Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 From time to time I like to rent different lenses for a weekend to try out for fun from my usual d5300/ tamron 17-50 2.8 setup. Again this is just for fun shoot not a paid project or anything. Last fall I gave the Nikon 85mm 1.8 a go and had a blast especially with photos. Now I’m thinking about renting a cinema prime but my question is which length should I give a go? I’m thinking the Zeiss 35mm Cinema Prime would be a fun try. Comfortable length on my APSC Nikon for casual shooting. Borrowlenses.com has a 3 day price at $134. Worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 10 minutes ago, Dustin said: From time to time I like to rent different lenses for a weekend to try out for fun from my usual d5300/ tamron 17-50 2.8 setup. Again this is just for fun shoot not a paid project or anything. Last fall I gave the Nikon 85mm 1.8 a go and had a blast especially with photos. Now I’m thinking about renting a cinema prime but my question is which length should I give a go? I’m thinking the Zeiss 35mm Cinema Prime would be a fun try. Comfortable length on my APSC Nikon for casual shooting. Borrowlenses.com has a 3 day price at $134. Worth it? Yeah thats a good price. Couple of things, figure out what the Zeiss's native mount is.... I know most cinema lenses are PL, some EF.... but now you have to look into getting an adaptor (thats if you don't have one already). Given that you "had a blast" with the 85mm 1.8, thats a 135mm equivalent on a APS-C... and I can understand why you would like that lens, typical 85mm and/or 135mm are portrait lenses. As for 35mm... its really about taste here... we rarely find people that like the medium length, because it becomes a 50mm equivalent on a APS-C, and yeah everyone talks about the 50mm (because it becomes 85mm equivalent). There are a lot of people that love the wides, if you want true 35mm on APS-C, try the Zeiss 20mm if they have it. If this is about you trying to discover yourself and what you like.... then go for the 35mm. Dustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 @mkabi your input is appreciated!! Well the lens I was looking at was native Nikon f mount so I should be good to go. Just wasn’t sure if that was a good deal or if there were other sites perhaps others have used with a better deal. Personally I thought that was a good price considering the actual cost of one. I might consider getting a 20mm if they have it, I do have a Nikon e series 28mm 2.8 that has a nice character to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 25 minutes ago, Dustin said: @mkabi your input is appreciated!! Well the lens I was looking at was native Nikon f mount so I should be good to go. Just wasn’t sure if that was a good deal or if there were other sites perhaps others have used with a better deal. Personally I thought that was a good price considering the actual cost of one. I might consider getting a 20mm if they have it, I do have a Nikon e series 28mm 2.8 that has a nice character to it. Yeah, shop around. May be you will find a better price, I felt $134 is a standard price... I remember getting a Zeiss 6 prime set for about $800 (3 day rental) for a paid shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 20 minutes ago, mkabi said: Yeah, shop around. May be you will find a better price, I felt $134 is a standard price... I remember getting a Zeiss 6 prime set for about $800 (3 day rental) for a paid shoot. Yeah seems pretty fair. I’ll just have to decide if I want that 21mm or 50. I’ve just never shot a cinema prime before so I figured it would be a fun experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkabi Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 5 minutes ago, Dustin said: Yeah seems pretty fair. I’ll just have to decide if I want that 21mm or 50. I’ve just never shot a cinema prime before so I figured it would be a fun experience. Also, just know that its all Manual Focus & Manual Aperture Ring. I don't know if your d5300 has focus peaking, but you may have to punch in with the magifier (if you have that ability on the d5300). Good luck. Dustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 41 minutes ago, mkabi said: Also, just know that its all Manual Focus & Manual Aperture Ring. I don't know if your d5300 has focus peaking, but you may have to punch in with the magifier (if you have that ability on the d5300). Good luck. Yup I do know that but I appreciate the reminder. D5300 doesn’t really do usable AF anyway so I’m used to it. Not the best camera but it is a camera and I don’t make my living doing this so honestly it works just fine for my needs lol. I may post some results if I go through with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineAlta Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Unless you're renting an entire set there's not much point. Low end modern zeiss glass isn't very exciting (even the cinema variety). Until you go to Ultra Primes or Master primes they're all pretty dull and lifeless. Rent a 28mm Otus instead. Now that's a cool lens on both aps-c and full frame! sam, Dustin and Geoff CB 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 37 minutes ago, CineAlta said: Unless you're renting an entire set there's not much point. Low end modern zeiss glass isn't very exciting (even the cinema variety). Until you go to Ultra Primes or Master primes they're all pretty dull and lifeless. Rent a 28mm Otus instead. Now that's a cool lens on both aps-c and full frame! You have a link to one availible in f mount? I’m not familiar with that one. So you think I’d be wasting money trying it out for fun even? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineAlta Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 9 minutes ago, Dustin said: You have a link to one availible in f mount? I’m not familiar with that one. So you think I’d be wasting money trying it out for fun even? Cinema lenses aren't much different to stills lenses in terms of image quality until you go vintage primes like k35's, old superspeeds and lomo zeiss copies or go for the top end like cooke S4, Zeiss Master Primes or Leica C-Summilux . OTUS lenses are available in nikon mount and at £3000 to buy, it is well worth renting for a few days to get a taste of the sharpest most refined 28mm f/1.4 ever. It's a manual focus lens too, so focusing is really nice for video. Most try before you buy style camera rental companies will have otus lenses in stock and it will probably be similar rental price to a zeiss compact prime. I suggest spending your money renting an OTUS because it will genuinely be an interesting lens to use for someone experimenting. Just be warned you may end up buying one after using it for a few days. Insane lens. Dustin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Although it’s fun to experiment with different lenses, for the cost of a 3 day rental, you can be halfway to the cost of ai-s 35mm 1.4 or buy an ai-s 35mm f2 outright. Or it could be money towards a Zeiss 50mm 1.4 ZF.2 which has been reviewed as being pretty close to superspeeds for a still lens. Sure the Otus will blow away those older Nikkors and the ZF.2 but in the end, the owned lens will be a better investment. TwoScoops and Dustin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 I appreciate it all! I think I will just save my money and pull out the ole 28mm 2.8 for some fun. At $100+ I’m certainly not gonna waste money when that could go to other stuff. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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