Best cinematic lenses for Scarlet X

[Brendan Johnson]

Everyone,

Check out the cinematography tools over on RED.com

http://www.red.com/tools/crop-factor

Looks like everything Michael Panfeld was saying was correct....

 

[Nathaniel Opgenorth]

Just read this entire thread as I'm building up my collection of Canon glass (Going to end up renting Scarlet)....wow..lol I've never seen so much talk about the same damn thing! haha Ok so 9 pages of arguing about a 50 being a 50 but some useful stuff in the last few pages.

Anyways I love the Canon EF 85 f/1.2...the thing is like this unsteady brick and is sort of a pain to focus but it sucks in light like some crazy black hole...grab some ND filters is all I gotta say! Beautiful bokeh on that bad boy even stopped down....wouldnt want to use it at 1.2 other than to show off or if I was REALLY desperate! When using it felt "very cinematic" then again after reading this thread saying a lens is cinematic sorta makes me laugh. The EF 50mm 1.4 or even the EF 50mm 1.8 are AMAZING! I own the 50 1.8 and yeah its plastic but its a great little guy, not looking to upgrade it to the 50mm 1.4 unless it breaks, the bokeh is quite beautiful on it as well...especially wide open. The 1.8 is quite sharp.....I usually stopped it down to 2.5 or 2.8 and center objects look insanely sharp on my DSLR...havent touched any sharpening tools in post edit since I started using primes more. Just ordered the EF 35mm f/2 which has meh, okay bokeh....only time the bokeh is good is when its wide open since Canon decided to use a damn 5 blade instead of a nice 8 or more, it was $290 on Amazon and I probably could have found it used for cheaper...I think it will be a great lens on a 1.3/1.6 crop sensor camera...I use my DSLR for video mainly now and was looking for a low light performer as a general lens and the 50mm was too much...if the Scarlet was Full frame I'd say spring for a 24-70 f/2.8...As for Zeiss...cant speak about them too much but I feel they give a "colder" look than the Canons but then again Canons are pretty warm to begin with...Canon really likes to bring out the color red allot....I'm always fixing that one in post.

 

[Jason Honeycutt]

+1. content is king.

I agree... to a point... I have a short film playing in various festivals... I've seen some God-awful films in my block (as far as story) but they looked beautiful because they were shot with a RED or Alexa and some had 'name' actors... just doing terrible parts that made no sense. If they were shot with blown-out DSLR, there's no way they would have made it.

To counter my point and to agree with yours, I only had a DSLR at the time but I used some nice retro primes (which I love the look of) and I think I pushed the DSLR as far as you can so it didn't get in the way of the story, which people have been reacting to very well... we've won two festivals, against Alexas and REDs. I'm hoping to have a good combination of story 'and' RED footage next time to place in more because I think they go hand in hand. However, the judges that I've seen definitely will give films that look "legit" placement when they're pretty thin from a narrative standpoint.

 

[Brian Merlen]

Did anyone point out since we cant shoot speeds at 5k how the Scarlet is ALWAYS cropped compared to the actual 5k full sensor?... but seriously from a nerdy techie perspective this thread was a lot of fun to read (woke up at like 5am and couldn't fall back asleep)...

I have been debating investing in more legitimate glass. Currently own a Nikon AL mount only and use my buddies old nikkors to shoot stuff on spec with him while we make a reel. Obviously with the limitations of still glass I am interested in investing in some that are more "cine"(also will need the accessories, base plate, rails, follow focus, matte, filters, boy it adds up to have all the toys coupled with my new DIT cart).

I was thinking BT RPP's, or CP2's, old angie zoom used, or a BT red zoom just to start... I am on a budget so I'd probably be buying one prime at a time or one zoom after months of saving. Trying to avoid the problems of still glass by getting higher end stuff, that can hopefully rent.

What I am looking for in my cine glass is rentals from my own clients, rentals from third parties through cosigns perhaps (deals worked out prior to purchase), and to continue shooting the reel on spec until I can move out of the low budget scene into more quality productions. Being that my goal is actual rentals/cosigns what makes a good brand/look/financial profitable choice? I know the Masters or Ultras will rent, but I might need to rob a bank or three, is there anything else that might be a good financial choice for rentals within the low end priced spectrum? Or is the market so saturated, am I only going to be advised against this insanely late idea that everyone did 5 years ago (when I was a broke kid in college)? I get that I am a dollar short and a day late all too well, but I mean as long as the 1099 keeps letting me spend I'd rather keep getting write offs and buying toys that I can hopefully make money with.

As for where to test glass, I'd assume places like Abelcine that do both rentals AND sales would be cool to compare at. I would think you could convince a sales guy to make a rental guy let you throw the glass up on your camera... I mean if your willing to seriously drop thousands more to buy through them directly, why wouldn't they wanna show you those Ultras or whatever your looking for?

 

[z luye]

You're filming with a RED Scarlet — unless mud or Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder has covered your glass, it's going to appear cinematic.

Jokes aside, the key difference between affordable, sub $2000 lenses and conventional expensive film lenses, is what your glass lives inside — the housing.

Practice makes perfect. Work hard building your muscle memory in regard to focus pulling, etc, and you'll find few complaints with something like L series glass from Canon. Lighting/shot composition should be where your mind is, in regard to building the best image. Make the glass work for you. Used by the right person, I've seen Sigma bollucks sing.