What lenses should a videomaker use?

[eNnvi]

Hi guys,
i'm here because i'd like to expand my set of lenses for my 700D

as i don't earn a lot of money every month  i have to correctly choose what are the best lenses i could get.

i'd like to go for prime lenses (wide aperture and many other things) and i'm here to ask you to share what you do use most in your videomakeing activities

of course there is no one simple solution to everything as there are people making short movies, others making events (like weddings and so on), others for documentaries etc..

so what are the lenses you use most and for what?


i'm asking that as i'm interested in buying a wide angle for my aps-c cam but still can't decide if it's better to spend on a samyang (rokinon/whatever it's called in your country ) 14mm or the 16mm for making short movies in both open area and indoor


So.. share you're lens kit, what are your favourite and why can be useful for many other guys here

[Frarike]

I'd suggest buying vintage lenses. Just do some research and find whats best for you.

I've bought the samyang 14mm and personally I don't find the focal length that useful.

[ilia3101]

I would suggest buying only vintage lenses until you have a budget where you don't have to worry about getting the best deal.
I think it's better to get a decent vintage lens for less than the cheapest new lens, for example the Yongnuo vs pretty much every decent manual prime.
Basically, get vintage if you can, and only buy new if you can't get an old equivalent e.g Samyang 14mm.
My favorite lens right now is Helios-44 due to the pleasing contrast and (sometimes mad) bokeh.

[dfort]

I've got both a Samyang 14mm and 16mm and a 700D. If I had to choose one it would be the 16mm because it can use screw in filters and doesn't barrel distort as much. Note that the 16mm doesn't cover full frame sensors.  B&H is selling their Bower branded cine version for cheaper than you can probably pick up an equivalent vintage lens.

I have nothing against vintage lenses but you'll have a tough time adding lenses that match to your collection.


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[Teamsleepkid]

whats and 8mm fisheye look like in crop mode on an eos m? still fishy?

[dfort]

It looks like this:



Though it can be de-fished.



Note that in Movie crop mode this lens looks more or less normal.

Getting back to the OP:

...i'm asking that as i'm interested in buying a wide angle for my aps-c cam but still can't decide if it's better to spend on a samyang (rokinon/whatever it's called in your country ) 14mm or the 16mm for making short movies in both open area and indoor..

For shooting video on APS-C (close enough to super-35mm) those are quite wide lenses. Going too wide all the time tends to look gimmicky--see above pics. In a professional cinema prime lens rental kit you'll seldom find anything wider than 15mm so you're on the extreme end of wide. Then there's the great D.P. Emmanuel Lubezki who has used up to (down to?) 12mm lenses on Birdman and The Revenant. For documentary work in confined spaces you sometimes have to go really wide, even fisheye, though that isn't exactly my most used lens. The 16mm is a good choice and if you want something more "normal" on the 700D you've got Movie crop mode which turns it into an equivalent of a 48mm or in full frame speak that would be about a 26mm and 77mm. That's a pretty versatile range.

[budafilms]

I use a set of Rokinon T1.5 24, 35, 50 and 85 mm.

Before I had 17-40L canon, 24-105L, 50 1.4 and 24 2.8 and the Rokinon was the best quality I can perceive for the aperture, price and quality.

[Alfazzz]

I have 28mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.2 and 105mm f2.5, all are vintage ais Nikon lenses, and they are great.
The 50mm f1.2 is a gem ! My favorite.
The 28mm f2.8 ais is one of the best Nikon lens ever made, and it has a very short focus distance.
I love my 105mm f2, for both photo and video, lovely bokeh.
But their are all really really good (except perhaps the 35mm, i little softer)

I have too 2 canon L lenses, 24-70 F4 macro and 70-200 F4, but i usualy only use them for photography.

[GutterPump]

I use :

Tokina 11 - 16mm F/2.8
Canon 24 - 70mm  F/2.8 V.1
Canon 70 - 200mm F/4
Canon 135mm F/2
Canon 50mm F/1.8 (wish the 1.4)

My big wish is to use anamorphics lenses, like Dog Schidt's or SLR Magic.

[noipego]

Sigma 24,35,50,85 f/1.4 ART line...and canon 16-35L f/2.8 + 24-105L f4...im using canon lenses for wedding/events shooting...generally for any non run&shoot case ,where i need to be more creative, ill use the sigma primes and i think they are excellent lenses

[hyalinejim]

I'm got a lot of different lenses, zooms and primes. But for 90% of my commercial work  I use a Tamron 24-70 2.8 on a 5d MkIII. Combined with 3x crop rec, I get 24 to 210 without ever changing lens and is a great solution for corporate video or run & gun. It lives on my camera, and the fast primes, shift lenses, telephotos and anamorphics all stay in the drawer until they are occasionally needed.

I've found this lens to be far superior to Canon's 24-105 f4 (which isn't constant aperture unless it's wide open and has a T stop of around f5).

If I had a crop sensor camera, I'd consider a lens that would give me a similar range and has image stabilisation, for example the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 vc which will give me a similar FOV.

If you're doing methodical work where you have time to set up each shot carefully and the camera is already stabilised on a tripod or similar, you might prefer the superior image quality and narrower DOF offered by prime lenses. I think that staying within one range is helpful to maintain consistency. For example, I have a set of Olympus Zuiko primes that match beautifully.

[eNnvi]

So my interest is in short movies and i own a 700D

i tought to go with prime lenses for many reasons.

First of all i've got time, i'm not in a run&shoot where i have no time to change the lens (like in a wedding or any event)
Then i'll be forced to use that focal lenght so i would be learning better i think (but someone may not agree).

The last reason is that one day i could go FF (5d3 or 6D, or even 5d4) so investing in EF lenses instead of EF-S would be better but i also know that lenses for full frame are not so good on APS-C sized sensors...

I would have bought the 24mm pancake but i'm worried about the possibilty to use the follow focus on my rig as if it's like the 18-55mm STM lens the focus belt may not attach properly (focus ring too thin and the 24mm would be too close to the camera body for my follow focus)...

So do you think that a tamron 17-50 2.8 may be the best solution for me? The tamron allows me to keep all my vitals

[dfort]

Do you want primes or zoom? I looked up that Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS Digital Cameras on the B&H website and it has this notice:

Note: Di-II lenses cannot be used with digital SLR cameras using image sensors that are larger than that of an APS-C size imager (e.g. 1D series), or with 35mm film SLR cameras.

My primes are the relatively cheap Samyang (Rokinon/Bower/etc.) in Nikon mount which will adapt to almost anything except PL mount. No autofocus or lens stabilization, they are all manual lenses. I paid a bit extra to get the Cine lenses which work with any geared follow focus.

I also have a 17-55mm f/2.8 Canon and it works great on the 700D but of course will not cover a full frame sensor like the 5D3. If I were to get just one lens it would probably be this one but on your OP you mentioned that you wanted primes. With the Samyang 16mm you've got the range of this zoom pretty much covered if you use the Movie crop mode feature. Of course you won't have any of the in-between focal lengths.

[hyalinejim]

If your interest is narrative I would try to get (for APSC) a matched set of primes of approximately these focal lengths:

17
35
85

That will cover a multitude of setups. The 17 is wideish without introducing geometric distortion. The 35 is your normal lens, and the 85 for close ups.

[D_Odell]

Sounds like a zoom would be your best friend. An used 24-70 or something a like..

I bought a serie of Canon FD L lenses. Quite expensive but I like the soft look and flair they create. I mostly use 24 f1.4. Although these old lenses bleed a lot until stoped down to 2.8 or so.

[Roberto Mena]

Basic canon prime lenses are great and affordable:

These two lenses you will probably use 90% of the time:

Canon EF-S (APS-C) 24mm f2.8 Prime Wide Angle lens $120 - 150
https://www.amazon.com/Canon-EF-S-24mm-2-8-Lens/dp/B00NI3BZ5K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485813235&sr=8-2&keywords=ef-s+24mm
This lens is amazing because it is prime wide angle lens made specifically for APS-C sensor size cameras that costs $120-150 with a decent f stop 2,8! Super rare APS-C wide angle lens with super rare low price. Must have! Most wide angle lenses with an f2.8 will cost $300 and above and good luck finding one made for an APS-C sensor size.

Canon EF 50mm (80mm full-frame equivalent) f1.8 lens $100-120
https://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-STM-Lens/dp/B00X8MRBCW/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485813743&sr=1-3&keywords=canon+ef+50mm
50mm is a must have for basic prime lenses especially with an f-stop of 1.8 for great boké (blurry background) and low-light performance.

[ottoj]

Same question about canon prime lenses, but is been answered already by hyalinejim...
Thanks for the grate forum