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$10K best lenses for ...

P

Patrick E. Coker

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I have an Epic and I have $10K to put towards lenses, ergo the thread title. So, what should I be looking at? Not worried about rentals, just for me.
 
Do you want to work with still photography lenses or cine lenses would be the first question to ask. For still lenses I would say the Otus and Leica-Rs, for Cinema lenses I would say the Canon CN-Es (my personal recommendation that is, you can decide between them or the Zeiss CP.2s)
 
Typically you get more optical bang for the buck with still lenses, but you can give up some cine features. Some still lenses shift and breath and have very short focus throw. However I recently used some Sigma ART stills glass with the optitron2 for wireless follow focus and it was a pretty cine-like experience, we can't really move the iris during a take but FF was very smooth and optically the lenses were great. I think if budgets are tight EF lenses (Canon, Sigma, Tokina, etc) and the optitron2 are a good route.
 
The Sony CineAlta PL lens are worth some consideration. Good solid image. Lots of marks, minimal breathing. T2 across the board, smooth barrel rotation. Well built. Heavier than the Red Pro Primes thought. $13 for 6 lens kit.
 
I have the zeiss 85 1.4 and 25 2.0 for sale if you are interested! thanks :)
 
Red Pro Primes should be a consideration here as well. The wider focal lengths are a bit big and heavy, the flares on the 18mm like to make groovy rainbows and don't match the rest of the set all that well. All things considered though, they're some of the sharpest and most consistent lenses available at any price. Optically they're amazing, mechanically not bad either although getting parts to service them is questionable as we move forward and they never made an impact in the rental market, so perception of their value is often skewed. That actually makes them a good choice for people looking to buy a good set for their own use, prices are typically lower than they should be.
 
The Celere lenses are the best bang for the buck out there. And honestly I would rather shoot on them than several other high end lenses. a set of 4 though is around 13k. :)
 
Domenic Barbero said:
The Celere lenses are the best bang for the buck out there. And honestly I would rather shoot on them than several other high end lenses. a set of 4 though is around 13k. :)
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Hows the Celere vs Canon CN-Es?

Those would be my go to when I need to make the jump to cinema glass.

 
I would buy the otis. Or do what I done and buy these and save the left over until Richard makes more focal lengths, he is working on a wider lens as we speak. To me these are more fun to shoot with than most other lenses. They are more like a little laboratory with 3 really well preforming lenses included, shooting with or without the iris discs these looks smashing and covers FF.



http://www.richardgaleoptics.uk/dogschidtoptiks/trumpsystem/trump-lens-set-38-58-88
 
i would take the celeres over the cne lenses any day of the week without question.
 
Björn Benckert said:
I would buy the otis. Or do what I done and buy these and save the left over until Richard makes more focal lengths, he is working on a wider lens as we speak. To me these are more fun to shoot with than most other lenses. They are more like a little laboratory with 3 really well preforming lenses included, shooting with or without the iris discs these looks smashing and covers FF.



http://www.richardgaleoptics.uk/dogschidtoptiks/trumpsystem/trump-lens-set-38-58-88
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Ditto. I bought a set of these too. You'll need a bit of patience if you go this route.
 
Clint Lealos said:
Ditto. I bought a set of these too. You'll need a bit of patience if you go this route.
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Good things comes to those that can wait :)

For some reason we have not used ours much we always chicken out and think that we need more focal lengths and that sharpness / accuracy focus marcs etc, is really important and pretty much every time I think afterwards that, why did we not just the trumps.
 
You're certainly spoilt for choice these days. However, I don't think that spending half your budget on one lens (e.g. Otus) is a good idea. ;-) You'd want a minimum of five lenses, hopefully six, for your $10K. I won't recommend anything specific, but I believe it when people recommend Sony or RED primes. They might not be fashionable, but seriously, who cares? Trust your eyes.

I also believe that converted Leica R primes are worth looking at, too. I be a set of five would come to under $10K. The good thing about the Leica and Contax Zeiss lenses is that you know they have an image circle larger than 5K on the EPIC. You won't even have to think about it, even on the 6K Dragon.

IMHO don't worry about aperture as much as reliability and consistency. Cinematographers today are spoiled: even at 500 ASA you have it easier than most generations before you. The EPIC has an optimal ASA of 800, from what people like Phil Holland are saying (though he loves his Superspeeds!). I mean, what more could you want for what you're paying?
 
You might also consider a Canon FD set w/ FD mount. Inexpensive and have really appealing character.
 
MichaelJQuill said:
You might also consider a Canon FD set w/ FD mount. Inexpensive and have really appealing character.
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I also bought a full set of those :) RP Lens did the conversion and I can recommend their work. Probably one of the most under rated lens sets on the planet. However, patience is also needed for this route.
 
Clint Lealos said:
I also bought a full set of those :) RP Lens did the conversion and I can recommend their work. Probably one of the most under rated lens sets on the planet. However, patience is also needed for this route.
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SHHHHHHH! :tongue:
 
Clint Lealos said:
I also bought a full set of those :) RP Lens did the conversion and I can recommend their work. Probably one of the most under rated lens sets on the planet. However, patience is also needed for this route.
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What is your production standard lens set? What tickles your fancy?
 
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