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 :)

If you had only 50k for lenses

I don't know. I like where most of your thinking is at, but I find a 2 or 3 lens set as being unusable for rentals.

I mean, who is gonna rent just three primes? I'd rather have 6 or 7-Mini S4's than 3-S4's... imo.

Whatever you do, I'd make sure I'd have at least 4-5 primes to call a 'set'. It will be hard to find rentals for just two or three prime lenses. Most people want a standard 5-6 set. Maybe that is different elsewhere.

I have a set of Mini-S4's and they rent all the time. Maybe not as much as SuperSpeeds or Angie DP's, but they move pretty well and I love 'em. Best money I've ever spent.
 
I totally understand what youre saying...

My main goal is not rental AT ALL however. Mainly for my own stuff but obviously you wanna rent these things out whenever you can. More than anything I wanna make a good investment on glass that will last me for a long time and others will want to use as well. I agree nobody is gonna rent 2 lenses as a set.

3 Ultra Primes seems to make the most sense as it will only take me a few months give or take to come up with the cash for 2 more to make a 5 lens set. Those will be great for the stuff I am doing and are easily rentable I believe.
 
I'd go for a couple of ARRI Master Primes, like the 35mm and 100mm. And you'll have some spare change from 50K.
 
I love my Panchros. Trailer for our new short shot on 'em: http://youtu.be/E9je1gvZejM
I do also carry some Leica-R's at T 1.4 for emergency really low-light. The night shots in the trailer, however were all at 2.8 on the Cookes.

What'll happen with Dragon? Who knows?
 
Good advice.

Or you could get a full set of super speeds for 35k to 50k. MK2 & MK3 respectively.

Timur Civan said:
Id get three UP.

Store em with rental house. You'll have enough money for s forth in no time, then a fifth.
Click to expand...
 
Anyone have links to work done with these two lenses on the Epic?

A contact on RU said he'd show me some footage but he's more likely too busy to put something together soon.

Rob Franklin said:
2 zooms.. Angenieux 16-42 and 30-80.. excellent lenses, fast to use. Not sure how much they are in $ but i bet you would have some change...
Click to expand...
 
Will Keir said:
Anyone have links to work done with these two lenses on the Epic?

A contact on RU said he'd show me some footage but he's more likely too busy to put something together soon.
Click to expand...

I have no footy I can share from these, but these are my all round favourites...
 
Paul Harb said:
Could do a 16 and a 35 Master Prime and slowly build over time.
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking, but here is my "brains emotionally blabby internal debate":

I should get a 40 mm Master prime ... then a 2x for when i need a 80 ... i normally run with a ton of ND and need the 80 outside most the time ... then slowly get the other lenses ... i wouldn't have any buyers remorse on the master prime ... atleast for the zeiss look ... though i do like the new panavision lenses ...

BUT ... I'd feel perty stupid if a zoom lens came out for $2k with electronic breathing removal ... would wipe out my investment strategy on master primes ... also the 2.2T lenses are getting really good and cheap ... does it make sense for me to spend 10x price for 1.3T when the sensor technology is making low T only useful for a very small set of small DOF shots ... i'm a crappy focus puller too ... shooting with the epic monochrome is changing my viewpoint on lens contrast ... i've never tested across S4 vs MP vs LEICA Summilux-C on the monocrhome ... but Riddey was talking about the Zeiss Ultra Prime and Angenieux Optimo Lenses ... normally i just copy him ... i haven't even tried the new zoom lenses yet ...

SO ... i have no idea which way to go ... i don't have the time to figure this out ... my script needs a ton of work ... doesn't my nukex deal with a lot of this in post ... am i worrying about nuthing ... i'm just going to round out my RPP and CP2's collections until i get my dragon sensor ... then continue this debate then ... BUT ....
 
RPP's are great optically
And if the weight of masters are ok, they should be on the list.

Problem is weight and markings.
Optically they are "up there"

They are probably NOT rentable like a set of UP's, though
 
Panchros just look SOOOOOOOO GREAT - I would put all my $$$$ into the Panchros set and not obcess any more - it's time to go make a great film!!!
 
Will Keir said:
A contact on RU said he'd show me some footage but he's more likely too busy to put something together soon.
Click to expand...

That wouldn't be me, would it? :(

The lenses have been working their respective asses off since I finally got them. I have not had a chance to do something with them, but I love them and their all-around look. I will for sure have them available for a day, maybe two, this coming week and I'll try my best to grab some shots I can post. Everything else they've been shooting is not stuff I can share.


Back on the topic of this thread, at $50K that leaves us torn between primes and zooms in most cases. Although, I would highly recommend a full set of RPP's 18-100, plus the 300 and also add the Duclos 11-16, RPZ 17-50 and RZ 50-150. All of that should be easily do-able within the budget, but not all the lenses are currently available through official channels.

If one just wants zooms, then the often-suggested Angenieux DP 16-42 and 30-80 are a great way to go. You can get the Duclos 11-16 as well within budget and perhaps even a RPP 100 or 300 or something along those lines to fill in the long end. Duclos is also getting closer to releasing their cine-modifed 70-200 zoom. Should be about $9500 though -- ouch, but is still a compelling option. There's always the RED 50-150 to augment the high end as well, if you can find one.


The Fuji zooms might be some really good options here. The 19-90 Cabrio and new 80-300 Cabrio would make a killer pair. One could probably even sneak a Duclos 11-16 in there and stay under budget too.


If you go into Canon mount solutions, all the Canon cine-zooms will blow the budget out of the water. However, a set of their primes is do-able with money to spare. There are lots of other options, such as all the L series lenses and the Rokinon primes that have recently hit the market. In some ways, you get what you pay for with the Rokinons, but I'm seeing some good stuff come from them. They almost have a vintage look to them, somewhat soft with aberrations and anomalies.


Nikon mount is essentially the same story... There are more options for manual iris control and as great as the L and L-II versions of the Canon zooms are, I think the Nikon counterparts are even better. The 14-24 and 70-200 are frickin' amazing. And the latest "G primes" kill it. The down-side for a lot of people is the mechanics on the lenses turn the opposite direction vs Canon and most "cine" glass. Nikon has fallen out of favor until recently with the DSLR crowd because their cameras had lagged behind in features, especially for the video shooters. They're doing better now, but it seems most of the younger or newer crowd coming from the DSLR segment over the past couple years have all jumped on the Canon bandwagon.



Other options for primes are numerous. The Cooke /i Panchros are excellent although some people shy away from the T2.8 aperture. The Illumina 35's are compact and T1.3. Getting somewhat mixed reviews, but most positive. I can't really comment on them myself, I find them to be an intriguing option, but I have yet to shoot with them. A set of 3, maybe 4 Ultra Primes can be had too, although I'd recommend the RPP solution above instead. Zeiss T2 "Standards" are an option too, if you can find a set. The prices of these seems to be on the decline again with all the other options hitting the market as well as the economy continuing to slump. SuperSpeeds are probably out of the question... They just continue to get more expensive and the only thing holding their price in check is that if they get any more expensive, people will just buy Master Primes instead. There are also the Zeiss CP.2's... Some people love them, some people hate them. I am unfortunately on the hate them side of the fence. They're such a mixed bag... Excellent size and weight with good mechanics, most of them cover FF35 and are future proof in that regard. The 50mm T2 Macro and the 85mm are amazing. The new 15mm looks to be awesome as well. There are some real stinkers in the set too -- the 18mm is garbage. Color rendition, contrast and maximum aperture/ sharpness vary across the set. You won't get the same mechanics or housings, but you can essentially get the same optics by using the Zeiss ZF series SLR primes. The ZE primes as well in Canon mount, but those don't have manual aperture ability.



Myself personally, I would start with a good set of zooms with this budget -- the Optimo DP's probably or the Fuji Cabrios. Primes can be rented as needed, zooms are far more versatile and can fit most jobs, especially if their like the DP or Cabrios where they're relatively compact and light weight. People are so finicky when they rent or choose primes. At least that has been my experience... All the more reason I would start with zooms and hope to acquire primes as I can buy more gear. If I were totally set on primes, I would do the RPP set and pair it with the 17-50 and 50-150. My next choice would be the /i Panchros (mini S4's). I love those little lenses, the RPP's are just more lens for the money -- bigger, heavier, sharper, faster and still not as attractive for constant rentals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top