Hello
Im planning on doing somekinda short movie or something, not planned yet if its longer (it depens on what imagination brings to my mind), but I clearly now need some lenses. It will be shot in a forest/outside, and also in a small cabin. I bought the camera a month ago and have been studying lenses for some time now.
I bought a Nikon D5200 (APS-C sensor) and installed the higher bitrate hack.
This camera does not have an instant aperture change on the lens, when you change the aperture wheel. That does not limit the lenses you can use but it can be a hassle to check for the best aperture on different scenes due to this. You must click in and out of liveview or take a picture for the aperture settings to change. Thats why im probably going with manual aperture lenses like older nikon lenses and one modern Samyang/Rokinon Cine. Getting the correct depth of field in a good lit situation can be a hassle if I have to have a 2-3 second pause between every aperture check, I cant remember how the old depth of field/aperture setting looked if I have to do it like that, so I think I better go with manual aperture so I can instantly see what is the best one.
Now to the lenses
1st lens I know for sure I will get is: Nikon 50MM 1.8, older version, with manual aperture. Very affordable, under 100 dollars. it will be 75mm due to crop factor but its such a bargain I will get it.
Second lens: I dont think I need a higher than 50mm, but im trying to figure out how I should do the under 50mm lenses.
I was thinking that I get a Samyang VDSLR Cine 16mm 2.2t (same as Rokinon Cine but name they use in Europe is Samyang).
Crop factor makes this 16mm a 24mm lens. That could be my main lens I use most of the time in the movie. Also this could be the widest I ever use in the movie. According to reviews this is not a fisheye and will not distort the image. But will give a classical wide look.
Then I also need something in between 16-50MM so I was thinking should it be an older Nikon 35MM/2, or 28mm/2. Ebay has some Sigmas too at those specs. Price between 2.8 and 2 aperture is very small so I believe its best to take the 2 aperture.
(I looked at all the nikon lenses from this page http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html and also checked that they exist on ebay and picked those 2.8/2 and 35mm/2 because of that).
Basically I can spend about, 700-800 dollars give or take. Now I know I could get the Sigma 18-35mm Zoom with 1.8 aperture, but it would be a pain in the ass changing its aperture in the Nikon. I would also need the 50MM/1.8 with that.
I have searched the whole market I think and best zooms are:
Tamro/Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 (with image stabilization)
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8.
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8
But if I go the prime way, best are:
-Nikon 50mm/F1.8 (manual aperture version)
-Samyang 16mm/2.2t
Then something in between.:
-Nikon 35mm/F2
or
-Nikon 28mm/F2
They will cost about the same. If I go prime way, I will loose ability to zoom. But then again, a small DSLR can be hooked up on some DIY rail and pushed toward the actor for 1 meter (3 feets) if need a zoom. Or then I can say screw it and get a used 35-70mm 2.8 constant aperture zoom lens, I saw at ebay for quite affordable prices.
ALl help is welcome, I really have no experince in filming since minidv and vhs cassette days when I did small clay objects moving animation things. But I cant hold back now since cameras are so cheap (500 dollar dslr films same quality as 20,000 dollar camera 10 years ago) and you can make a movie yourself if your skills are high enough. I can do video editing and some after effects but, now I need to know the lenses.
so in short:
One zoom or 3 primes?
Thank you very much. And its going to be scifi.
Edited:
I would like to add, that, I have no rush to do this film and if anyone has even a camera suggestion, say it. I was looking at Panasonic gh3 prices and about the same. Im not 100% sure yet I will stick to nikon D5200, even if it seems nice. I could sell this D5200 since its only a month old and get 80-90% back of its price. This is a bit new territory to make movies with a Nikon D5200 and since I dont have much experience in filming, maybe it could be a good idea to take something other...so in that sense maybe it a good thing I havent bought any lenses yet.
Im planning on doing somekinda short movie or something, not planned yet if its longer (it depens on what imagination brings to my mind), but I clearly now need some lenses. It will be shot in a forest/outside, and also in a small cabin. I bought the camera a month ago and have been studying lenses for some time now.
I bought a Nikon D5200 (APS-C sensor) and installed the higher bitrate hack.
This camera does not have an instant aperture change on the lens, when you change the aperture wheel. That does not limit the lenses you can use but it can be a hassle to check for the best aperture on different scenes due to this. You must click in and out of liveview or take a picture for the aperture settings to change. Thats why im probably going with manual aperture lenses like older nikon lenses and one modern Samyang/Rokinon Cine. Getting the correct depth of field in a good lit situation can be a hassle if I have to have a 2-3 second pause between every aperture check, I cant remember how the old depth of field/aperture setting looked if I have to do it like that, so I think I better go with manual aperture so I can instantly see what is the best one.
Now to the lenses
1st lens I know for sure I will get is: Nikon 50MM 1.8, older version, with manual aperture. Very affordable, under 100 dollars. it will be 75mm due to crop factor but its such a bargain I will get it.
Second lens: I dont think I need a higher than 50mm, but im trying to figure out how I should do the under 50mm lenses.
I was thinking that I get a Samyang VDSLR Cine 16mm 2.2t (same as Rokinon Cine but name they use in Europe is Samyang).
Crop factor makes this 16mm a 24mm lens. That could be my main lens I use most of the time in the movie. Also this could be the widest I ever use in the movie. According to reviews this is not a fisheye and will not distort the image. But will give a classical wide look.
Then I also need something in between 16-50MM so I was thinking should it be an older Nikon 35MM/2, or 28mm/2. Ebay has some Sigmas too at those specs. Price between 2.8 and 2 aperture is very small so I believe its best to take the 2 aperture.
(I looked at all the nikon lenses from this page http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html and also checked that they exist on ebay and picked those 2.8/2 and 35mm/2 because of that).
Basically I can spend about, 700-800 dollars give or take. Now I know I could get the Sigma 18-35mm Zoom with 1.8 aperture, but it would be a pain in the ass changing its aperture in the Nikon. I would also need the 50MM/1.8 with that.
I have searched the whole market I think and best zooms are:
Tamro/Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 (with image stabilization)
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8.
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Tokina 11-20mm f/2.8
But if I go the prime way, best are:
-Nikon 50mm/F1.8 (manual aperture version)
-Samyang 16mm/2.2t
Then something in between.:
-Nikon 35mm/F2
or
-Nikon 28mm/F2
They will cost about the same. If I go prime way, I will loose ability to zoom. But then again, a small DSLR can be hooked up on some DIY rail and pushed toward the actor for 1 meter (3 feets) if need a zoom. Or then I can say screw it and get a used 35-70mm 2.8 constant aperture zoom lens, I saw at ebay for quite affordable prices.
ALl help is welcome, I really have no experince in filming since minidv and vhs cassette days when I did small clay objects moving animation things. But I cant hold back now since cameras are so cheap (500 dollar dslr films same quality as 20,000 dollar camera 10 years ago) and you can make a movie yourself if your skills are high enough. I can do video editing and some after effects but, now I need to know the lenses.
so in short:
One zoom or 3 primes?
Thank you very much. And its going to be scifi.
Edited:
I would like to add, that, I have no rush to do this film and if anyone has even a camera suggestion, say it. I was looking at Panasonic gh3 prices and about the same. Im not 100% sure yet I will stick to nikon D5200, even if it seems nice. I could sell this D5200 since its only a month old and get 80-90% back of its price. This is a bit new territory to make movies with a Nikon D5200 and since I dont have much experience in filming, maybe it could be a good idea to take something other...so in that sense maybe it a good thing I havent bought any lenses yet.
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