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  • 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 :)

Going the route of a RED Pro Zoom instad of a new lens kit...

James_Mills

James_Mills

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... what are your thoughts on this? How do you think the optical quality / mechanics / everything all said and done of, say, a Zeiss Contax or ZE kit compared to buying just a single RED Pro Zoom? Would you take one over the other if you were shooting a smaller budgeted feature? I've never used the RED Pro Zoom before but if it's as comparably sharp (and breathes as little) as the RED Primes in that range, would this be a good investment? Would you be comfortable shooting a feature with this lens alone?
 
I have the 18-85 and its super sharp. i love it. IVe shot several music videos on the one lens alone. Best lens for shooting 2k at. I have a full set of contax and while they are faster, they zoom allows for faster set ups and its damn sharp in my opinion. and breathes way less than the zeiss lenses
 
It's definitely great bang for the buck. I have the 18-85 and get lots of use out of it. I don't really find anything special about its look (if you really want your shots to have any kind of organic character to it, a set of Contax/Leica R/Nikkors would probably be preferable) but it's reasonably sharp (not quite as much as the Canon 70-200 IS II, but close) and will save you the trouble of changing lenses during a shoot. I find it well-suited for documentary work and anything where you want a fairly sharp, clinical look.
 
Really depends on how you work, and the type jobs you get. The majority of my higher end national work is voice over stuff, and shooting is more of a secondary job for me, so owning real expensive glass doesn't make sense in my case. What I did was put together a kit consisting of 3 basic shooting scenarios I need to cover. First I purchased a set of Zeiss Contax prime lenses which replaced the Zeiss Super Speeds we were renting. The Contax lenses at f1.4 have pretty much the same look as the super speeds when wide open, and I have a couple of clients who love that super speed wide open look. The contrast levels start to get closer to older standard speeds when stopped down. So that investment in low cost Zeiss Contax glass, "low cost back then" has saved money on prime rentals. I then put together a set of low cost still zooms 11-16mm f2.8, 16-50mm f2.8, 70-200mm f2.8, for those times when time and budget dictates I move very quickly. And thirdly I purchased a production zoom like the Red 18-85mm you mentioned earlier, only I went with an older Cooke 20-100mm zoom, to replace the newer Cooke 18-100mm we had been renting, and I added a Duclos 11-16mm to fill out the wide end. That gives me 3 different styles to cover my needs, and I can still rent if needed. If I had to choose between them picking just one now due to budget, I'd say choose the one that is going to pay it self off quickest and go from there.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
Thanks for your guys' thoughts on this, and I apologize for not revisiting this earlier. I've been in limbo as to what route to go with lenses still... tough when you're not rich but want to make a big lens jump, as right now I only own a few Canon Ls and some other still glass.

Any other thoughts on this matter? Does anyone have some examples of their work with the RED Pro Zoom? I know a friend of mine showed us a daytime interior interview he shot with the RED Pro zoom and just a single kino on an Epic and it looked FANTASTIC. Made me wonder if it was the Epic or the lens, and seeing that we have the same sensor as the Epic I'm thinking it's this lens...
 
James. Even though it was "only a single kino", it could be the lighting.

Have one here and will check it out in april.

It's heavier than the canons, for sure! :)
 
James, It seems like the rpz 17-50 would be a good zoom for you if you are on a limited budget. I use mine a lot for smaller, fast shoots and it intercuts with my zeiss cp.2's just fine. The 18-85 is a much larger lens and you will need proper rod support and a heavier tripod for it.
The Sony guys love to rent it as well for the F3.
 
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