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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 :)

what would you do??

Daniel Meador

Daniel Meador

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I have a scarlet sitting in my study collecting dust. No lens. I have $5000. The choice is...

Buy a single 50mm canon cine prime or zeiss cp2 super speed or...

Buy a canon 70-200 II zoom, mattebox, focus wheel to complete the rig.

Goal: narrative film/documentary. Goal: beauty.

Can't rent. Nice idea buy impractical for me. Next $5000 in 5-6 months.

clinical diagnosis: I an obsessive compulsive perfetionist.

Your treatment plan is ?
 
I would buy a FD mount and a few prime lenses for it on ebay. Buying one single cinelens or low price zoom will do you no good. Buy the FD 24mm f1.2, 50mm f1.2 and the 85mm f1.2 and the mount. The 5000USD should just about cover it and then you got both options and beauty and a set of lenses that are hard to blame for anything.
 
At KEH, you can buy three used Canon L glass zooms (16-35, 24-70, 70-200) for around $5k total. If you are accumulating $5k every six months, you are going to wait a long time for a useful cine glass set. Why not get started. Look up the commercial Toia shot with Canon glass. What a you waiting for? Are you projecting 4K anytime soon?
 
With that budget I'd probably go for one of these sets of cinvised Nikorrs or FD's.

http://rplens.com/products.htm

If you are talking narrative, this would give you a good blend of quality and functionality I think and leave you enough change to get a few other essentials, like some decent ND's (or at least a high quality vari ND) and some form of support and follow focus and at least a few reflectors... depending on what your willing to put up with, you can actually do that pretty damn cheap, and ideally have a couple of hundred eft for materials to follow some DIY lighting tutorials. This is assuming you already have a decent tripod... Others might disagree, but unless you already have sets of filters you want to use, if that was my budget, and I wanted to spend the bulk of it on glass, I wouldn't prioritise a mattebox.

Note: I've assumed because you mention buying a Mattebox and follow focus that your not just looking to spend all 5K on glass.
 
Bjorn,
What does FD stand for? Does this mean removing my canon mount in favor of another mount? Does RED make that?
 
i would get a set of nikkor primes, 28, 35, 50, 85, 105 total about $1500
get them cine-moded at duclos about $1000
a set of 77mm NDs , tiffen idie set $210
letus follow focus $800

only $3500!!!
then maybe by an arri light kit or nice support like a ronford sticks and highhat and sachtler head.
 
Lliam Worthington said:
With that budget I'd probably go for one of these sets of cinvised Nikkors.

http://rplens.com/products.htm

If you are talking narrative, this would give you a good blend of quality and functionality I think and leave you enough change to get a few other essentials
Click to expand...
I would second Lliam's recommendation of the Nikkor set from http://www.rplens.com, and I would add an Allstar A-Mount system with Nikkor lens adapters https://vimeo.com/37060165. That will put you right around $5K and will give you an extremely flexible quick change setup for doco shooting...
 
If you're in no rush (and not planning to cover the client needs...or maybe just rent lenses for them), you can always buy 1 kick ass prime lens. Start your lens collection with getting a Cooke or Zeiss or Schneider. Start with a 50mm (since everyone always seem to recommend that). This is in the situation that you are taking it slow.

Otherwise, the previous suggestions are all very good.
 
Wil, I don't have clients so I can take it slow. I'm a physician working endless hours. But I do have stretches of time to devote to this. Why am I not rich? Med school loans!
 
The interesting thing about glass (and this is also true for microphones) is that everyone wants that "older" look. So old glass doesn't drop in price. At least, not just because it's old.

Currently, I'm slowly buying up a set of old Contax Zeiss primes and zooms. I've only got 3 so far, but plan on getting another piece any time I feel I can afford it.

The best part? If I decided to turn around and sell the lenses I have so far, I'd break even. I haven't lost any money. It's like my money is tied up in some sort of bank bond; I can't just reach over and access it, but I can get at it if I really needed to.

The downside of the CP.2's is that, since they are so new, well, it's like buying a car: the value of it drops as soon as you 'drive it off the lot'.

You will be much better served in the long run having a good range of lenses, even if they aren't perfect. You'll want the variety of focal lengths, and should force yourself to be sacrificing a little sharpness (the kind of sharpness that 99% of the population can't even see) in order to get a wider rane of focal lengths, rather than waiting for one perfect lens every 6 months. And then you can upgrade a piece of a time (based around which focal lengths you use the most) to the "perfect" lens.
 
you know, i forgot, you can go for those cine rokinon lenses as well, i heard people are liking them, i havent tried them but they are so cheap i may get a set for some lenses i would risk, lets say getting wet or something flying at camera :)
 
Contax Zeiss 35mm 50mm and 85mm all at f1.4

A 21mm or a 28mm Contax Zeiss

A Tokina 11-16mm EF mount.

It's doeable.

Buy larger cheap chinese gear rings for longer focus pulls.

Be happy.
 
Nick Pasquariello said:
The downside of the CP.2's is that, since they are so new, well, it's like buying a car: the value of it drops as soon as you 'drive it off the lot'.
Click to expand...

Cp.2's will lose only 10-15% of their value, but will rent far more often and beyond those percentages. They are hybrid for serious DSLR users and lightweight cinema applications. Very rentable. With the inclusion of Dragon for RED they will be even more sought after.
Very good investment regardless of the shortcomings (breathing, non constant T stop across the range of lenses, etc.)
 
Whatever you decide, DO something! It pains me to think about that Scarlet sitting there and NOT producing great images!! I don't shoot mine enough and I hate that! Enjoy life - shoot RED! :smiley:
 
Clayton Burkhart said:
Cp.2's will lose only 10-15% of their value, but will rent far more often and beyond those percentages. They are hybrid for serious DSLR users and lightweight cinema applications. Very rentable. With the inclusion of Dragon for RED they will be even more sought after.
Very good investment regardless of the shortcomings (breathing, non constant T stop across the range of lenses, etc.)
Click to expand...

For most people, you're right. For the OP, who sounds more like a hobbyist, or someone working on personal projects, what can and cannot be rented out is irrelevant. But something that could be collected and sold at a later date is a very valid strategy.
 
If you want beauty on a budget, it is hard to beat Nikon AIS or Leica R still lenses. Have them cinevised at Ducloa, add an Eldekrone FF for $300 and a Movcam MM1 mattebox at $1100, and you are ready to go.
 
Daniel, keep your Canon mount as is and get 3 x Zeiss ZE lenses to start, 28mm f/2.0, 50mm Macro f/2.0, 85mm f/1.4.

They are Canon mount.

DO NOT GET the 50mm f/1.4 even though the speed is tempting, the macro is to die for!

This will make a fantastic lens kit until further notice or forever. You will not be disappointed, they are spectacular and affordable.
 
Nick Pasquariello said:
The downside of the CP.2's is that, since they are so new, well, it's like buying a car: the value of it drops as soon as you 'drive it off the lot'.
Click to expand...

I would strongly disagree... Why do you think a set of SuperSpeeds are still $35,000? Those lenses are over a quarter of a century old! Can't think of many photography lenses outside of some legendary ones, rare ones or Leica's that can boast huge prices after 25+ years.

I understand what you are saying, as yes there surely is a small drop in value from being 'new' and being 'used'. But after that, the price will linger decently high (while making you money) for a long time. If you bought a set of Cooke S4's in 2000, I bet you could sell it for 85% of it's price today.

Of course the better the lens the better it holds price, but I would not gather CP.2's if maintained and serviced annually or bi-annually, would fail to hold their already bargain value. Plus, did I mention they make you money? Unlike a car.

Hope I wasn't too aggressive, but lenses are possibly the most stable investment in this crazy industry. That and perhaps a decent fluid head, MB and FF. Those never go bad if you buy them properly the first time.
 
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