expensive lens cheap camera vs expensive camera cheap lens

[diegocarrales]

what do you think is better for a film maker like me
buy 5d mark ii used aprox 1500 USD and a cheap lens like 50mm 1.8f or t3i with expensive lens
sorry for my poor english.

[CinematicSyndicate]

I would always opt for more expensive glass over camera. However, keep in mind those two camera are not the same sensor size - 5d is fullframe, T2i isn't. So consider the effect of having that 2/3 sensor crop and subsequent telephoto look. What suits what you are shooting best? Of course, with money you save on the T3i you can buy a nice wide angle piece of glass

[diegocarrales]

thanks for taking the time to answer.
so if i will go for the t3i what lens could you recomend for video.
more or less 1000 USD

[CinematicSyndicate]

If you can only buy one lens, then you might want a zoom that has a good wide to medium long range (like 18-70mm or so). The longer the zoom range, generally the less sharp (unless you spend the big bucks) but will give you a good starting range. If you can afford two, then one zoom like this, and one prime (50mm) because that will give you your sharpness, and depth of field for closeups if you want it. And now with magic zoom (1:1 or 1:2 mode on ML) you can zoom even further when you need it. If you want more lenses, I would look into old Nikon (Nikkor FD) lenses. They adapt to the canon body quite easily with a ring mount and are cheaper than new autofocus lenses. Getting good at pulling focus and aperture manually is a good skill to develop also. Hope that helps!

[jbuy41]

I have a very limited budget also.  I have found using some great lenses at almost giveaway prices.  They are from Sears or old  Pentax film cameras.

50mm 1.7, 22mm 2.8, 135mm are some of my favaroites.  I was able to buy 4 lens, film camera, bag and other stuff for about $40.

Of course you need an adapter, but they are $10 or less.

No auto focus, but can use the ML spot and it works great with those adapters that have a chip.

[kgv5]

With current state of ML i think, that one should aim at CF card compatible camera for the best RAW performance, maybe 7d would be best cost/performance choice. 50mm 1,8 is not a bad lens at all, well, at least in terms of picture quality, it is really nice. With current raw recording development Buying SD only camera is not the best idea IMO. With limited resources 50d is worth to take into consideration.