The Best Canon Lens For Video?

Smurfy8797

Smurfy8797

ok so i have a canon eos 500d and that is what i shoot all my shizz with. and my 18-55 kit lens just broke. i just hope to god that its not the camera broke as well. it wont auto focus and its like somethings fallen out, its buggered. i really cant afford to pay for another kit lens so i have to go cheaper and hopefully it will work out better.
I am working on extreme low budget so what do y'all think about shooting video with a 50mm lens f/1.8??

what will be the advantages and disadvantages. i dont think not being able to zoom will affect the way i shoot however could anyone just discuss the pro's and con's. thank you so much in advance and hope you can share your experience. thankkks
 
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the main reason for fixed length is the wide aperature, you normally get a much larger aperature 1.4 on my 50mm. [gives a nice DOF and very fast shutter speeds]

Another reason is less glass, meaning higher quality optics can be used, in a zoom lens there are 7 or more elements, to allow it to achieve a greater range, this can affect the quality of the picture and of course things can go wrong, if one is mis-aligned.

You get chromatic abberations with zoom lenses because of these elements the light doesn't line up back at the sensor, and you get a bad image, this is why less glass - fixed focal length is important in photography.

main points though

more durable
better quality
faster [large aperature]
nicer DOF

sometimes they give nicer colours due to the fact they're going through less glass.

i can try to illustrate if you want?

found a website for you

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm

sums it up, with evidence. they're good for photography, but i'm not sure about video.
 
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Wheat - you just said Canon FD lenses can be used on "new canon cameras". Does the T3i (what I have) fit in that category?

I thought FD lenses through those adapters didn't work well...
 
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ROC said:
Wheat - you just said Canon FD lenses can be used on "new canon cameras". Does the T3i (what I have) fit in that category?

I thought FD lenses through those adapters didn't work well...
Click to expand...

I havent used FD lenses myself, so keep this in mind. But from what i know, you have to use an adapter to attach them and in doing so, you lose infinity focus, dont have the full focus range.

However, you can get an adapter with its own optics which would let the lens focus to infinity but that comes at the expense of picture quality and an extra crop factor, if im correct.

Apparently, that's why FD lenses are cheap because there is a downside no matter which way you decide to adapt them to ur new canon body.

Like i said, i dont have personal experience with adapting FD lenses to new canon bodies, this is just what ive heard around.
 
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Ok cool - thanks for the info. That's exactly what I've heard, too.

But, to be honest, in the little bit of video I have shot by myself, if you have one lens to do your long shot and infinity-type focuses on and have a cheap FD Canon 50 1.4 to do close-ups, cut-aways and dialogue interaction shots, wouldn't that work?

I don't know of an instance I'd use infinity focus while doing close-ups. Right?

And, in the vein of this thread, I have heard good things about the Canon 50 1.4 and the Canon 85 1.8. Does anyone have a preference with either one for video?
 
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ROC said:
Ok cool - thanks for the info. That's exactly what I've heard, too.

But, to be honest, in the little bit of video I have shot by myself, if you have one lens to do your long shot and infinity-type focuses on and have a cheap FD Canon 50 1.4 to do close-ups, cut-aways and dialogue interaction shots, wouldn't that work?

I don't know of an instance I'd use infinity focus while doing close-ups. Right?

And, in the vein of this thread, I have heard good things about the Canon 50 1.4 and the Canon 85 1.8. Does anyone have a preference with either one for video?
Click to expand...

Well, the thing is, you want to use the same brand and era lenses when you can. Different brands and the time during which they were made, will have different coatings and quality etc. So when using lenses, say ur using a 35, a 50 and an 85, you want all three to give u similar image so ur not going around trying to match them too much in post.

If you want to use the old Nikkors with ur canon for eg, go right ahead. But try to make sure all the lenses u use for that shoot are the Nikkors. You dont want to throw in a Canon, a Nikkor and a Takumar, for eg.

As for the 50 or 85 being better... well it depends on ur requirement. Both are great lenses. I have the 85 1.8 and i use it for close ups in video and portraits in photography. Its every flattering and i think it has 8 blades (i forget), which give it a nice circular bokeh.

Im not sure how much u know abt lenses, so heres a link: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lenses.htm

You have the t3i, i take it? And you're looking to buy lenses. If you tell me which lenses u already own, ur budget and the requirements of ur general shooting habit, i can recommend specific lenses. PM the details if u like.

Anymore questions, just ask me. You're always welcome, Euph... ROC ;)
 
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