need advice - super telephoto zooms

[Mike Dominic]

I am shooting a low(ish)-budget music video on Dragon, and I want to do a couple shots with extreme telephoto zooms like in old kung-fu movies. Most of the video will be shot on primes -- I just need to rent the zoom for two or three shots. I wish I had the budget for a cinema zoom, but this is all out-of-pocket so I think I will have to rent a still zoom. All exterior daytime, so stopping down to 8 or so should not be a problem. I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations on lenses that are decent and compatible with Canon-mount Dragon. So far I have found these might work:

Canon 100-400
Tamron 150-600
Sigma 50-500

I'm aware that focus will shift through the zoom range, but I can work around that. If anyone has experience with these lenses or any others with similar range, I would love to hear about it. Or maybe there's an old school cinema zoom I am missing that wouldn't cost a lot to rent (I do have access to a PL mount)

I'm also wondering if it's worth it to attach a gear and use a speed crank, or if that would be overkill considering it's a snap zoom that takes less than a second.

Any advice would be great!

 

[Owen Rennie]

I love my canon 70-200mm 2.8, with 2x extender.. If I could have any zoom it would be the new canon 200 -400 mm f4. . Pricey to buy but you may be able to rent cheap enough..

The 100-400 is popular amongst surf guys who need tele zoom or if you can get your hands on an old canon 150-600mm PL mount zoom, I hear they are really popular

That's all I can offer or comment on

 

[Robert Hart]

The Sigma 50mm - 500mm f4 - f6.3 APO DG HSM D zoom darkens the image noticeably when you zoom in on subject. It also becomes a little less sharp in the last 100mm or so at the telephoto end. You will need to ride the aperture ring as you move the zoom to diminish this effect.

It is also of the style of construction in which the body itself extends as you zoom in on subject. The upside is tht it is a slighly more compact lens to carry about. The downside is zoom movement causes airflow through the lens body. You need to keep the rear of the lens and the front of your camera very clean to avoid dust being stirred onto the sensor.

 

[Michael Tiemann]

I am shooting a low(ish)-budget music video on Dragon, and I want to do a couple shots with extreme telephoto zooms like in old kung-fu movies.

What about renting a 2/3" broadcast lens with a doubler that can cover a 4/3" image circle? For your zoom effect, just let the servo rip and then scale your 3.5K image up to 4K.

 

[Eric M Hurt]

Do you want to do a snap-zoom for say, accentuating action, or are you looking for the long long zoom like in a western?

From what you post it seems to be the former and if so then I doubt you need something as long as a 400mm. Most likely going from 25ish to 200ish is going to give you plenty of the effect, unless you're trying to get right into their eyes or something similar. I don't think you will get the effect you're looking for going from say a 150mm - 400mm. You need to start with something wide, like a 25 or 32 and go to telephoto, not from long to longer.

I'd test a number of lenses and see what holds focus and T Stop best through the zoom range and I'd use that. I would only consider lenses that (claim to) have a constant stop through the zoom since I would not want the extra variable of the iris with dramatic and often random zooms. A crank might be helpful, but from what I gather, a still lens will probably have a short throw, making it unnecessary.

Zoom in, find focus (this is the critical focus), zoom out, make sure the focus is acceptable at your widest and then go for it. If you have enough light and you can get wide enough to make your hyper focal distance work in your favor then even if the lens is slightly (technically) off you could very well find that you have acceptable focus for your shot.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

I am shooting a low(ish)-budget music video on Dragon, and I want to do a couple shots with extreme telephoto zooms like in old kung-fu movies. Most of the video will be shot on primes -- I just need to rent the zoom for two or three shots. I wish I had the budget for a cinema zoom, but this is all out-of-pocket so I think I will have to rent a still zoom. All exterior daytime, so stopping down to 8 or so should not be a problem. I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations on lenses that are decent and compatible with Canon-mount Dragon. So far I have found these might work:

Canon 100-400
Tamron 150-600
Sigma 50-500

I'm aware that focus will shift through the zoom range, but I can work around that. If anyone has experience with these lenses or any others with similar range, I would love to hear about it. Or maybe there's an old school cinema zoom I am missing that wouldn't cost a lot to rent (I do have access to a PL mount)

I'm also wondering if it's worth it to attach a gear and use a speed crank, or if that would be overkill considering it's a snap zoom that takes less than a second.

Any advice would be great!

First thing I would look at is what exactly is your deliverable?
(resolution wise) The lower the required end rez, the more you can do in post. Especially with a shot duration of a second, consider that you might be able to do it all with one of your primes. With Dragon giving you a 6K image playground to work with, you can create the zoom in post. If that is not enough, combine a manual zoom with the post zoom - opens the door for a number of creative choices.

You mention having availability of a PL mount. Go for it. Cinema zooms are designed to hold focus during a zoom (just one of the many reasons they cost more than still glass)

The speed crank might not be the best approach for a snap zoom that short in duration. Try to find an old zoom or focus stick that can be adapted to the lens you choose instead - much more likely to assist in the look you are trying to achieve.

 

[Chad Lancaster]

Theres always the sigmonster 300-800