Red 18-50mm vs 17-50mm

[Wlodek Markowicz]

Hey,

I know that the older 18-50mm is inferior to 17-50mm mechanically but how does it stand optically? I've read some reports saying prefer the look of 18-50mm.
Have you had the chance to test both lenses? What would be your preference?

 

[Pascal gallant]

17-50 is built better and maybe a tack sharper i own the 17-50 and its amazing for the price very smooth and very sharp cool look also

 

[Tommaso Alvisi]

17-50 has a tiny bit of added microcontrast indeed but the 18-50 has a much smoother rendition with nicer bokeh and a more balanced feel, very nice entry level zoom imho.

Moreover the 18-50 has the same case of the 50-150 and both have Cooke /i metadata protocol with an active PL Mount, very useful and very precise if the lens was well taken care of.

In the end I feel the 18-50 to be the better one all things considered.

 

[Alex Veitch]

I've used the Red 17-50 recently for a BBC drama, and it was excellent.

I had previously been disappointed with the 18-50, but only because a local owner who was supplying kit brought his own lens like this:

 

[Tristan Pemberton]

I've used the Red 17-50 recently for a BBC drama, and it was excellent.

I had previously been disappointed with the 18-50, but only because a local owner who was supplying kit brought his own lens like this:

Superb. At least he used quality Nashua gaff tape... right?

 

[Mark Spraker]

...That is painful to look at...

 

[Wlodek Markowicz]

I've compared the 18-50mm to my Red 18-85 and there's a big difference in light. Even though 18-50 is supposed to be T3, I had to close down my 18-85mm to T4 to match that setting. So the 18-50mm T3 is much slower than T2.9 Red 18-85.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Both the 18-50 and 17-50 are great for a "kit" lens, lightweight and affordable. Good for handheld and strip it & grip it situations. Have used the OG 18-50 on jibs, gimbals and inside UW housings with good results. They're not Optimos, by a longshot, but the value proposition is hard to argue with. The 18-50 is a bit sharper, but for situations where you really need to maximize resolution, I wouldn't use either one...

Cheers - #19

 

[Wlodek Markowicz]

Is 17-50mm T2.9 like f2.8 or brighter?

 

[Tommaso Alvisi]

both are F2.8.