Losing A Lens From Your Set

[Stephen Pruitt]

I'd kill the 18. . . just a bit too wide for my tastes. I can't live without a 35, 50, and 85. I could be perfectly happy with nothing longer than an 85.

Stephen

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I'd keep the full set and try to raise money for that 135mm... you may regret later owning an incomplete set if you plan on selling or renting it.

 

[Florian Stadler]

18-35-85 or 25-50-100 are usually a good combo to cover a scene for me.

If I had to pick a single lens it would probably be a 28mm.

 

[Ivan Kovax]

This brings up a point I have pondered lately: Traditionally, the 50mm lens has been the "normal" (like the human eye) lens. But my understanding that was in the world of full frame 35mm still photography. With the so-called crop factor of an S35 or APS-C sensor, wouldn't the 50mm end up with a FOV more like an 85? So, is it the FOV that is "normal" or the lens characteristics, in terms of the way it represents the relative distances in the frame, etc?

Just wondering. :bigear:

Well... here comes a can of worms... For starters it is pretty difficult to define how the human eye perceives an scene as opposed to a particular lens mostly due to the human brain's ability for attention.

But.......

From my own experience I always felt that on APSC sized sensors/s35mm film lenses between 30-35 was closer to "natural". Also, I always found that the bokeh on a 50mm was nowhere close to that which the human eye experienced.

That is all. Please continue folks

Ivan

 

[Damien Molineaux]

Hmmm...

50mm is what corresponds to a normal FOV on a FF35 still camera, but on a Cine camera, it is the 35mm which corresponds the human eye's FOV. I'm really surprised at how many people on the one hand say a 50mm is too close to the human FOV, it is in fact much tighter! and I'm surprised at how many people would ditch the 25mm. I agree on one point, it is that shooting with a lens similar to our eye's FOV is what is least interesting. I think either something a little wider to what the human eye sees or a little tighter makes for the most interesting framing, therefore the 25mm and the 50mm are for me the most used lenses, but yes sometimes you need to go wider, so you need the 18 and sometimes you need something longer, so you need the 85, which sometimes is not enough, just like the 18, but on rarer occsaions, is not wide enough. The 35mm is definitly what I use least, but yes when you want to shoot that POV, that is the lens to use. There is a reason why a standard lens sent is compsed of those 5 lenses...

Cheers,
Damien

PS I totally agree with David Mullen, what you really need is just a longer lens.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

I can live without any of those focal lengths... At least until I need that focal length. I'm not sure I understand this thread. Are you budgeting to buy 4 of them and trying to decide which one not to get? As you can see, it's all subjective and even dependent on what you're shooting.

Anyway, I'll play... If I had to nix one of the RPPs from the set, it would be the 18mm. It's the biggest and heaviest of the bunch and for most narrative work, you don't tend to shoot that wide. The perspective can be interesting for a shot here or there, or great for panoramic landscape vistas, but otherwise I reach for the other focal lengths. I tend to use the 35 and 85 the most, but that's just me. And I know that probably didn't help you because the 18mm is the cheap one since you can buy it for $3K Battle Tested.

 

[Daniel Soderberg]

I can live without any of those focal lengths... At least until I need that focal length. I'm not sure I understand this thread. Are you budgeting to buy 4 of them and trying to decide which one not to get? As you can see, it's all subjective and even dependent on what you're shooting.

Anyway, I'll play... If I had to nix one of the RPPs from the set, it would be the 18mm. It's the biggest and heaviest of the bunch and for most narrative work, you don't tend to shoot that wide. The perspective can be interesting for a shot here or there, or great for panoramic landscape vistas, but otherwise I reach for the other focal lengths. I tend to use the 35 and 85 the most, but that's just me. And I know that probably didn't help you because the 18mm is the cheap one since you can buy it for $3K Battle Tested.

Thanks for your opinion Jeff!

The thread is partly to help me make a decision because I am considering selling one of my 5 lenses, and investing in a longer one for the set (a 135mm). But mostly, the thread was made because I thought it would be really interesting to see what other people thought they could remove from there set... and so far I find it really interesting. Didn't think it would be so all over the board!

 

[Timur Civan]

i'd ditch the 18mm. i feel its a "special effects" lens.