mercer

I like the FD 50mm 1.4, but I have to agree about the Rolkor. I have the 50mm f1.4 MC W PG Rokkor and there really isn't a better lens I have come across. The image is sharp wide open, and 3d. 

I've been pretty lucky with adapters as well, other than most focusing past infinity... The regular ones anyway. Do the Roxsen speedboosters focus past?

Thanks Ren, my zooms were a little sloppy, but the lens looks good and that was the point of posting the test. I was looking for the 35-105 when I stumbled upon the 35-70. After reading some reviews, I went with the 35-70 because I read the 35-105 is big and heavy... Plus I picked up the 35-70 for 30 bucks. 

Yeah, I am a prime guy as well, but recently I have been adding a couple vintage zooms to my lens sets for that very reason. 

If you're looking for a nice midrange FD zoom... Try out the Canon FD 35-70mm f4 lens. Metal construction, compact, constant aperture, parfocal and it has a reputation as being as sharp as a prime wide open. And even at f4, it has some pretty nice bokeh. It's often overlooked due to the 35-105mm, but let me tell you... It is nice. 

Here's a quick and dirty lens test I did with the 35-70  

I just picked up a Canon FD 28mm f2 for a decent price and let me tell you, it is a beautiful lens. With the fast aperture, you can get some nice bokeh and if you combine with a focal reducer and a normal adapter, you can get 2 good focal lengths out of it. The only problem I found with that lens, is that a lot of copies have haze. The first one I ordered, has it bad so I returned it. Luckily, a day later I came across another one in mint condition for less than the first one. 

No problem, take a look at the FZ1000 as well. It's pretty much the same as the LX100 with a smaller sensor, but it has a microphone input. The LX100 is a better camera, but the FZ1000 is a little bigger and has some of the cinema picture profiles. I know Sony has an update to their RC10 that shoots 4K and is supposed to be amazing as well. There are some options out there. Good Luck!!!

Honestly, if I had your budget and was looking for a nice set up, I would probably go with the Panasonic LX100... Which would give me a built in zoom lens, 4K and 1080p video with full manual control and then also pick up a Panasonic G7, which would give me all of the above plus the ability to grow into interchangeable lenses. This way you could do multi-cam interview set up, run and gun shoots and a more controlled interchangeable lens shoot when necessary. I don't do that kind of work, but I would imagine the flexibility would be excellent for a video kit. 

You also might want to consider the 4K bridge cameras that are out. The Panasonic FZ1000, or the new Sony model, or even the Panasonic LX100. They all have a built in zoom lens, shoot 4K and 1080p at multiple frame rates. Really nice cameras for run and gun and simple set ups... Which sound perfect for interviews. 

No, the lens will be manual only, but manual focus lenses are usually much better for video anyway. Of course, if you are only doing basic corporate, interview shoots, I can see how the auto functions would be beneficial. But, there are still a lot of lenses for both the Sony and Panasonic systems, so you wouldn't be limited at all. If you have any goals of extending your work into more creative areas, manual lenses are the way to go, IMO. 

If you go the mirrorless route... Sony, Panasonic, et al... your lens options become endless by using cheap adapters. 

If you like the a6000, but don't need the viewfinder, take a look at the a5100. It's an amazing little camera and it's dirt cheap. Manufacture refurbished bodies go for less than $300 on eBay. 

Thanks, I didn't realize you could stack adapters, does it maintain infinity focus when you stack? I also have a set of nice Pentax K lenses... Maybe I should get the Roxsen PK to NEX and then get M42 to PK. Do you use other brands with it via the ef to m43rds?

Has anyone used the Roxsen brand of speedbooster, specifically the m42 to NEX?

I just picked up an a5100 body at a great price and I was thinking of using a focal reducer with it.

I saw they make them for m42 lenses, so I am curious to try it with my Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm 2.8 and 35mm 2.4 Flektogon. 

Or is a speedbooster with an APS-C pointless?

I tested a lot of the cheap steady cams on the market and most worked, but you really had to mess with it. The best one I found was made by Vidpro, but even that one required over an hour of fiddling with to find the perfect balance. From reading various forums, most people aren't putting the time in that is really required, plus you usually need more weight selection than what is offered... Washers are your friend and be ready to spend an hour or two setting it up. When you do get it balanced properly, mark the steady cam and lens used. Once you try it with a different lens, you need to start over. Add a light, or anything... Start over. And then you need to practice the walk. It takes a while to get everything working properly. but once it does, you can get some really smooth footage. 

Did you go buy the XC10 today? 

How is the H2, or H2N?

I don't even have a problem with the lens, the problem is the price. If this camera was $1500, it would be the camera of the year. 

Take a look at the older post about the XC10, Mattias Burling posted a link to some footage a few days and it looks amazing. If I had that kinda money to spend, it would be my next camera. 

 When I was younger, film school was out of fashion. Kevin Smith and Tarrantino and Rodriguez were just making movies. I had less money then than I do now, so I took up screenwriting. I must have bought every book written on the topic. 20 years later and I can finally afford some equipment. I should have gone to film school... Learn discipline... Networking.

After I got the t2i, I had zero money for any good glass and the kit lens is... A piece of kit lens. So I started buying cheap vintage lenses and became kinda addicted to vintage glass. It took me a while to build up my sets and now I probably have too much. I read you said you have FDs and Minoltas... Me too. Awesome effing lenses. I recently picked up the Minolta MC 35mm 1.8... Amazing lens. 

I will probably end up with the G7, but I am going to wait until the body only is available, save a couple bucks. Unless, the pocket has another Summer sale... Then I am definitely on that. These Cosmicar c-mount lenses are dying to be on another camera other than my Pentax Q7. Which SLR Magic lenses do you have? I saw a video not too long ago of the 11mm Toy Lens on the pocket... I was surprised how nice the footage looks. 

Thanks for the offer, sounds like a great deal, but I have a couple more weeks of saving and deciding before I am ready for my upgrade. 

It looks great!!!

And there's just something about the marriage of Minolta lenses on a NEX body that just has that 70s look and feel to the iq. 

Have you seen any NX500 videos with vintage lenses?

I was also contemplating the a5100, it isn't 4K, but the 50mbps bitrate looks nice. 

Great price. What kind of work do you do?