Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • 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 :)

Any big films or projects shot on Nikons?

Jeremy Wiles

Jeremy Wiles

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
601
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
West Palm Beach, FL
Website
www.kingdomworks.com
I was wondering if Nikons are being used on any larger projects; movies, music videos, etc? If not, is it mainly due to the quality of the optics or another reason?

Thanks,

Jeremy
 
A lot of Bourne Ultimatum was shot on Nikon zooms modified for PL mount by Arri, I think. The liked their zoom range, light weight, f-stop and image quality. 80-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8?

I have a 80-200 AF-D 2.8 and it's nice. Only downside is slight image shift / breathing issues. Great image for the size, weight... and price!

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
i shot a movie using Nikon AIS primes and the prolock adaptor and had great success - images are gorgeous - the major drawback being the short focus throw which made it hard work for the 1stAC
 
....Well, TV Nature Series Here:
We shot much of Great Migrations segment Jellyfish Lake on Nikons....and the series just won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography - Nature......as much as i've heard folks say Nikons are a poor substitute, seems they were good enough to support an Emmy. But to be fare, there were a lot of other cameras used and the cameramen were the real talent.
 
Jim Bishop said:
i shot a movie using Nikon AIS primes and the prolock adaptor and had great success - images are gorgeous - the major drawback being the short focus throw which made it hard work for the 1stAC
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this a bit more? Is it much easier to focus using Red Primes or other cinestyle lenses? And how much easier is it?
 
I use the Nikons regularly. The earlier Ai series have a longer focus throw though of course not as long as cinema lenses. You can buy the Ai series on ebay very cheaply. The image quality is very nice. The issues are all mechanical - shorter focus throw and the fact the lenses barrel forward precluding use of a matte box. However, one plus on the mechanical side is the light weight and the physical size of the Nikons which will be perfect for the Epic.
 
We used Nikon glass for most of our first feature film, "Works in Progress," which is coming out in three weeks on Vanguard Cinema. The Nikons and the RED One were a great combination, and we have very few issues with them. We used AIS lenses, and almost exclusively the 50mm and the 85mm. We very seldomly went wide on that film since we were able to get so far back in our locations.

We also loved the speed of the primes (f1.4).

We have since switched to the Birger/Canon mount for the RED One primarily for its electronic capabilities. Again, the look is superb. A lot of folks are going to be using the RED's new Canon mount on their Epics. That should tell you everything you need to know about the look of that glass. The Birger (and, I assume, the RED) Canon mount allows you to adjust the focus throw of the lenses, so an inherently small throw is not an issue for these lenses. Again, they are blindingly fast (f1.4 and even f1.2).

Stephen
 
Jeremy Wiles said:
Can you elaborate on this a bit more? Is it much easier to focus using Red Primes or other cinestyle lenses? And how much easier is it?
Click to expand...
on a cinestyle lens you will invariably get clear and distinct hard lens markings and much longer focus throw making it easier to make more accurate and subtle focus changes - also on such lenses as the cooke S4's the lens markings are equally spaced thereby helping the 1stAC develop a sort of 'rhythm' - this at least was my experience during 12 years of being a 1stAC - the other obvious thing about the nikon lenses is they focus in reverse ie. close focus and infinity are at opposite ends of the scale - having been using them frequently on the Red and Canon 5d Mk2 i am used to this now but it does require a small amount of brain to hand co-ordination training - also as rob says in his post the other advantage is the Ai and AIS lenses can be found easily and cheaply on ebay and any number of specialist shops - try KEH in USA or Grays in UK
 
Some Nikon glass is excellent, but it depends on your application - for quick lens comparisons check out http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikkor.htm. For wildlife EFP I use the 80-200, 50-300, 300 f2.8 and 500 f4 - they are all excellent. But unless you have the lenses modded you have to live with the iris click-stops, and the reverse focus direction. I know one wildlife DP who had all Nikon telephotos, preferring them to Canon, and rehoused them all so they would focus the 'right' way.
 
I shot a short film, Confluence, last winter which did well in festivals, on Nikon AIS primes, and am about to begin principle photography, in one week, on our first feature, So This Is Christmas, which we will shoot also on AIS Nikon primes and also the 17-35, 28-70, and 80-200 ED zooms. I use a small gear JBK Cinequipt Follow Focus, which gives a full turn to the Nikon 1/4 turn so focus pulls are easier, and a Red Rock Micro Matte Box with the rubber donuts which handles the slight barrel movement with ease. These lenses are very sharp, well color matched, and produce beautiful images.
 
All that glass you mention is what I've used and I have to say that the color matching is excellent. The old 105mm 2.5 has a very special quality about it.

David
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top