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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 :)

Nikon 600mm

Jeffrey Hamlin

Jeffrey Hamlin

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Are you looking for just a long (telephoto) lens or a zoom? The one you linked is a telephoto prime or fixed at 600mm. Fine if that's what you need. It's actually a really nice lens. It will work with RED, provided you have the proper Nikon mount installed. That would be either the Underdahl Nikon mount from Long Valley or the Optitek Nikon mount. Both of those provide a manual iris control, the standard RED Nikon mount does not. And this lens does not have a manual iris.

Why no used gear? If you're looking for a really long zoom, a good option is the Canon 150-600 F5.6L. There are various PL mount conversions of that lens from Optex and Century. It's a bit hard to find one, but they're out there.
 
Thanks Jeff.

I teach at a community college and we can only buy new gear.

Can you think of any other NEW lenses that might fit the bill?

Thanks for your help.

JEFF
 
I have been using a sigma 50-500 Nikon mount lens for over a year with excellent results. The one we have does have physical iris, and is mounted via the the Red Nikon Mount. You may get a new one in the US with the Iris.

I bought one last year after we lost our entire lens kit in Tanzania, over 10 lenses.

It was hard getting all the lenses with physical apertures. I definitely know the 800mm sigma is available with the a physical iris on BH&photovideo.

Yusuf Thakur
 
Jeffrey Hamlin said:
Hey Guys...

I am in search of a new zoom lens (600mm) to compliment our lens inventory. It needs to be compatible with the RED and cost less than $11,000.
Click to expand...

I managed to snap a Leica Van Diemen Apo-Telyt 580mm f/4.0. Sharp glass. Beutiful glass. Massive glass (6.5kg, 160mm front diam.).

Normally they are about double your price limit, but I managed to get it below your target price from a keen seller. You need to hunt one down or get a second hand with Leica mount and have it converted by Van Diemen (they are no longer manufactured by Leica).
 
Jeffrey Hamlin said:
Can you think of any other NEW lenses that might fit the bill?
Click to expand...

No such thing....unless you go for a Hawk. But then $11k would probably get you only a lens cap.

There is also ELITE 120-520 T3 (16kg!!!). Never seen it. Know nothin' 'bout it. Maybe Mitch from Abel can help you on that one. I don't expect it to be cheap either.

Edit: only 36,000 Euro :crazy:
 
Hey Jeffrey,

What glass do you guys currently have that you're trying to compliment? Are you looking for PL mount, Nikon mount, etc..?? If you're complimenting other Nikon glass, that 50-500 Sigma that Yusuf mentions might be a good choice for a long zoom that covers a large range.

I know you say that you must buy new, but in the world of lenses that is often difficult or impossible. Sometimes "new" still means a lens that has been bought as new from a retail source, then cut into pieces and made into something else.
 
Jeffrey,

As I read your requirements, they are:

New zoom lens that goes to 600mm, costs below $11k - and you gave a 35mm stills prime (Nikon 600) as an example.

That eliminates the very good, but very expensive lenses Pawel mentioned. In cine lenses you simply won't find a zoom reaching 600mm, and if you did it would cost a mint to buy it - miles beyond your $11k budget. Pawel is a connoisseur of high end cine lenses, but he can afford them, and he likes them for the work he does. I can definitely afford cine lenses too, but I opt to use 35mm stills lenses exclusively on RED One - by choice for price, mobility, and my hybrid style field workflow.

Because you're insisting on a new lens, that makes finding a lens to fit all your parameters even harder. Long focal length lenses are hard to find and expensive. The Nikon 600 you linked is an excellent lens, but as Jeff pointed out, its is a prime lens. Seems that a zoom would give your students more focal lengths to learn with.

All my long focal length lenses that I use on my RED cameras are 35mm stills lenses, for lighter weight (thus mobility) and cost (I bought them used). They are optically excellent, and the footage from them on RED One has been stellar.

I own and use the following long zooms and primes on my REDs (all of them are out of production and bought carefully used):

Canon FD 800 f/5.6L with Century PL mount conversion
Canon FD 150-600 f/5.6L with Century PL mount conversion
Nikon 400 f/3.5 AIS with 1.4x and 2x extenders, and Nikon mount
Nikon 50-300 f/4.5 AIS, with Nikon mount

I own and use a ton more Nikon lenses below those focal lengths, but I limited the above list to long zooms and primes since that seems to be what you're looking for.

The Sigma 50-500 Jeff mentioned may be a candidate for you. You also may want to check out a newer Sigma long zoom, the 150-500. It has image stabilization - not that you'll be using the IS with RED. I've used the Sigma 150-500 on one of my Canon 5D cameras, with very good results.

A close friend and business associate of mine, Kennan Ward, who also uses a lot of long lenses, loves his Nikon 200-400 f/4 zoom, and Nikon 50-300 AIS.

Since you're asking If you're curious about long zooms and primes for RED, I've attached three pics of some of mine in action: Canon 800, Canon 150-600, Nikon 50-300

Hope this info helps you...
 

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Agreed! It rocks - nice filmic contrast, bokeh, etc. Good glass doesn't all of a sudden become bad glass just because it it older. I bought my Nikon 50-300 AIS last year for $1,400 - in flawless condition. Its important to note that the AIS version is quite superior to the previous versions (AI, etc.). The lens coatings in the AIS version are great. This a favorite lens for nature photographers in the '80's and '90's.

I use the Long Valley Nikon mount on two of my RED cameras, because I have a diverse mix of Nikon lenses - some have aperture rings and some don't - and the Long Valley mount gives me the ability to use both. My mount is solid as a rock - no wobble or weirdness.

My third RED One has a PL mount on it - just for simplicity in using these two Century PL mount converted lenses. When I get Epic and Scarlet, if the 1-minute change of mounts is a reality, I'll just quickly change to the mount I need on each camera.
 
Thanks Gibby.

I had Kenan in mind when I "pitched" the 600mm lens idea to my dean. Unfortunately, money is tight (like every where else) and all I could scrape up was $11,000.

I will take a look at the lenses you listed.

Thank you very much for your time.

JEFF
 
Ok guys...

This may fit the bill:

Sigma 300mm-800mm f5.6 (to be used w/Long Valley Nikon Mount)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/381606-REG/Sigma_595306_300_800mm_f_5_6_EX_DG.html

Basically the students would use this lens on "special assignments" (wildlife, national parks, etc.) Our day to day lenses are Zeiss ZF with the cine mods done by Duclos Lenses. We have 2 REDs and therefore we have 2 sets of the following:

18mm
21mm
25mm
35mm
50mm
85mm
100mm

We also have (1) Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 with cine mods by Duclos Lenses.

If I am missing something with Sigma 300-800, please advise. Otherwise I may take the plunge on Tuesday and order before my Dean changes her mind :)

Thanks all for your help thus far.

JEFF
 
Sigma sucks, use either nikon 600mm or canon 600mm with proper converters I bet there better than any off brand (sigma, tamron, etc) lens avaiable.
 
Don´t agree Robert. The Sigma 300-800mm is a excellent lens which is widely used by well known wildlife photographers. But its a specialist, very long and needs a strong tripod and fluid head. Jeff, for the general needs of a institute/filmschool I would choose the Nikon 200-400mm with TC 1,4 and or 1,7.
Just my 2cents,
Marc
 
Thanks Robert and Craig.

Just to let you know...we are using an Oconnor 2060 head w/the Oconnor CINE HD tripod. As such, we can handle about any lens payload.

I appreciate all the input. I really do. I am torn between going with a smaller lens (200-400) and the bigger (300-800.) My goal is to give the students the best bang for their buck; and in this case that means focal length. But you guys are the experts in this area and I am going to rely on your expert opinions. Would a nature cinematographer be better served by the Sigma 300-800 or the Nikon 200-400?? If you had to choose, what would you take into the field? (Kenan, Gibby, etc...if you guys want to weigh in, please feel free.) I need to place the order this week, so time is of the essence.

Thanks again for all of your combined help.

JEFF
 
Hmmm...given the choice between the Nikon 200-400 and the Sigma 300-800, I'd probably choose the Nikon 200-400. The Sigma ("Bigma") is a good lens, and I've seen some excellent still shots done with it. I haven't seen any RED footage shot with the Sigma. The Nikon with a 1.4x and 2x is smaller, more versatile, and less expensive.

Cost
Nikon 200-400 is around $6,300 USD
Sigma 30-800 is around $10,000 USD

Weight
Nikon 200-400 is around 7.2 pounds
Sigma 300-800 is around 12.9 pounds

If its long focal length nature, sports, and wildlife you're shooting, you usually have to hike in with your equipment, plus when there you need to change locations often. There is a inverse relationship between weight and mobility - more weight = less mobility, less weight = more mobility. The Nikon is obviously the more mobile of the two lenses. For shooting the genres you mentioned in motion footage, a zoom has some real advantages over a prime. In those genres you usually don't have time to pick up a rig and physically move it to the next setup for focal length and framing - often that is impossible, you'll lose the shot, and/or it could flat out be dangerous to do so.

I can't really speak for my good friend Kennan (he's probably out in the wilderness somewhere!), but him and I have spent a lot of time comparing setups for RED and lens options. He loves his Nikon 200-400, and I'm sure he considered the Sigma 300-800 and drew the same conclusions for his highly-mobile work - so the Nikon 200-400 with 1.4x and 2x was his choice. In used lenses he also took my recommendation for the Nikon 50-300 AIS and told me he was very pleased with it.

The Canon 150-600 has performed extremely well for me. Mine is stock, except for the Century PL mount conversion, thus it only weighs around 8.9 pounds - only about 1.7 pounds more than the Nikon 200-400. The Canon gives me a much wider focal length range without having to go to extenders. Kennan used to have a fully-rehoused Canon 150-600, which was a lot bigger and heavier than my stock lens version. He sold his converted 150-600 last year - and went for a lot more mobility with the Nikon 200-400 with extenders.

Bottom line: of those two lenses, since you need to buy new lenses for your school applications, and for purposes of weight, utility, and cost, I'd suggest you go with the Nikon 200-400 with 1.4x and 2x

Hope this helps...
 
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