Lenses

[mercer]

7 minutes ago, Canon Representative said:

April Fools guys, starting tomorrow I will change Canon Representative back to Zach Goodwin.

WAIT... Hold up... This has been you all along?!

[Mat Mayer]

9 hours ago, Cinegain said:

I first think of what I am planning to go and shoot, then I pick the one that's most suitable. ... Want some smooth 'n chill bokehliciousness and/or lowlight? The SLR Magic will get you a long way. More serious stuff with rigging? The Veydras (yeah, I know they are overkill, but I jumped on their Kickstarter campaign as I figured these would be a great investment and asset to me in the future). They're especially nice for consistent results. Contax Zeiss if you want more of a look straight out of the lens, but also with some serious quality to 'em...

Would you then say the Contax Zeiss would be best for landscape videos? Where you want to capture a variety of situations/light in the best possible quality. I am starting to wonder whether I would be better off looking for a clinical lens rather than one with charater. I have been coveting the 10mm SLR Magic for my next (first) non bargain lens, but now I am thinking maybe something like the M.Zuiko 12mm would be more sensible and a 50mm ish Contax Zeiss, after hearing what you said and watching some B&H landscape photography lectures.

Only just started watching the B&H lectures last night. Feel like I ow them a few hundred dollars now. Will have to try buying from them from the UK if the lenses don't get taxed at customs. The most valauble lesson I got so far is avoid normal lenses (20-30mm ish on M43 for landscape). Then the first place you put your tripod is always wrong. 

[Cinegain]

Wouldn't say the Contax Zeiss are clinical, that's more the Veydras. The C/Ys do have more of a look to them, but a cinematic one, like Leica Rs do in their own way. They're crisp and sharp though; right off the bat, great for loads of stuff, then again it's basically the same formulas seen in the Ultra Primes and Super Speeds. The 'wide' 21mm would set you back over a thousand bucks, though... it's got to be pretty epic, but I settle for 25 and 28mm.

But if you're really about landscapes then it might not be the worst idea to actually checkout the Nikon Ai-s line-up. The 28mm f/2.8 MF for example is killer! Always felt the Nikkors perform well on landscapes. Especially if you throw 'em on a Nikon body (D5300/D5500/D7200/D750/D810). That's kind of the deal with M43, those kind of lenses thrive on fullframe and APS-C crop with their focal length and resolving power (and the additional megapixels)... on M43... suddenly you're not that wide anymore and focal reducers can bridge only so much. So yeah, if you really want to go wide for landscapes, you've perhaps got to find something that does the trick on the M43 system as you don't really find many fullframe primes below 18mm, unless they're from the likes of Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex Pro. Same for APS-C, it's tough, although there are a few zooms and quite some fish-eyes. 10mm is dope. The real question is... wouldn't 12mm suffice? I'd like to think it would. The Olympus goes there, but I feel it's overpriced (although I see it's already come down in a price a bit). There's a 12mm 2.2 VCSC or NCS (Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex Pro) that's fairly priced and looks interesting. Might want to check out reviews on that one. Seems it was used for the wide shots here:

Of course, Panasonic is rumored to bring a Leica-branded 12mm to the market soon.

You're right! B&H and Adorama have nice learning centers. AdoramaTV has some nice things on their YouTube channel, including a 5-part HDSLR series (down at the bottom), which might be kinda dated by now, but should be watched by everyone taking first steps into the world of filmmaking to get up to speed with the basics and possibilities. Then there's always room to explore more afterwards.

[Mat Mayer]

Thanks , great advice.

I just got a cheap 12mm zoom (for the short term) and the difference between that and 14mm is amazing. I assume 10mm will be similarly impressive. But right now 12mm feels enough. I would already have the 10mm Samyang if it wasn't 640g or something.

I will check out the others mentioned now ☺

[Mat Mayer]

Just received a lens from eBay with fungus. It only cost £20. Straight in the trash?

I have no idea how to dissasemble a lens and clean. Don't have the time to learn either. It sounds like a pro would charge more that it cost to clean.

[Cinegain]

You could give it UV treatment to kill it off, but you might notice it still diffuses the image and/or creates weird bokeh texture. Then you've just got to keep it isolated from your other lenses. Although there's different thoughts and myths on this... some people want to trash it, some want say 'ah, it's perfectly fine'. You could always sell it under stated condition on eBay or classifieds again to someone who doesn't mind or has the knowledge to clean something like that up. But yeah, it sucks nontheless, wasted time, energy and money, little buzzkill after some excitement in anticipation.

Also, maybe throw 2 or so of these silica gel sachets (like you find in shoeboxes) in your bag when you carry around lenses with you.

[Bioskop.Inc]

5 hours ago, Mat Mayer said:

Just received a lens from eBay with fungus. It only cost £20. Straight in the trash?

I have no idea how to dissasemble a lens and clean. Don't have the time to learn either. It sounds like a pro would charge more that it cost to clean.

If the ebay listing didn't state that it had fungus, contact the seller & get your money back.

Ebay defends the buyer & not the seller - make sure that you don't have to pay the return postage (they duped you, so they should pay).

Had this happen to me a few times & they normally don't argue, since if you complain to ebay they defend you. Also, bet you they say something on the lines of "Oh I didn't know it had fungus...blah blah blah!"

[Cinegain]

Yeah, I had one 'old stock - as new' and came in with flakes of fungus, or balsam separation or whatevs which did exactly this: 'diffuses the image and/or creates weird bokeh texture'. Said it wasn't there before, must've been the shipping conditions and temperature changes. Such BS. They said they'd handle it with the shipping insurance... never heard a thing back. Kind of slipped my attention, I'm busy enough as it is, so now I'm stuck with it, luckily it was pretty cheap. If someone wants a Tokina AT-X 285 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 like that, give me a shout, you can have it for double shipping costs.

[Mat Mayer]

My fault for being cheap. Lesson learned. Seller was clearing a house. I already emailed her and said keep an eye out for it if you ever sell another. "No fungus" was not claimed. Not asking for refund, return or leaving bad feedback. Seems many of the sales of lenses with cameras are clueless people just selling a relative's stuff. 

[jase]

@mercer: i just found some original media and tried to apply filmconvert so that it looks like it did last time, here you go:

[zetty]

This is about Lumix Vario 12-35mm but might apply to other lenses as well..

After heavy use of a couple of years, the focus ring has became somewhat rusty and uneven. Is there any way to make it smooth again bar returning for servicing to Panasonic?

[Inazuma]

@mercer you should give Standard profile a go. I find that Natural causes a lot of things to go more orange, including skin. The difference is subtle though

[mercer]

2 hours ago, Inazuma said:

@mercer you should give Standard profile a go. I find that Natural causes a lot of things to go more orange, including skin. The difference is subtle though

Thanks, Inazuma. When I was cycling through the profiles the other day, I thought about that. I think @jase said you suggested Standard with everything dialed down?

[Inazuma]

@mercer Yes that's right.

 

Can anyone recommend me an old 35mm lens with f2 or faster aperture? I've seen these by Nikon, Canon and Asahi. Anyone know much about these? Any other suggestions?

[mercer]

6 minutes ago, Inazuma said:

@mercer Yes that's right.

 

Can anyone recommend me an old 35mm lens with f2 or faster aperture? I've seen these by Nikon, Canon and Asahi. Anyone know much about these? Any other suggestions?

I have the Takumar 35mm f2 and it's an awesome lens. I also have an RMC Tokina that is also fantastic. Honestly, I haven't seen a 28, or 35mm f2 lens that wasn't cool. I think Kiron may have made one as well. They are usually pretty cheap too. 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

1 hour ago, Inazuma said:

@mercer Yes that's right.

 

Can anyone recommend me an old 35mm lens with f2 or faster aperture? I've seen these by Nikon, Canon and Asahi. Anyone know much about these? Any other suggestions?

If it'll mount on your camera, the Minolta 35mm 1.8 is an excellent performer. If you need it to fit EF, you can get a lens tech to convert it for $150. If that sounds like too much hassle, the Contax Zeiss 35mm 1.4 is a pricey but excellent choice, as is the Leica R 35mm Summicron. 

[jagnje]

not to start a new topic...which is the best non metabones speedbooster nowadays?

[Cinegain]

Metabones XL>Metabones>Zhongyi's latest ones>R.J. Lens Turbo>Zhongyi earlier ones>Kipon BAVEyes>Unbranded Zhongyi knock-offs on eBay.

I think that's about right. Might find some slightly discounted deals on: http://www.personal-view.com/deals/ .

[jagnje]

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bajonett-Adapter-Mitakon-Lens-Turbo-Focal-Reducer-Nikon-Micro-4-3-von-Zhongyi-/111734598147?hash=item1a03e6aa03:g:DA0AAOSwjVVVwEvs

so this?

[Cinegain]

Nah, I'm pretty sure that's the old version. Checkout that one link and get Vitaliy to cut you a deal or go over directly to: http://www.zyoptics.net/product/zhongyi-lens-turbo-adapters-for-micro-four-thirds-cameras-m43/ . (Singapore Post (SG) shipping to Europe is about 2 ~ 3 weeks, if they send it low profile import duties might be avoided)