mean in addition to having to try to focus on a moving subject in low light, one must simultaneously adjust the iris/F stop when panning from differently lit subjects or scenes?

Matt Davis · February 8th, 2013, 03:38 AM

They sure do. OTOH, you don't have to mess with a camera doing something silly when you pan round a scene with sky in it, and suddenly the auto iris screws down to expose nice fluffy clouds, whist your interviewee turns into a silhouette. Your computational power and firmware is going to be a lot more trustworthy than the camera's.

BTW, some of us even pay extra cash-money to have the clicks between iris settings taken out. Sigh. Riding the iris and the focus with one hand whilst controlling the zoom and the camera position with the other is all just part of the joys of operating.

There is a place for auto iris and auto focus, but not t the expense of manual control. The E-lenses have their iris controlled by the roller, so it's sort of manual but fly by wire. I found this difficult to control without jiggling the camera, whereas a manual iris - especially declicked - was a joy.

Wilf Davies · February 8th, 2013, 10:08 AM

Matt you just hit the nail rite on the head what you just said could'nt be more true Wilf.

Dave Allen · February 8th, 2013, 08:29 PM

It would be bad enough to have to pull manual focus so you don't over/undershoot throughout the dynamic focus requirement. The scene would have to be rehearsed and focus pull marks put throughout the travel. Same goes for iris on differently lit subjects/backgrounds.

Then as you use pone hand to pan the fluid head, you use the other hand to pull focus, then use your leg to pull iris...or use your third arm if you are an octopus....

Well, their went spontaneous or run and gun work!

Bob Prichard · March 30th, 2013, 10:09 PM

Dave,

If your eyesight is not up to par, I can highly recommend the Bates system for improving eyesight. I have taken two Bates classes. The first at age 30 when I noticed my night vision was not as good as before, and I had to wear sunglasses during the summer days because my eyes couldn't take the glare. After learning the Bates system (which basically relaxes the large eye muscles so they can help focus the eyes), my vision problems disappeared. Then at age 50 I took another class because my eyesight started to get blurry. Now at 68 I have no problem focusing any camera and do not need glasses at all. You can learn his system from a book, but I recommend you find a Bates teacher. Their rates are very reasonable. Best wishes.

February 7th, 2013, 10:47 PM	#16
Dave Allen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Boston Posts: 497	Re: Lens recommendations? These manual lenses, from cine primes to Rokinons, etc. These are also manual iris? Does this mean in addition to having to try to focus on a moving subject in low light, one must simultaneously adjust the iris/F stop when panning from differently lit subjects or scenes? __________________ Dave -

February 8th, 2013, 03:38 AM	#17
Matt Davis Trustee Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Berkshire, UK Posts: 1,562	Re: Lens recommendations? They sure do. OTOH, you don't have to mess with a camera doing something silly when you pan round a scene with sky in it, and suddenly the auto iris screws down to expose nice fluffy clouds, whist your interviewee turns into a silhouette. Your computational power and firmware is going to be a lot more trustworthy than the camera's. BTW, some of us even pay extra cash-money to have the clicks between iris settings taken out. Sigh. Riding the iris and the focus with one hand whilst controlling the zoom and the camera position with the other is all just part of the joys of operating. There is a place for auto iris and auto focus, but not t the expense of manual control. The E-lenses have their iris controlled by the roller, so it's sort of manual but fly by wire. I found this difficult to control without jiggling the camera, whereas a manual iris - especially declicked - was a joy. __________________ Director/Editor - MDMA Ltd: Write, Shoot, Edit, Publish - mattdavis.pro EX1 x2, C100 --> FCPX & PPro6

February 8th, 2013, 10:08 AM	#18
Wilf Davies Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: BOLTON ENGLAND Posts: 77	Re: Lens recommendations? Matt you just hit the nail rite on the head what you just said could'nt be more true Wilf.

February 8th, 2013, 08:29 PM	#19
Dave Allen Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Boston Posts: 497	Re: Lens recommendations? It would be bad enough to have to pull manual focus so you don't over/undershoot throughout the dynamic focus requirement. The scene would have to be rehearsed and focus pull marks put throughout the travel. Same goes for iris on differently lit subjects/backgrounds. Then as you use pone hand to pan the fluid head, you use the other hand to pull focus, then use your leg to pull iris...or use your third arm if you are an octopus.... Well, their went spontaneous or run and gun work! __________________ Dave -

March 30th, 2013, 10:09 PM	#20
Bob Prichard Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tiburon CA Posts: 123	Re: Lens recommendations? Dave, If your eyesight is not up to par, I can highly recommend the Bates system for improving eyesight. I have taken two Bates classes. The first at age 30 when I noticed my night vision was not as good as before, and I had to wear sunglasses during the summer days because my eyes couldn't take the glare. After learning the Bates system (which basically relaxes the large eye muscles so they can help focus the eyes), my vision problems disappeared. Then at age 50 I took another class because my eyesight started to get blurry. Now at 68 I have no problem focusing any camera and do not need glasses at all. You can learn his system from a book, but I recommend you find a Bates teacher. Their rates are very reasonable. Best wishes.