mercer

They're not necessarily Plastic Fantastics, but I think every single one of those lenses represent the point of this thread... inexpensive glass that pull a lot more than their weight. So, yes please do the test if you have the time. I personally love the Zeiss Jena Tessar... if I could only find a copy that isn't mechanically unsound... so I'd be interested to see how it fares up against the Planar. Speaking of the Zeiss Jena 50mm 2.8, I wonder why nobody has made a modern Tessar?

Another one of my favorite Plastic Fantastic lenses is the Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8. When the Series E lenses were released, Nikon was chastised for their poor build quality. But in comparison to today's lenses, they're built like tanks. About 6 months into filming my movie, life took a turn and I went through a rough patch that's really just beginning to smooth out. Unfortunately, that rough patch forced me to sell all of the lenses I was using to shoot my film. I dug deep into the gear closet and pulled out the Nikon 50mm 1.8 Series E. This is the result of that test... In some weird way, the rough patch I went through was a blessing, it forced me to look at my film in a different way and eventually led me to probably my favorite of Plastic Fantastic lenses... the Canon 28mm 1.8. I've posted plenty of shots from that lens, so I won't bore anybody with them, but that is one lens I will never sell. By lens metrics, it's not even that great of a lens, but its rendering oozes character and mood. In my opinion, it's probably my favorite lens of any lens I've ever used. Canon has a few Plastic Fantastic lenses. I would love it if Canon came out with a budget friendly cine lens lineup using these lenses' formulas in proper cinema housings.

Haha, I hope so. I soooo want to like the FP but I'm on the fence about it so far. I almost feel I need to wait for it to drop significantly in price before I'll give it a go.

This thread is for all of those cheapie, plastic lenses that shouldn't be as good as they are. There are a few well known lenses that carry the moniker proudly like the Canon 50mm 1.8 and 40mm 2.8, or the Nikkor 50mm 1.8 D. But there are some lesser known lenses like the Tokina 19-35mm that have a cult following and are often referred to as a "Plastic Fantastic." The first lens I will mention is the Canon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5. For the price, it shouldn't be as good as it is. Here's a sample frame from the 5D Mark iii with ML Raw... I have a few more on my computer I'll add later today. Do you guys have any favorite Plastic Fantastic lenses? Please share and upload some sample videos or video frames.

Yeah I think between the Ursa and the Arri Classic, the Ursa is probably the smarter buy but man that Arri image is nice. Now if the Amira was in that price range... I'd definitely go with the Amira.

To add to my previous comment... I think this is the problem with cameras over $2500. For only a bit more you can get an S1H. And then at $4000, for only a bit more you can get a C200 or a Red Komodo or an EVA1 or an FS7 or an Ursa Mini Pro. After that price bracket it's a big jump before you get to a camera that has a significant jump in specs and even then, it may be worth bypassing those cameras to rent a Red or an Alexa.

This is why I think I would go the ProRes Raw option with the FS5 or FS5ii... the built in NDs.

Yeah, the FZ2500 is one of my favorite cameras of all time. It even has a button that you can push while recording at 24p and it will go into slow motion. So you can do those cool shots where a guy starts the shot running in normal motion and then you push the button and he will slide into slow motion as long as you hold the button down. Some Super 8 cameras used to do that too. The only downside to the camera IMO is that the lens, albeit really nice, is much too big for the camera body. Here's a stupid test video I did of the 1080p 60p slow motion... The end of the test is the best part but I made the mistake of making the video way too long. It was before I realized that most people only watch a minute of videos or less.

I'd be okay with a m4/3 or even a 1" sensor if it has internal ProRes. I know JVC was releasing something like that, but the price seemed a bit high if I remember correctly. I'd love to see Z-Cam or even Blackmagic pair up with a lens manufacturer to do something similar. I've been half tempted to buy another FZ2500 and a BM Video Assist to get 10bit 1080p. Hell, for fun I've even considered the FZ300. I had one a few years back and I actually kinda liked it. ... Of course, I just spent the past 15 minutes going through the past 5 years of frame grabs, I have on my phone, and as soon as I reached my ML Raw grabs, I started to smile again... I think I may be better off buying another zoom lens than mucking around with a new camera... and I still want the Samyang 24mm. As much as I enjoy this forum, but since it is camera based, it's very easy to get caught up in every new camera out, or every other camera I didn't buy over the past 5 years. I think the reality of the situation, for me, is that no camera other than a proper cinema camera will make me happy after shooting ML Raw and if I ever want an "upgrade" I'm going to have to rent or save up for a Komodo or something similar.

And finally do you recommend a similar exposure process with CineLikeD as you do with vLogL? I haven't read your manual but I assume it's either an ETTR or a waveform exposure putting skin tones around 60 IRE... or whatever!

Including Sharpness and Noise Reduction? I assume you mean as a base ISO and not an only ISO? Obviously, like with most cameras, it's best to stay as close to base ISO as possible.

I may download the trial and give it a go. I love FCPX even though I am forced to use Resolve to transcode the .mlv files to ProRes. One of the reasons I keep considering a Blackmagic camera is for its native ProRes. I actually have a broken P2K I paid $100 for last summer that won't power on. I may try and fix it and set it up with a loupe and that JLG Lanc handle you keep trying to sell me on... lol... pair it with the Panny 12-35mm or an old c-mount zoom with a zoom handle and it will be like shooting Super 8 again.

I assume you have specific, recommended settings for CineLikeD? I'm mostly curious how the highlight detail is with CineLikeD compared to vLogL after it's run through your process? If I can find a GH5 at the right price, 1080p will be my mode of choice so it's good to hear that the quality is so good... especially since you can use the cheaper SD cards.

@BTM_Pix that video looks better than anything I've ever shot. I actually find a lot of the newer cameras kinda boring and am much more interested in shooting with something older... maybe even film... or a camcorder. Lol. I spent a while trying to color grade my footage to give it certain looks but now I just add some contrast and saturation. My next purchase is going to be a monitor though... my MacBook Air's screen just isn't cutting it anymore as I start to edit. How do you like Lightworks? Do you use the subscription model or do you own it? I assume you were using Resolve before?

I may just keep what I already have, add a lens or two and turn the internet off. All of these cameras are cool and I'm always on the search for a second camera but the question remains... do I need it? Will my work really benefit from it? For me, I barely have enough time to use the camera I have. So I'd ask @thebrothersthre3 what are you gaining from having all of these cameras? The short films you've shot with your X-T3 look great.

Looks nice, did you notice any major difference using GHAlex as opposed to the in-camera monochrome profiles or vLog turned B&W in post?

Although I have seen some great footage shot with the P4K, Blackmagic cameras require too many workarounds for the type of shooting I do. With IBIS and a small lens, I can steal shots in public places that wouldn't be possible with a P4K. Plus since I already have a raw shooting camera that I love, the P4K doesn't give me much that I don't already have.

After watching a lot of Netflix's original programming, I have a growing fondness for that modern, Red look and redcode color science. So, yes that is a great compliment and makes the GH5 a little bit more appealing to me... maybe @Sage can create a GHred workflow in the future. In my opinion, this seems more appealing than making an Alex version for every camera on the market. Can you share the video you showed the director from the TV station?

Good to know, thanks! It seems the GH5 is the next generation's C100 with a little more color issues. Luckily, @Sage 's GHAlex workflow solves most of those issues. You may have read, from my posts, that I shoot ML Raw on my 5D3 and I could honestly be happy with that image for years to come. With that said, some projects require different tools and if I get a second camera (I haven't completely decided yet) I will definitely get something that I do not already have with my 5D3. The obvious feature is IBIS, followed by the ability to use XLR microphones with the add on module. And finally an inherently sharper image, with vintage lenses, that doesn't require post manipulation to achieve the more modern, sharper look. An obvious pitfall is the crop factor which is an annoying hurdle since I've been shooting full frame for the past few years. But it does offer some interesting lens possibilities with c-mounts and some vintage cinema lenses. One thing I am curious about is if GHAlex affects B&W footage? After shooting raw video and the post corrections it affords, I have found fixing WB in post to be tedious on footage from cameras with compressed codecs and in-camera processing. Since I love B&W, I was contemplating using a second camera primarily for B&W. My friend's wife surprised him with a GH5 for Christmas and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the IBIS on it. Having used other Panny IBIS capable cameras, the GH5's implementation of it is definitely superior. When the GH5 was released, the image wasn't worth the price of the camera to me. I was looking for something else. Now that the camera has dropped in price, and GHAlex is available, it's becoming a contender for a second camera. But with that said, I have owned a few second cameras since buying my 5D3 and in every instance I chose the raw image from the 5D3 every single time I reached for a camera. So... we'll see.

@Sage I remember you saying that 1080p is the sweet spot for the GH5, and GHAlex transform, is there a technical reason for that like better highlight detail with the 200mbps all-i 1080p files? I'm devising a pretty aggressive plan for a slate of short films over the next year and as much as I love my 5D3 and ML Raw, it's not necessarily the best tool for every project I am planning. As I'm sure you know, the freedom that IBIS affords certain productions can be an invaluable tool, but it's only so valuable. Since I still live in a 2K world, I see little need for 4K in my films. At the current price of the GH5, it's instantly a contender as a second camera option if I'm not losing too much IQ with the GH5. Also, with the GHAlex process, is there any benefit to shooting in CineLikeD over vLogL? I assume there isn't, but I figured it was worth an ask.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F114007022477 Your samples from the f/2 look good. The ZF lenses really are nice. I wish I could justify a whole set of them but as is, it would take me a couple years to make enough short films with the lenses I already own.

@noone According to Ken Rockwell, the Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L was discontinued in '88 which is a year after the introduction of EF. Of course, I know Canon released some EF L lenses pretty quickly so that may be why they discontinued the 50mm but I rarely see any nFD lenses that are newer than '86. I shoot 2:35, so I think the vignetting is minimal. You're right, I rarely see the Sigma 85mm EX for sale on eBay. Do you need the AF? The Samyang 85mm is a nice lens that can be had for pretty cheap. I have the 50mm and love it.

I never had the Sigma 85mm, that shot is from the Canon 85mm 1.8. Of course, it looks different on eoshd than it does on my computer screen, so it's probably not a good representation. Anyway, the Sigma 85mm is full frame. Side note... I believe the Art 30mm 1.4 just barely covers a full frame sensor with slight vignetting. I think BTM confirmed this.

@Anaconda_ didn't you recently buy a Canon zoom? If so, the Canon 85mm 1.8 may match better. I briefly had the lens and it is really nice, especially for the money. I ended up selling it because I don't use the focal length that often. Here's a shot from my film with it to give you an idea... With that said, I've heard great things about the EX Sigma as well. Their 50mm from that line is supposed to be excellent as well, so you could build an inexpensive f/1.4 set eventually. I believe they also have a 20mm, 24mm and 28mm at f/1.8.

I've used a few of the Zeiss ZF lenses... and they are all really nice lenses with great micro contrast and color separation. I still have the 25mm 2.8, which being a Distagon, it has insane close up capabilities. I swear half of the focus throw is devoted to its near macro range. Weirdly, I actually prefer the 25mm to the 28mm. Unfortunately, I have it up for sale on eBay. As much as I like the lens, I need to cut down on my collection. Good luck with the 35mm.