Beginner with a lens question

[Optics]

Hello! I'm sorry if this type of question has been asked before; I did a quick search and didn't find anything. Currently I do independent film work on the canon xl1s, and as of recently I was interested in purchasing a lens adapter for the camera to shoot with 35mm film lenses. However, upon searching I found that my costs would be rather high anyway so it'd be much more worth it simply to upgrade, as I haven't done so in several years. I'm very interested in investing money into the Red one, but my concern with the lenses still remains. I'm sure the Red Lenses are great however - I read in the FAQ for the camera that it would be possible to convert 35mm still camera lenses with an adapter. I was wondering what users of the camera who've worked with both types of lenses would suggest I do? Any sort of advice from experience (or just theory) would be greatly appreciated, as I don't want to spend my money before first figuring out what type of lens solution would work best for me. If possible, I would love to hear not only how well various lenses have worked for you guys, but also for what price - so I can compare and contrast cost with value. Thanks again in advance, and I apologize if this question seems a bit too beginnerish or has already been asked somewhere.

Edit: Also, I was doing some reading about digital cameras with a rolling shutter and all the issues that come with them - I thought I remembered seeing somewhere that the red one had a rolling shutter as well, if this is the case, has this been a big issue for anyone with skewing and/or partial exposure? Thanks in advance.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

People are successfully using Nikon and other lenses on the RED One. More mounting solutions are due in the future, probably before you can get a camera if you were to jump in line and get a reservation number.

Personally, I prefer cine lenses because this is what they're made for. But that's not a dig at still lenses. Nikon and Canon make some of the best optics out there and they are more plentiful and affordable. But you sacrifice a few features of cine glass with still photography lenses.

You can have still lenses converted to PL mount for use with the RED One or other PL mount cinema cameras, but this is very expensive, even for just a mount change and not a re-housing. Mount changes make little sense, IMO, because RED currently sells a Nikon mount for the camera and various solutions for Canon mounts are on the horizon, others are working on or even have mount solutions for Canon EOS, Leica, etc..

If you're looking for great glass on a budget and don't mind the pitfalls of using still photography lenses, the Nikon mount makes a lot of sense. Combined with a good set of their all manual capable primes and a good zoom or two, you would be well on your way for a lot less money than buying a single cine zoom, even buying one used.

OTOH, RED's current lens offerings are rather good for the money. Optically, they're great. Mechanically, they have a few minor issues, all have been discussed here on the forums, but they're a bargain. RED is releasing new primes and a new 18-85mm zoom later this year and they look to be very good and priced very well for what they are. Definitely something to consider.

As for "rolling shutter" yes, RED has one. No, it's not a huge issue. I would like the skew that results from it to be less of an issue, but this has been largely blown out of proportion, IMO. The only imaging systems out their that don't have "skew" are the "global shutter" CCD cameras. Beyond that, everything has skew, even film or any system with a mechanical shutter. What sort of skew, how it looks, etc.. differs from one system to another. To me a bigger issue with the rolling shutter is partial exposure of unsynchronized strobes, flashes, muzzle flashes from firearms, etc.. But you know what, you can get these same problems with mechanical shutter systems too, so it's just one of those things to consider when you're deciding how to shoot something and what camera systems to use.

 

[Optics]

Thank you for the prompt and informative reply. You've certainly been a big help in my decision process - I would have nothing against shooting on still lenses I just wasn't quite sure how they'd fair in an actual production environment. For the lower price I'd be able to pick up additional lenses for a greater overall variety and versatility of different shoot types.

As far as the rolling shutter goes, I'm glad to hear it's not to big an issue. I've been shooting on a CCD cam so I had no familiarity with the issue which is why I asked. I suppose however, knowing is half the battle - the superb image quality I've seen thus far from the Red camera seems to more then be worth it - and I only plan on doing controlled production anyway, so if I have anything like a firearm or strobe light in a shoot I'd just be able to make sure to accommodate for such things in advance by tweaking the production or camera -- depending. Thanks for your help again, I greatly appreciate it.