EF or RED Lenses?

[M_Sanderson]

Im at a crossroads, I am not sure what to decide (At the moment camera is due September, but need to decide soon)

Do I compliment my red with two red lenses - 18-50 and 300mm
or do I just go Canon EF?

For the price of the two above I can get more EF combinations

Why would I go for a Red 300mm instead of Canon 300 EF that I can also use on my SLR.

Most of my work is going to be Doc's and Nature films. So I am considering a longer lens as well.

This is what my current plan is:

16-35mm F2.8 L
50mm F1.2 or F1.8
70-200mm f2.8 or f4 (depending on available funds)
300mm f2.8 or 500mm f4

and either a Peleng 8mm
or Nikon 8mm f2.8 (using a nikon to ef mount without optics)
(also a bunch of macros)

obviously i will need the birgir mount, I have looked through the "beast of a thread" on the subject but just wondering if I want to put an order in now, do I use the same original order form as 6 months ago or so. Thread that says the mount is ready to ship in volume is a good sign, is there any indication how many orders there are for them?

I have a bunch of fd lenses as well, is there a mount for them available? I read it was scrapped early on, any 3rd parties?

then if I need cine lenses I can rent them per project , same goes for HD b4 lenses (such as a HJ40 for extreme shoots). I cant afford 10's of thousands for one lens, however the production can afford to rent them.

Would be good to hear any thoughts on my plan. Maybe an essential lens i am missing or better one.

If there are any threads/posts that answer some of these questions that would be great

Many thanks :clown2:

Mike.

ps. love this online resource for red'ers.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

The RED 18-50 is an excellent lens for the price, but not the best lens, the 300mm (current one) is just an incredible lens, if you would to compared to the famous Canon 300mm f/2.8L I think they are at par, as they are both incredibly sharp, the build is great on both lenses, literally build like thanks, but the RED 300, is obviously a Cine lens, so the mechanics are far better to work in the professional filming environment, obviously once the Birger mount comes out, and will be proven and tested, then we can compare what the two do different and in what way.

EF Canon glass is just stunning, I would omnly use "L" series glass on the RED, ad exception of the MP-E 65 MACRO, and the FISHEYE lens.

Still lenses, if build for 35mm FF cameras such are the CANON EF "L" series, I don't think you can go wrong, what it is more of consideration is the workflow on a professional Movie set, were Focus Pullers might complain a bit, but then again, we don't know what Birger is going to create as far as full workflow, and for some shooting styles might prove even preferable then Cine lenses.

Canon EF lenses considerations before you buy:

Stay away from any used or new 16-35 first generation as they flair, vignette, and have considerable CA, only buy the "EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II"

Also stay away from the 50mm f/1.8 not a good choice for the RED, but the EF 50mm f/1.2L is an excellent lens and the Super peed will come you handy more then you know.

The 70-200 are all fantastic glass, go with what the budget allows, just know that the speed it is important.

The 300mm f/2.8 is a fantastic lens, was the absolute best EF canon lens till now, as the new EF 200mm f/2L has taken such a place, even with a 1.4x mounted on.


ciao

 

[Kevin Halverson]

...I have a bunch of fd lenses as well, is there a mount for them available? I read it was scrapped early on, any 3rd parties?

You might want to have a look at this thread:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14190

 

[Steve Murray]

Budget tight? -- Then go with Canon FD with the Kmuse FD mount. You can get a amazing set of lenses from 7.5mm to 800mm for super cheap (I did). Most of the zooms are slow, not that sharp or have the useless push-pull zoom function. So with FD you are mostly talking primes.

Medium budget or you must have zoom lenses? -- Canon EF with a Birger Mount. 16-35mm, 24-70mm and the 70-200mm all f/2.8

Great budget or if you plan on shooting movies with your RED -- RED lenses or other high quality PL mount lenses. Better follow focus, less breathing more "pro" -- especially if you are using a pro AC to do follow focus.

Not matter which route you take... test your lenses before purchase if possible. Especially the wide zooms.

 

[M_Sanderson]

thanks for the info guys, appreciate it.

I have been using fd a lot on the varicam, with some stunning results. so i am def interested in that option. However the fact you cant put fd's (properly) on eos bodies is a shame. (i read that you CAN put nikons on eos bodies? so a bunch of nikons for red and eos? is that a bad idea?)

Depending on how easy/hard it is to switch mounts, a mix of fd's and ef's might be a good option.
Has anyone shot with a 7.5mm FD at 4K? that would indeed be very interesting to see how it performs.

As for the extremely long lenses, i have seen people on the forum talk about using 300-800mm sigma's etc. Is this really viable on the Red or is it better to invest time in getting closer to your subject (ie. in nature docs) and use the 300mm canon.

once again thanks for the input guys, once i made my decision and receive my cam towards the end of the year i will def show results.

 

[Kevin Halverson]

...However the fact you cant put fd's (properly) on eos bodies is a shame. (i read that you CAN put nikons on eos bodies? so a bunch of nikons for red and eos? is that a bad idea?)

The problem (if you care to describe it as a problem) with the FDs on newer bodies is that it's FFD is less than most other lenses. This means that the only way to use the FDs on newer cameras is with an optical adapter. This is certainly not the preferred method as the results are not great.

For those of us who want to use the FDs on RED ONEs this is a great advantage as there are so many FD lenses out there without any modern bodies to go along with them that FDs have become rather inexpensive. Even the "L" series of FDs are relatively inexpensive and compared to the equivalent EF glass, an amazing bargain.

The FDs have shown that they have the resolving power to meet the needs of a RED ONE with resolution to spare. The lens to lens consistency in terms of their spectral response is extremely good. I do agree with Steve, I am not that excited by most of the zooms, but then again, I don't really have an interest in zooms as most breath too much for my taste. Canon FD primes are the way to go with the RED ONE if you need a set of fast, high performance glass and don't want to spend a fortune.

Kevin Halverson

 

[Steve Murray]

FD

FD

Has anyone shot with a 7.5mm FD at 4K? that would indeed be very interesting to see how it performs.

As for the extremely long lenses, i have seen people on the forum talk about using 300-800mm sigma's etc. Is this really viable on the Red or is it better to invest time in getting closer to your subject (ie. in nature docs) and use the 300mm canon.

I just got my "your camera is ready to ship email" today so I will have some 7.5mm and 500mm F/4.5L shots in about a month to share.

The Canon FD is the cheapest way to get a great set of prime lenses, IMHO. I bought 2 or 3 of most lenses and film tested them. Kept the very best and resold the others to end up with my current set of 15 FD lenses from 7.5mm - 500mm. I now have every focal length lens Canon made from 7.5mm to 500mm -- all for less that one RED zoom. I'm very happy with my shooting range for the low cost. Thanks to Kevin for making the FD mounts so this is even possible.

Everyone will tell you to get the 85mm F/1.2L but it breathes VERY badly. A much cheaper F/1.8 is just as sharp as the 3 F/1.2L's I tried and does not breath much at all (it did take 3 to find that super sharp one).
.

 

[Kevin Halverson]

I will second Steve's vote for the 85mm f1.8, I have one and love it. I have shot resolution tests and it resolves beyond the limits of the RED ONE, it has very little breathing (on par with many cine lenses) and was very inexpensive (I think I paid around $150 for mine). I have always wanted the f1.2L just for the amazing speed at that focal length but realize that the DOF wide open would be so shallow as to be nearly impossible to use in any real world situation, so it's not a high priority lens for my needs.

I have been lucky, nearly ever FD I have purchased used has ended up being great glass, a very few were too worn out to be of any real use (other than for parts) but I paid under $20 for a number of these so I don't really care. I have even found a few NOS (new, old stock) examples in original Canon boxes, these too were very reasonable.

Kevin Halverson