RED PRO PRIME SET vs RED PRO 18-85 & 50-150

[Antonio Forjaz]

Hi all,

Quick question, what would be a better buy, the RED PRO PRIME SET or the RED PRO 18-50 and the 50-150?
The price is 19K vs 15K, so what should I go with?
I can't decide....
Any ideas?

thanks

 

[Andrae Palmer]

From an investment point of view the set would be a better value due to the discount applied to the entire kit. Also if you will be renting I think there is a fair chance your clients will request the fast speeds of the primes more.

 

[Sidney L. Plaut]

well the primes are over 1 stop faster... I think you could easily be shooting at t2. - we just did on the last feature I worked on... zooms wont be able to get you that.

- are you buying them for rentals or own use?

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

humm, I mostly use it my self, don't rent it out.
my dilema is that with the zooms I get up to 150mm, and I have only 2 lenses to worry about, but then I do need more light, and don't have such nice DOF as the primes...
Do theses zooms breath when pulling focus?

 

[Andrae Palmer]

humm, I mostly use it my self, don't rent it out.
my dilema is that with the zooms I get up to 150mm, and I have only 2 lenses to worry about, but then I do need more light, and don't have such nice DOF as the primes...
Do theses zooms breath when pulling focus?

For the large part no.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

for documentary style, guerilla filmmaking, fast and low budget, the zooms are great lenses I think, but the primes.... it is so difficult to make a decision as it is a big investment.

 

[Michael Epple]

If you are shooting verité style documentary then yes, the zooms are a better option. Not only for the versatility of framing, but the on-screen lens data readout is very powerful as a one man shooter. The issue is low light performance. These lenses are slow and most other video cameras get better low light performance than the Red with a T3 lens. If you are shooting a narrative or similar style, the primes would be a better option for low light and overall performance.

By the way, the 18-50 and 50-150 are not Red Pro-line lenses.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

By the way, the 18-50 and 50-150 are not Red Pro-line lenses.

correct, my error.

starting to be inclined to the PRIMES, even though I am more of a one man show, but then, with the primes I will have a better package for future rental and narrative style work.
I have the Nikkor lenses, but I am not happy, especially with how they work, what I mean is, they don't feel like movie lenses, don't behave like movie lenses, but it is what I have at the moment. That is why I am thinking about investing on the RED lenses.
When I decided to buy the RED, I thought, well, I have all these Nikkor lenses, I will use then on the RED, and now I am using them, they work, but it just not like when I used to shoot on an ARRI with Zeiss lenses...

 

[jimhare]

Antonio,

Before you make a decision, have you checked out the Zeiss ZFs? With the Duclos cine mod they are REALLY impressive. I use Nikkors as well and the difference is night and day.

Regarding primes/zooms, when I have control, I always prefer primes (Zeiss ZFs.) They just look better and behave perfectly.

For live events and doco work, you really need a zoom.

That's what's great about going Nikon, you can afford both. I have about 12 lenses, primes, zooms, ZFs, Nikkor, Tonkina etc. and the whole lens kit cost less than half as much as the Red primes. Everything between 11mm - 180mm in primes and 17-210 in zooms.

And fast too. The ZF 85mm is f/1.4 and the 50mm is f/1.4 regular and f/2.0 in macro (I have both.) Then there is my Nikkor 55mm 1.2 if I'm in the absolute dark.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

Hi Jim,

I will look at the Zeiss ZFs and the Duclos cine mod.
I shot all day yesterday and I just was not happy with the "feel" of the Nikkors.

 

[Brandon Fraley]

Hi all,

Quick question, what would be a better buy, the RED PRO PRIME SET or the RED PRO 18-50 and the 50-150?
The price is 19K vs 15K, so what should I go with?
I can't decide....
Any ideas?

thanks

Antonio, are you asking about the 18-50, or the 18-85 as in your heading? very different lenses.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

Antonio, are you asking about the 18-50, or the 18-85 as in your heading? very different lenses.

my heading is wrong, and I can't figure out how to correct it, I mean the 50-150 and the 18-50. That would give me a range of 18 to 150 with 2 lenses.

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Hi all,

Quick question, what would be a better buy, the RED PRO PRIME SET or the RED PRO 18-50 and the 50-150?
The price is 19K vs 15K, so what should I go with?
I can't decide....
Any ideas?

thanks

In your tread title you make mention of the RED 18-85 PRO Zoom, but then you make no mention in your post, confused by the Zooms available or just a typo in the title or the post?

Let me try to make few points for you.

The RPP's are hands down the best set of Lenses you can find, if you take in consideration the Quality Price ratio, then there is absolutely no question as what you should get if Primes are what you need, lenses which are 4 to 5 times the cost, when paired at the same T1.8 fall short of the quality shown by the RED PRO PRIMES.

Now the only time that I would ever consider purchasing an other set of lenses like the new Compact Primes from Zeiss, it would be because I need the smallest and lighter Primes I can get, but absolutely only then, as the RPP are not small by definition neither light.

As far as Zoom is concerned, same thing goes here as the RPP's, the RED 18-85 PRO ZOOM< is of a quality only matched by zooms many times its price tag, this as well is of an incredible quality, but it is also no small or light by definition.

SO if you need a small and light zoom, then get something like the 18-50 and or the 50-150, smaller and lighter, but do not expect the same image quality of build as that of the PRO line ZOOM.

As far as what is best for you when talking about PRIMES vs. ZOOMS, this is always something that many people ask till they have worked extensively with both, then and only then you will realize, as I did long ago, that you can not ever compare the two, as they are build for different Shooting needs.

There will be times were the use of Prime, is just not suited, you need to zoom in and out, and you can not roll in and out with a moving camera, either by Man walking or by vehicle or by Dolly, this is were the use of a zoom is absolutely irreplaceable.

Then when you need the fastest aperture you can have for low light shooting or for any artistic reason, this is were the Prime shine, but then the RPP's are T1.8 and you can get faster lenses, not as good, but faster, unless off course you are willing to spend 20 to 30k per lens and get a set of MP's with an aperture of T1.3.

Different lenses for different needs, both for your use or for an investment as rentals.

ciao

 

[Charles Angus]

I second what Ketch said.

 

[Robert Berger]

So your better of with the RRP's from RED.

So your better of with the RRP's from RED.

In your tread title you make mention of the RED 18-85 PRO Zoom, but then you make no mention in your post, confused by the Zooms available or just a typo in the title or the post?

Let me try to make few points for you.

The RPP's are hands down the best set of Lenses you can find, if you take in consideration the Quality Price ratio, then there is absolutely no question as what you should get if Primes are what you need, lenses which are 4 to 5 times the cost, when paired at the same T1.8 fall short of the quality shown by the RED PRO PRIMES.

Now the only time that I would ever consider purchasing an other set of lenses like the new Compact Primes from Zeiss, it would be because I need the smallest and lighter Primes I can get, but absolutely only then, as the RPP are not small by definition neither light.

As far as Zoom is concerned, same thing goes here as the RPP's, the RED 18-85 PRO ZOOM< is of a quality only matched by zooms many times its price tag, this as well is of an incredible quality, but it is also no small or light by definition.

SO if you need a small and light zoom, then get something like the 18-50 and or the 50-150, smaller and lighter, but do not expect the same image quality of build as that of the PRO line ZOOM.

As far as what is best for you when talking about PRIMES vs. ZOOMS, this is always something that many people ask till they have worked extensively with both, then and only then you will realize, as I did long ago, that you can not ever compare the two, as they are build for different Shooting needs.

There will be times were the use of Prime, is just not suited, you need to zoom in and out, and you can not roll in and out with a moving camera, either by Man walking or by vehicle or by Dolly, this is were the use of a zoom is absolutely irreplaceable.

Then when you need the fastest aperture you can have for low light shooting or for any artistic reason, this is were the Prime shine, but then the RPP's are T1.8 and you can get faster lenses, not as good, but faster, unless off course you are willing to spend 20 to 30k per lens and get a set of MP's with an aperture of T1.3.

Different lenses for different needs, both for your use or for an investment as rentals.

ciao

when you use the superspeeds with an aperture of T1.3, even then there at there best at 1.8/2.0 So your better of with the RRP's from RED.

Robert
RED ONE 1265 /ari-zeiss 6 lensset/mamiya 120mm macro/redzoom 18-85/redzoom 50-150.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

Thanks every one for all the great input.
Now I really want the Primes...or maybe the 18-85 and the 50-150???
Difficult to decide, but thanks again for the advice.
For me it is a big investment and I must decide well, I have 3 choices:
The Prime set - 19000
The 18-85 & 50-150 - 18475
The 18-50 & 50-150 - 15000
REDUSER is really a great forum.

 

[jimhare]

Seriously Antonio, check out the ZFs with the Duclos mod before making a decision, you will be very impressed if you are looking for performance and a beautiful look.

 

[Antonio Forjaz]

Seriously Antonio, check out the ZFs with the Duclos mod before making a decision, you will be very impressed if you are looking for performance and a beautiful look.

My problem Jim, is if I decide to go for the ZFs, how do I go about purchasing them? With RED I already have an account. Living in Africa, it is not so easy to make purchases, but if you can point me in the right direction...any site I can look at? I tried Google...not much luck, I get the Zeiss page

 

[Matthew Duclos]

We wouldn't have a problem shipping to Africa.

 

[Matthew Duclos]

A couple notes to consider here.
If you are looking for better over-all quality, go with the RPP.
Optically, they are better than the Zeiss ZF lenses.
I cannot say enough good things about the RPP.
On the other hand, they may not be suited to everyone's needs.
The ZF lenses are lighter, cheaper, and do cover full frame 35mm.
But you do get what you pay for.