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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

If you could only afford one lens under $10k ...

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Aaron Cheater

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OK, I've been looking at lens options for the red scarlet/epic light and am trying to find a good all-rounder to start off with. At the moment I'm looking at the Red Pro 18-85mm, but that might be a bit too expensive so I'm also curious about other manufacturers cheaper options.

To that end, I'm curious to know what other people would recommend so would like to put forward this question. If you could only afford one lens to go with your Red Scarlet/Epic Light, any manufacturer, prime or zoom, which would it be? The only prerequisite is that it has to be under 10k, and as cheap as possible without sacrificing quality and usability (much).

Looking forward to hearing all your replies!
 
It depends when the Canon mount is available, but all the lenses in my signature work well (on the Red One / Birger mount) and can be had for well under $10,000. For that budget you could swap out the 28mm f/1.8 for the f/1.4L model and add a 100mm macro as well. Rumor is that the 135mm L lens does an image shift while changing directions on a rack focus, so you might want to test before you buy.

The great thing about starting with these lenses is that they hold their value on the used market, so when you are ready to drop $40K on a cine lens solution you still get more than 80% of your investment back.

Bob
 
I have a cooke 18-100 for sale 8k its a great lens but its too heavy for just me kind of stuff
 
Cooke 18-100 is a beautiful lens, and that's a fair price (assuming it's in good condition). I bought a 20-100 a couple years ago for my red package for $7500, and the 18-100 is a superior lens, (Paul, where were you in October 2008?).

Both are a bit bulky, so don't envision going around in an SLR handheld mode with this beast, but handheld is definitely doable in the traditional sense (especially when you knock 5-8 pounds off your configuration going from R1 to Epic), and on sticks it's no problem. That said, it's not a run-and-gun sort of lens, like the RPZ 17-50 (but hey, it's a freakin' Cooke).

I'm seriously considering Canon L glass for run and gun work...you can always rent S4s or MPs or PL-what-have-you when you need the pro glass.
 
I'd go for a single RPP lets say the 18mm for my single lens. You would have a good no compromise lens, and the resale potential would be very good since it was not included in the original set of lenses, (except for that fact I would suggest maybe the 35mm RPP). Shoot a feature with just this one lens. You would write your feature, with the knowledge that you would only be using this one lens. Don't go with a zoom or all round lens. Use a RPP and do your cropping in POST. Get the best "quality" bang for your buck. The lens IS the camera, the sensor IS the camera, the edit IS the movie.
 
I would respectfully disagree with George (sorry, George). The notion of cropping from a single lens to achieve an equivalent FOV to other lenses doesn't sit well with me. Different lenses do different things (besides FOV), have different effects on us psychologically and emotionally...to throw that out in favor of post cropping I think undermines a big part of film language.

That said, cropping slightly in post to make a character or object more prominent in the frame than originally shot is an entirely different thing, and can be very useful (a great benefit of shooting 4K).

The biggest downsides to cine zooms are most likely size and speed, but for smaller budgets, they can accomplish great things.
 
Forgot to mention that with the sensitivity gains with MX, the speed of a lens is less of a factor than it was with the M sensor. If you need ultra-shallow DOF, then you'd be looking for a prime anyway...
 
Paul Hazlett said:
I have a cooke 18-100 for sale 8k its a great lens but its too heavy for just me kind of stuff
Click to expand...

Wanna trade for an underwater housing for your RED?

Must be lots of good diving around Philadelphia :-)
 
A. Clint Litton said:
The notion of cropping from a single lens to achieve an equivalent FOV to other lenses doesn't sit well with me.
Click to expand...
Of course I would say, "Buy the complete set of RPPs". But, since the OP only wants to buy a single lens my advice is still, buy a Prime lens.
 
If you have $10,000, why not buy two great lenses?

Red Pro Zoom 17-50
Red Pro Prime 85mm

If you want a great lens for sticks...that Cooke 18-100 comes to mind first. Never seen the Red Pro Zoom 18-85 though. Good luck!
 
I vote for the RED Pro 17-50 as your kit lens. The RED Pro 18-85 is a bit of a monster for hand held, as is the Cooke 18-100. The 17-50 is much lighter. In addition, if you are finishing at 1080, you can window to 3K and effectively turn it into a longer zoom (not appropriate for all circumstances).

For $10K you could get both the RED Pro 17-50 and the Duclos Tokina 11-16mm rehouse...

Cheers - #19
 
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