Mid-Range Zoom

Alister Chapman · March 26th, 2011, 06:58 PM

I have a Sigma 70-300 as well and for the money it's a great lens.

Andrew Stone · March 27th, 2011, 05:45 PM

I picked up the Sigma 70-300 today. F3 hasn't touched down yet but I put this lens on my still camera. Wow. Considering this lens is close to free in the cine lens world this lens is a spectacular deal. If you haven't put it on a still camera yet, you are in for a treat. The AF speed is razor quick. For those considering this lens, the feel of the barrel mechanics and bokeh are good for the price.

Pieter de Vries · April 1st, 2011, 03:49 AM

It's funny the way it's turned out.

We now have 35mm sized sensors in video cameras, and find ourselves over the moon when we discover that it's possible to use a zoom lens that will travel through the zoom range without loosing focus!

At less than half the cost on an Arri 16 SR3 film magazine, we can work with cameras sharing similar optical characteristics as a half million dollar Panavision motion picture camera. In so many ways, large-sensor video a brilliant advance, but I feel that zoom lenses designed for stills cameras have limited application on a large-sensor video camera in certain shooting situations.

You have to spend big for a decent video zoom lens with good reason. f1.8 is quite usual at the wide end and it's built to be f1.8 aperture right through the range. It can't be any other way can it? Otoh, I'm just loving discovering all the old lenses that people have had stashed away. Keep them coming.

Leonard Levy · April 1st, 2011, 01:04 PM

Just got my 28-70 f2.8 Nikon. Lovely! - and not as heavy as I expected. much smaller than my 80-200.
So now I have tokina 11-16, and Nikon's 17-35, 28-70 and 80--200. Preliminary quick and dirty test showed that all look to have similar color and contrast - not too different perhaps than Zeiss ZF.
Better tests to come.

I would like to try the 24-70 for the wider range but stayed away because people here complained about being restricted to the MTF iris control.

time to get off the computer and start shooting this thing.

March 26th, 2011, 06:58 PM	#16
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Mid-Range Zoom I have a Sigma 70-300 as well and for the money it's a great lens. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

March 27th, 2011, 05:45 PM	#17
Andrew Stone Major Player Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 975	Re: Mid-Range Zoom I picked up the Sigma 70-300 today. F3 hasn't touched down yet but I put this lens on my still camera. Wow. Considering this lens is close to free in the cine lens world this lens is a spectacular deal. If you haven't put it on a still camera yet, you are in for a treat. The AF speed is razor quick. For those considering this lens, the feel of the barrel mechanics and bokeh are good for the price.

April 1st, 2011, 03:49 AM	#18
Pieter de Vries New Boot Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sydney AUSTRALIA Posts: 22	Re: Mid-Range Zoom It's funny the way it's turned out. We now have 35mm sized sensors in video cameras, and find ourselves over the moon when we discover that it's possible to use a zoom lens that will travel through the zoom range without loosing focus! At less than half the cost on an Arri 16 SR3 film magazine, we can work with cameras sharing similar optical characteristics as a half million dollar Panavision motion picture camera. In so many ways, large-sensor video a brilliant advance, but I feel that zoom lenses designed for stills cameras have limited application on a large-sensor video camera in certain shooting situations. You have to spend big for a decent video zoom lens with good reason. f1.8 is quite usual at the wide end and it's built to be f1.8 aperture right through the range. It can't be any other way can it? Otoh, I'm just loving discovering all the old lenses that people have had stashed away. Keep them coming. __________________ Pieter de Vries ACS Cinematographer & Camera Craft Educator \| Sydney Australia \| www.pieterdevries.com.au

April 1st, 2011, 01:04 PM	#19
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Re: Mid-Range Zoom Just got my 28-70 f2.8 Nikon. Lovely! - and not as heavy as I expected. much smaller than my 80-200. So now I have tokina 11-16, and Nikon's 17-35, 28-70 and 80--200. Preliminary quick and dirty test showed that all look to have similar color and contrast - not too different perhaps than Zeiss ZF. Better tests to come. I would like to try the 24-70 for the wider range but stayed away because people here complained about being restricted to the MTF iris control. time to get off the computer and start shooting this thing.