Sony FS5 matched with PZ 28-135mm f/4 G OSS Lens?

[Justin Rose]

Greetings folks. I'm planning a doco shoot at a music festival. Lots of low-light situations. Will be using my FS5 and renting second one.

My issue is lens selection - the kit lens doesn't cut it for me - average low light capability and weird manual focus behaviour.

I am looking at renting a couple of the PZ 28-135mm f/4 G OSS Lenses and here seeking feedback from people who have used that match-up. Also, interested to hear any other suggestions for best lenses with excellent low-light performance for the FS5.

thanks v much!

[Doug Jensen]

The kit lens is f/4 so I don't see how using another f/4 lens is going to help you in low light.

I'd recommend you look into getting Canon 24-105mm with a Speedbooster.

[Justin Rose]

Thanks Doug - I'll definitely look into that option and it may well be the one I go with.

2 follow-up questions - 1. are any of the Sony lenses superior to the FS5 18-105 kit lens for the shoot I described in the initial post?

2. What does the PZ 28-135mm deliver for triple the price of the 18-105?

[Doug Jensen]

1) I'm not the person to ask because I am not an expert on the Sony lineup of lenses and I don't really use any e-mount lenses.

2) Everything!! It is vastly superior lens in every single way you want to compare them. But the biggest difference is that the 28-135 is a full frame lens, thus making it much more costly to manufacture.

But for shooting at a music festival, assuming some handheld shooting will be involved, 28mm isn't wide enough to suit your needs. That would be the wrong lens to buy. That's exactly why Sony came out with the 18-110 to replace it. But then you're still talking about only an f/4 lens. In my opinion, the Canon with a speedboster is a much better choice unless they feel they need the crutches of AF, AE, and servo zoom. I don't need those things (other people can learn to shoot without them as well) and that's why I use the Canon as the primary lens on my FS5. The Canon + speedbooster is faster, a little wider, and 1/3 the price of the Sony 18-110. Plus I can use it on all my other cameras that don't have an e-mount. An e-mount lens can't be used on anything but an e-mount camera. But a Canon full frame lens is almost universal.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fs5

[Doug Jensen]

I should also mention that there is a new pair of native e-mount lenses that will be announced soon from a major manufacturer that might be exactly what you need. I can't say more because I am under NDA, but if you can wait a month or two you might like what is coming.

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

2) Everything!! It is vastly superior lens in every single way you want to compare them. But the biggest difference is that the 28-135 is a full frame lens, thus making it much more costly to manufacture.

+1. Plus, the SELP 28-135mm has lovely focus ring (with fully mechanical functionality), as well as the precise aperture ring. Were it faster and wider, it would be the best video lens I ever used (but then it would cost 5x more...).

Piotr

[Cliff Totten]

Figured I'd at least toss this up in the air......

If you are shooting in some truly challenging low light conditions, you might want to at least consider the possibility of getting an A7S-II. I have mine mounted in a pretty nice rig. As someone that has owned both, and FS5 and A7S-II, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the A7S-II is a far, far, far, far, far, FAR better low light performer than the FS5. If you can deal with the DSLR-style shooting headaches, you will be rewarded with INSANE, high dynamic range and very clean low light imagery.

Yes, I know it's not fair to compare the FS5 to the A7S-II. Yes, it is an unfair fight with the A7S-II having a monster sized, state of the art, modern image sensor and the FS5 having an older and smaller sensor. But hey, sometimes it doesn't hurt to consider options that are outside the box for difficult shooting needs.

With my FS5, I was always delighted in the field shooting with it's wonderful ergonomics but I was always disappointed with the image quality when I got home. The A7S-II? This was always the exact opposite, I was always bummed about the DSLR-style ergonomics and compromises when shooting in the field. However, when I got home and looked at what I shot, I always said "Oh my God, this looks really incredible" Because of this, I started choosing my A7S-II rig over my FS5 for more and more projects and my Sony 28-135 cine lens looks fantastic even though it's only F4. The A7S-II just doesn't care at all that the lens is F4 slow. Throw some F1.4 Rokinon Cine primes on the A7S-II? Whew!...you will be seeing faint ghosts in the middle of the night with that.

Just an idea to throw out there.

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Yeah.. The mere possibility of using the FS7 kit lens (too slow for the FS7 in anything but the full bright sunshine) on a Full-Frame A7 made me seriously consider buying the A7Sii or A7Rii (the latter mainly due to the fact it has APS-C crop mode, so I could re-use my Canon FF glass on the Speed Booster)... However I grade my stuff in Resolve for HDR10, and - when Panasonic revealed those phenomenal specs of the GH5 recently - I hold on and am still waiting for Sony come up with a new FF A7 (or whatever it'll be called), writing 10-bit 4:2:2 at least externally (to my Shogun Inferno)... Now I really have a difficult time to make my decision: buy the GH5 as my B-cam (with all the advantages of its recording format), or wait for Sony's move (and be able to re-use all my glass I have for the FS7).

I did try the A7Sii 8-bit 4:2:2 footage from the Inferno in grading - and while much better than the pathetic 8-bit 4:2:0 recorded internally, it really is so much less flexible in grading than my FS7 10bit footage. The 8-bit color depth is causing a lot of banding and "compression noise" (as opposed to "gain noise" which of course doesn't exist at all) artifacts.

Piotr

[Justin Rose]

Thanks Doug, Piotr and Cliff for contributing your thoughts.

Cliff describes my dilemma precisely - the first thing the DoP (who I've only met via email and phone) said when I mentioned that light would be the main challenge was 'let's go with a couple of A7Ss'. But when I explained my shooting style we agreed it wouldn't be possible with the DSLR format. Ahhh! The Fs5 is a very well designed camera for how I work - in daylight.

Cliff, 2 queries - 1. you said "I have mine (As7) mounted in a pretty nice rig" - please share. 2. How does the As7 footage cut with the Fs5?

cheers!

[Gerd Kogler]

Justin,
To assess the optical quality of lenses, I wouldn't go past this website: photozone.de
I have taken their advice for a tele-zoom in the past, and that was the best I ever did!
Their testing and points system is absolutely rigorous; highly recommended!
Good luck!

Gerd

[Jeremy Cole]

The Sigma 18-35 f1.8 lens is also very nice for low light shooting as is the 12mm f2.0 Rokinon. I use both with the FS5 quite often.


....Jeremy

[Doug Jensen]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

I should also mention that there is a new pair of native e-mount lenses that will be announced soon from a major manufacturer that might be exactly what you need. I can't say more because I am under NDA, but if you can wait a month or two you might like what is coming.

As predicted, here they are. Beautiful lenses. The 50-135mm would be a perfect lens for interviews, and the 18-55mm is ideal for run & gun. I could shoot 99% of everything I do with those lenses except for wildlife.

FUJINON Special cine lens website | Fujifilm