Rokinon Cine Questions

Jsthompson79

Jsthompson79

I am looking at a couple of Rokinon Cine Lenses for my Sony Nex FS100. I have the money to only buy 1 of the 2 for now. Should I go with the 85mm T1.5 or the 35mm T1.5 both can be seen on B&H Photo. I am intrested in shooting films with them. My current lens is a kit lens an 18-200mm F3.5-6.3.

My main question is which lens is more versatile? Also would it be in my best interest to pick up a Nikkor 50mm F1.8 to go with either the 35mm or 85mm Cine Lens?

Thanks guys/gals in advance for any input.
 
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Jsthompson79 said:
I have the money to only buy 1 of the 2 for now.
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How long would it be before you purchase the remainder of the fixed lenses to round out your kit?

If it's going to be "a while", you might be better off with a quality zoom lens instead. The Tamron f2.8 17mm-50mm is in the ballpark of one of the fixed lenses you are looking at, and covers a good spread. Especially for crop-sensor cameras. Got one on my T2i Santa list.
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There's a similar bracket of f2.8 28mm-75mm, as well. Not so great at wider angles on non-fullframe sensors, though. Kinda annoying how everything needs to be compared to that, seemingly. :/
 
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I own the fs100, and I am interested in these Ronkinon as well. Besides some old canon fd eBay lens, my first major len buy was the Canon 17-55 f2.8 (use on both my fs100, with Metabones adapter and 60D), and also the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 (also canon mount). Both crop sensor lens. So I'm covered from ultra wide, to 55mm on my fs100. Next I will be adding the Cin primes. I will buy the 85mm first (about 125mm on the fs100), since its a focal length that isn't covered by what I already have. Then I'll get the 35mm (about 52mm on fs100). Then I'll get an 85mm equivalent.

In your case, if I had to pick up one of these lens first, it would be the 35mm (52mm on fs100). It would be a more versatile lens for you, as opposed to the 85mm (127mm on fs100). Although I second Zensteve's recommendation on the Tamron 17-55 f2.8 (I love my Canon 17-55). It will give you great range from wide to mid. My 2 cents.
 
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Jeff, I'd assert that a 35mm is a 35mm whether on an FS100 or full frame sensor. What you see is different, but the lens itself doesn't change. I'd also assert that in filmmaking, you're generally talking in terms of S35 sensors; so whilst you'd need a ~130mm on a full frame sensor to look like an 85mm on a S35 sensor, the lens itself is still an 85, and the 'cropped' image is what I think of when I think of an 85mm lens.

Anyway, I guess a 35mm is somewhat more 'versatile' but it really depends on what you're shooting and as I say, I'd rather a good zoom than one single prime. Unless you're going to be renting the rest of a set until you can afford to buy the rest of the set, then get a good zoom instead, at least if it's going to be a fair while before you can buy the rest of the set.
 
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jax_rox said:
Jeff, I'd assert that a 35mm is a 35mm whether on an FS100 or full frame sensor. What you see is different, but the lens itself doesn't change. I'd also assert that in filmmaking, you're generally talking in terms of S35 sensors; so whilst you'd need a ~130mm on a full frame sensor to look like an 85mm on a S35 sensor, the lens itself is still an 85, and the 'cropped' image is what I think of when I think of an 85mm lens.

Anyway, I guess a 35mm is somewhat more 'versatile' but it really depends on what you're shooting and as I say, I'd rather a good zoom than one single prime. Unless you're going to be renting the rest of a set until you can afford to buy the rest of the set, then get a good zoom instead, at least if it's going to be a fair while before you can buy the rest of the set.
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I can't argue with this, you are correct. A 35mm lens (designed for a full frame DSLR) is always a 35mm lens, regardless of the sensor size of the camera it is used on.
 
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The Rokinon is the way to go for sure. If you have to pick one, go with the 35mm or 24mm. You can almost always move a camera closer but you can't always back up. Yes, the field of view is different and that's why you want both, but yeah. I think you'd be a lot happier getting two Rokinon than adding a Nikkor in the mix. They have a different look for sure and will flare and focus different.

Going with the Rokinon lenses will ultimately be cheaper when adapting to a Sony mount. To use a newer lens that doesn't have an external aperture ring means you'll need a $400 lens adapter to pass aperture information from the camera to the lens to change it; or have a canon body on set and remove the lens, put it on the canon, adjust the aperture, remove it again, put it on the Sony. The rokinon's have an external aperture ring so the $15 adapters work great. We used an FS700 on a shoot recently with a slew of canon and rokinon lenses and knew this going in and brought a canon body just in case, but pretty much stuck with our Rokinon glass for that reason. That and it's really, really pretty glass.
 
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Thank you everyone for the replies so far. First I want to address the Nikkor lens. It is 100% manual so all I need is a dummy adapter for it in order to get it to to work with my camera. The reason I am adding the Nikkor into the mix is it is less than $150 and gives me a fast prime lens at 50mm.

I am thinking I will probably go with the 35mm as suggested since as someone pointed out I can usually move closer but many times I find it hard to move further away. As for when I can get the others it will be 4-6 months most likely before I buy another lens possibly longer.

I am curious why I should get another zoom lens as recommended by ZenSteve I have read repeatedly that I should use more prime lenses in filmmaking for a better look. What would make that zoom better than the one I currently have other than the fstop is a little better?
 
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Primes are generally sharper and faster (though when you're talking about still lenses, it's a negligible difference), but a zoom gives you an entire range of focal length - it gives you a telephoto, wide angle and mid range lens all in one.

I mean, if you want to shoot an entire film at one focal length, go ahead..
 
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