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Rokinon Cine DS vs Canon EF

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Tobin Sanson

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Hello, all!

I'm looking for some beta on 'affordable' lens options.

I am a brand new Scarlet-W owner. I plan to rent primo glass for all paid jobs, but I'd like advice on purchasing some lower-end lenses for personal use.

I have used the Canon EF series many times while shooting on older REDs. I have, for the most part, been pleased with them. The only bummer is the focus throw. I would most likely get the 14 and 24-105 for now, totaling (used) around: $2000

I am also considering the (dare I say it) Rokinon Cine DS kit. New, I can get a set of 6 primes from 14-135 for $2800. What I would love about these is their "cine-ness:" declicked aperture, longer focus throw, etc. Not sure about sharpness and color though...

I'm torn between the functionality of the Rokinons and the quality of the Canons. Does anyone have experience using both? Or any alternative recommendations?

Again, these would only be fore personal use.

Thanks so much for your help!

Tobin
 
I'm using a Sigma Art 18-35 + 50-100 combo my Epic-W. Excellent lenses. They feel like Zeiss lenses, but have a look that makes me think "Rodenstock" instead. (I used to use a Rodenstock 135mm lens on my 4x5.)

It doesn't hurt that both also have a f/1.8 maximum aperture.
 
Every Rokinon lens I've used/owned has developed slop in the focus fairly quickly. It basically makes the lens unusable. Duclos posted an awesome video on how to fix this problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn02mk_M8Es&feature=youtu.be, but it requires fully disassembling the lens, which is lens than ideal. Sigma zooms/primes are the clear choice in my opinion. Love Canon, but they lack magic.
 
The Sigma 18-35 doesn't come close to covering the Epic-W's sensor at 18mm. I don't understand how everyone is so in love with it.
 
My 18-35 covers pretty damn well on helium???

Also, if you're shooting a "premium" project that demands 8K open gate , could you either zoom in to 19mm or shoot 7.5K or 8KWS or 8KHD depending on your deliverable ?
 
Alex Kiritz said:
The Sigma 18-35 doesn't come close to covering the Epic-W's sensor at 18mm. I don't understand how everyone is so in love with it.
Click to expand...
The OP has a Scarlet-W so Sigma will cover well.

I have to say though, as an owner of the Sigma, there are two things I don't like about it:

1) I think it's too contrasty, it's almost like you added contrast in post, for some projects it works well, but not always.

2) The focus throw is super short, and it's really not easy to pull focus precisely, if you are doing narrative and need to pull focus day in, day out, I'm not sure Sigma is the preferred option, plus the 50-100 breaths too much to my eye.

On the Samyang:

Even though people always complain about them online, I've seen them as a low budget option with so many rental houses and camera owners which make sense to me, it's just a nice usable cine set for the right price, plus they look like professional cine lenses, which calms down producers ;-)

All and all, optically the Samyang are solid, they have gears which make life much easier, and they are dirt cheap.

Between Canon, Sigma and a set of Samyang I'd go Samyang if you are doing stuff that have an AC around, if you don't have an AC, buy the Sigma, it's too much hassle using a cinema camera and changing lenses all the time. buy Canon zooms if you are doing docs and need a lens with IS, 24-105IS is a cheap lens, so I'll add it to any kit as it's very versatile for docs.
 
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Oron Cohen said:
Even though people always complain about them online, I've seen them as a low budget option with so many rental houses and camera owners which make sense to me, it's just a nice usable cine set for the right price, plus they look like professional cine lenses, which calms down producers ;-)

All and all, optically the Samyang are solid, they have gears which make life much easier, and they are dirt cheap.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! I am certainly not expecting the Rokinons to be a long-term commitment, but rather something to get the job done when I feel the urge to create. I would be shooting mostly narrative with them, so the ability to pull focus is crucial (something I've always hated about autofocus lenses).

Does anyone happen to have images pairing the Scarlet-W with the Rokinons? Ungraded?

Thanks, everyone, for your awesome responses!
 
Tobin Sanson said:
Hello, all!

I'm looking for some beta on 'affordable' lens options.

I am a brand new Scarlet-W owner. I plan to rent primo glass for all paid jobs, but I'd like advice on purchasing some lower-end lenses for personal use.

I have used the Canon EF series many times while shooting on older REDs. I have, for the most part, been pleased with them. The only bummer is the focus throw. I would most likely get the 14 and 24-105 for now, totaling (used) around: $2000

I am also considering the (dare I say it) Rokinon Cine DS kit. New, I can get a set of 6 primes from 14-135 for $2800. What I would love about these is their "cine-ness:" declicked aperture, longer focus throw, etc. Not sure about sharpness and color though...

I'm torn between the functionality of the Rokinons and the quality of the Canons. Does anyone have experience using both? Or any alternative recommendations?

Again, these would only be fore personal use.

Thanks so much for your help!

Tobin
Click to expand...
Have you considered electronic follow focus?
It first and foremost takes care of the focus throw issue on AF lenses but adds many useful features no mechanical follow focus will provide.
You could get whole set of Sigma ART lenses and with the OptiTron2 turn them into cine lenses instantly. For the most part anyway. Plug and play.
Price wise , weight wise, functionality wise, simplicity wise beats the hell out of setting up cine lenses....
http://optitek.org/products/optitron-for-red-scarlet-epic-weapon-cameras/
Videos on the bottom.
 
Alex Kiritz said:
The Sigma 18-35 doesn't come close to covering the Epic-W's sensor at 18mm. I don't understand how everyone is so in love with it.
Click to expand...

It covers mine just fine. The lens hood vignettes the lens at 18mm though.
 
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