*A:M User* Roger Posted July 25, 2014 *A:M User* Share Posted July 25, 2014 So after seeing the Blackmagic Design sale, if I were going to get one of their cameras I would need a minimum of one lens. I know next to nothing about buying camera lenses. If I can only afford 1 lens with a maximum budget of say $200-$350, what do I get? The camera would be used for video/film as well as still photography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 26, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 26, 2014 I suppose it should be a zoom lens so it has the most uses. It should probably be able to open very wide (is f1.4 still wide?) so you can do depth of field shots. As far as a make or model i have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 26, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 26, 2014 What about one of these? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/818962-REG/Panasonic_H_PS14042S_Lumix_G_X_Vario.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 26, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 26, 2014 I haven't followed cameras for a long time but f3.5 doesn't sound very wide. Is the Black magic one of the new big sensor cameras? Power O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization) What is the point of an acronym if they're always going to spell it out anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 27, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 27, 2014 It's the digital equivalent of super 16mm. It shoots 1920x1080 in RAW mode. There are more expensive versions, one that shoots 2500x1600 and another that will do 4k video. I think they're $1995 and $2995 respectively, but that's a bit rich for my blood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuchur Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I can not say much about movie cameras but about still photography: An aperture of f3.5 is not very good, but a quite common thing for camera lenses. In general it decribes how bright your image will be (how much light can fall through on the sensor) and what the depth of field will be like. Higher aperture numbers (like 12 and up) will result in a sharper image over longer distances... very important for product shots, etc. BUT it will also mean, that you need a much brighter environment (in general with additional lamps and other lightening helpers. There is more too it like sensor size and sensitivity, etc. but that would be too much to explain here... One thing I imagine you can not control is the exposure time, since this has to be 1/25, 1/30, 1/50 or 1/60 of a second... but I think this is the only real difference between photography and movie cameras in this aspect, right? Very, very good lenses in the photography business have up to f1.2 but this can be very expensive (if the rest of the optics is good too). The good thing is: It is less important what the lightening is like and you can still make pictures inside or at the afternoon / evening without artificial lightening. Otherwise you may need additional lights (with the right light color / light temperature) and high lumens values (or better a dimmer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 27, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 27, 2014 The first lens looks like a good all-around lens, the lomography lens kit looks like it might be fun to fool around with. The last lens is the lowest aperture lens I could find and is in the upper end of my price range. I knew lenses weren't cheap, but I was expecting $1000 or $2000 to be the worst. They seem to range from $100 to OMGWTF$$$. I found a Zeiss lens for $40k? That's several times what my current car is worth. I realize that kind of lens is only for someone making a living as a photographer that is also able to charge fees that would put him in the top 1 or 5 percent of his field, but holy cow that is a lot of money. The very last one looks like something I'd need to save my pennies for for a year, but the reviews sound really good. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/918898-REG/sigma_19mm_f_2_8_dn_for.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1036901-REG/lomography_z760_experimental_lens_kit_for.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1024121-REG/samyang_sy85m_mft_85mm_f_1_4_lens_for.html http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/855215-REG/Voigtlander_BA175M_Nokton_17_5mm_f_0_95_Lens.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 27, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 27, 2014 Here is an interesting sentence from their ad copy... A brass bayonet mount has both high accuracy and durability. A special treatment to reinforce its strength is applied to the surface giving it greater strength and making it highly resistant to long-term use. Also from the catalog... $30 for a pinhole Have you looked at any other sources besides B&H? They are probably on the higher side. Perhaps there are cheaper lenses that could be used with an adapter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 27, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 27, 2014 Yeah I haven't really looked beyond them. I just started looking at getting more into photography/digital filmmaking and have had my eye on the BMPCC for some time, been saving my $ with this recent price promo it is sort of a hard thing to resist. There are probably better deals out there, but I don't know a ton about the technical end coming from "point-and-shoot" world, and my photography and film tech I & II classes were about 20 years ago at this point. Ideally what I would like is to have the equivalent of a digital bolex for under $1500 all-in (memory cards, camera body, lenses & etc) and ideally under $1000. The BMPCC fits that bill, especially with the sale. I would also like a good, all-around lens that can handle most stuff (including night shots/street shots) and also allow me to tuck the camera in a jacket or coat pocket if need be (i.e. no 6" protruding lens, unless the situation calls for it). You're probably right about cheaper sources of lenses but I don't really know where to look, am leery of buying on Ebay due to everything "vintage" getting a huge markup, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 27, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 27, 2014 I wonder if they are doing this sale to clear out an old model before they announce a new one? Too bad Spiratone isn't around anymore. I remember the ads they'd run in the back of photography magazines with amazing prices on unusual lenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 27, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 27, 2014 That's kind of my thinking, they must be getting ready to annouce a 2500x1600 pocket cinema camera. Which makes me wonder what's going to happen to the current model that has that resolution, they may get rid of that model and have just the 4k and 2.5k cameras. But still, $500 for a super 16mm camera isn't bad at all. I think they shot 28 Days Later on DV which has about half the resolution of HD or less, so not that I'm planning on it but if I wanted to I could shoot a feature film with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 That's kind of my thinking, they must be getting ready to annouce a 2500x1600 pocket cinema camera. Which makes me wonder what's going to happen to the current model that has that resolution, they may get rid of that model and have just the 4k and 2.5k cameras. But still, $500 for a super 16mm camera isn't bad at all. I think they shot 28 Days Later on DV which has about half the resolution of HD or less, so not that I'm planning on it but if I wanted to I could shoot a feature film with it. Roger Not sure. But I think 28 days later was shot on Canon DSLR's. I remember seeing a TV show about how it was made and think that was the case ? regards simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted July 28, 2014 Hash Fellow Share Posted July 28, 2014 According to Wikipedia, f 2.8 or wider is considered a fast lens now. f 0.7 seems to be the record, a NASA lens also used by Kubrick for "Barry Lyndon" Zeiss f/0.7: You Can Now Rent Two of the Largest Aperture Lenses Ever Made Everyone comments on how shallow the DOF was in "Barry Lyndon" but I didn't notice that when i watched it because the continuity problem with the candles was so distracting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*A:M User* Roger Posted July 28, 2014 Author *A:M User* Share Posted July 28, 2014 Simon, You may very well be right, I can't remember where I heard it was shot on a Canon XL-1 (DV cam). I hit up Wikipedia and they noted that a portion of it was shot with an XL-1, but who knows exactly what they shot. So they probably did use a DSLR for the rest of the movie. Robcat that is a crazy wide aperture. I'm not sure I want to know what it costs to rent that. I'm sure buying it is out of reach for us normal folk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Edmondson Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 At the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I've done some work with Pinhole cameras, didn't explore it with antwhere near the success of Bill Brandt, but it is a way of getting extreme depth of field and very inexpensive too. ( https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bill+Brandt+Pinhole+photographs&client=firefox-a&hs=GLP&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uybWU9XDOIfH7AacmIDQDw&ved=0CCEQsAQ&biw=1807&bih=885 ) My Uncle had a Thornton Pickard 5x4 plate camera which I inheritated, its now about 110 years old and still works, I was thinking of using it to take some pinhole photos but haven't had the time. I received a pinhole kit camera for christmas that uses 35mm film and a book on various methods of doing it. You can use a DSLR for example, using a body cap with a hole drilled in. That is an avenue I'd like to explore, if I get the time simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.