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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 :)

Saw this and asked myself what would Steve Gibby think of it

Hi Steve, I have followed you here in reduser. I also work quite a lot as owner / operator freelance ENG (broadcast tv networks such as A&E, History Channel, Bio, Discovery...) and many times my Epic isn't an option, or when I use it I long for the easy to use Sony XDcams and such. Since Canon announced it's new 18-80mm f4 zoom lens I have imagined it will maybe bring my Epic-X back in the terrain of documentary/corporate work where I could benefit from it's beautiful texture. I can't afford to go down the lighter new Red models (i.e Raven or DSCM2 bodies) but I think this investment could make a difference. Of course, it's an expensive lens, at least for me...so to cut things short, is it really an exciting lens in your opinon for this type of work (very small crew/sometimes fast coverage/quick turn around times) ?
Or as I thought until recently, I just need a GOOD camera for this type of work, like an XDCam?

Thanks in advance for any input!
 
Hey Enrique - sorry for the slow response. I've been real mobile and haven't been here on Red User for a while!

I like that Canon 18-80 T4.4 - it looks like at least one lens manufacturer has been paying attention to those of us needing smaller, lighter weight, affordable zooms for mobile s35mm documentary and EFP/ENG/Doc work. Hopefully they'll make a few more of these type lenses in different focal length ranges - maybe also an 80-300 with a built in doubler (great for sports and wildlife work), and a super wide zoom for tight interior spaces and wide scenics, maybe a 12-24.

I haven't seen in person or used this lens yet, but from the video I like:

Its par focal, constant aperture throughout the zoom range, has a redundant controller for when you're not using the servo on the lens, takes 77mm screw in filters (no matte box needed), has DC in to power directly from a brick, has servo/manual switch, has stabilizing in three steps, has AF for when you need it, minimized breathing, and its lightweight (thus real mobile).

Most mobile EFP/ENG and mobile documentary work doesn't call for apertures below T 4.4, so even though to cine guys this may be viewed as a "slow" lens, for mobile EFP/ENG/Doc work its plenty fast. If it was faster it would necessarily need to be bigger and heavier (thus reducing mobility), and more expensive (thus defeating the market for the lens).

This lens could turn Red cameras into much better mobile EFP/ENG/Doc tools, especially for productions edited in post without real quick turnarounds. It will be interesting to test this lens out on a Raven, since Raven has .mov file capability in camera. Could be a real good mobile EFP/ENG/Doc package...

I'll be checking out this lens real soon!
 
Please let me know if you test it, I really want to buy it but it's too expensive for me to make a wrong investment...
 
I haven't had a chance to test out that Canon 18-80. Since I made that post in December I've been way busy working as an executive producer for a film (can't disclose details yet, I'm under NDA).

I hope to get to testing it sometime soon...
 
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