Lens for this application?

[Dale Peterson]

Hi folks,

I'm about to make the jump into DSLR for video, and will go with the T2i. (I'm a noob to this side of the world, so please correct any incorrect terms or term use below) Here is my application:

I will shoot inside home theaters. So the rooms, by design, suck up light. They sometimes literally have black velvet walls! In addition to the rooms, I shoot some interviews with the owners and/or designers.

I will be able to bring lights and every shot can be planned, can be reshot, and nothing is live. The rooms tend to be "normal" sized rooms, roughly 12-14 feet wide by 16-20 feet long, so not the most space to work with. I'd like to fit as much in the image as I can, without getting wide-angle distortion. The owners will be walking around the room some, pointing to features as they discuss.

So knowing I need to get as much light as possible, and that the rooms can sometimes be kind of tight quarters, I'm looking for lens suggestions.

A bit of a zoom would be nice, just for the flexibility, but I'm not 100% sold on it having to be a zoom lens. From my noob state of mind in reading, these are the two lenses I am thinking of: Canon 50mm 1.4 or Tokina 11-16mm 2.8.

I'll be practicing a ton, so any other practice pointers/tips would be great. I'm concerned about learning proper focus, I don't have the best eyesight (even with correction), so if there is a lens (or lens use) that is "easier" for focusing, that would be great.

Thanks, and please let me know what to clarify or re-state.

[Martyn Hull]

Theres a fair bit of difference in a 50mm and a 11-16mm as far as wide angle goes .

[Perrone Ford]

I wouldn't buy either one of those lenses. The 50mm will be bright enough most likely, but you'll be lucky to see half a wall with it. The 11-16 will be wide enough most likely, but too slow. You need a 20mm F2.0 or something similar.

You can't buy a zoom lens faster than F2.8 so that puts you in a bind from the jump. And since you're buying a T2i instead of a 5D, you're going to have trouble getting really wide. Looks like the closest thing Canon has is a 24mm F1.4 for $1750. Or, you can get something like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/217794-USA/Sigma_411101_Super_W_A_20mm_f_1_8.html
It's 1/3 the price, wider, and only a half stop slower.

[Joel Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Perrone Ford

You can't buy a zoom lens faster than F2.8 so that puts you in a bind from the jump....

Olympus has a jump on Canon and Nikon in this regard:

Zuiko Digital Lenses

[Perrone Ford]

That 14-35 F2.0 would be pretty sweet. Has the world abandoned primes?

[Terry Lee]

I think alot of people, especially the indy film world, are thinking:

"well I only have so much money to spend on a lens and I can't buy multiple primes to cover all the distances I could possibly need....so i'll just get one zoom that I can afford that will cover most.."

[James Donnelly]

Originally Posted by Joel Peregrine

Olympus has a jump on Canon and Nikon in this regard:

Zuiko Digital Lenses

How does an f/2.8 lens on a 1.6 crop sensor compare to an f/2.0 lens on a smaller sensor? In other words, given that a smaller sensor will gather less light, does this mean that it will have an inferior T-stop to a larger sensor at the same aperture?

Anyone?

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by James Donnelly

How does an f/2.8 lens on a 1.6 crop sensor compare to an f/2.0 lens on a smaller sensor? In other words, given that a smaller sensor will gather less light, does this mean that it will have an inferior T-stop to a larger sensor at the same aperture?

Anyone?

The crop sensor has nothing to do with the F-Stop.

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Terry Lee

I think alot of people, especially the indy film world, are thinking:

"well I only have so much money to spend on a lens and I can't buy multiple primes to cover all the distances I could possibly need....so i'll just get one zoom that I can afford that will cover most.."

Unless you are making an epic, or a special effects film, all you need are:

24, 35, 50, 85, 100-105.

And I can absolutely GUARANTEE you can put that prime set together for less than the cost of a good "L" zoom. And that zoom won't be any faster than F2.8. The prime set can be significantly faster in some places without breaking the bank. You lose AF (which doesn't work in video mode anyway), and you lose IS. You gain excellent glass, more money left in your pocket, and the pride and satisfaction of owning something made when lenses were made my engineers and artists, and not computers and robots. :)

[Aaron Courtney]

I would go with a ~30mm @ 1.4-1.8 ^^Ha ha, you would do well to heed the above advice!

[Jon Fairhurst]

Frankly, you don't need anything special. If the walls are black velvet, then they should show up as black to your viewers. The DOF doesn't need to be all that thin, since, you can bring in your own lights to illuminate your subjects (and can't see the background anyway). A 50/1.8 would work fine for interview shots. Add a 24mm or 28mm for wide/normal shots and possibly an ultrawide f/2.8 to cover the room and you're set.

Personally, I prefer Zeiss lenses for their focus control, good overall quality, and flare resistance. That said, you will probably set and forget focus for this application, so the focus ring isn't the most critical aspect.

More important than lenses will be good lights and lighting accessories.

[Dale Peterson]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Lots to learn, and I'm looking forward to practice!

[Robert Turchick]

Just bought the canon 28mm f1.8 and it would work perfectly in your situation. Just over $400.Great lens!

[Steve Oakley]

there is an olympus 21 F2.0 OM lens out there. not that cheap ( $400 or so I think ) , but a nice fast wide angle. 24mm is pretty tight lens, especially for interiors, and even more so on a APS-C sensor with a 1.6x crop factor. I find 17mm **barely** wide enough for shooting in these sorts of places. the 11-16mm 2.8 would be a great choice, as most of the primes in that range, even for APS-C tend to be 3.5-4.5

last, 50mm is short for shooting an interview, you'll be about 6-8ft away for a head and shoulders which is just too close, if you have ANY space to work with. 70-100mm is about the right lens. a 24-70 2.8 might be nice,and olympus has a 24ish-100 2.0, but expensive, and probably won't work on the EOS camera as its a OM digital. different then the manual old glass which works great

and wait to buy the t2i. canon is about to ship the 60D in a few weeks and you may well want to grab one of them, or one of the used t2i's that will sure to be around.

[Jon Fairhurst]

I generally use an 85mm for interviews on a FF body, but I don't tend to frame very tightly. That's the equivalent of a 50mm (or so) on a crop body. With an 85mm lens on a crop body, you would be able to back the camera to the wall and get nice interview shots.

A number of people like the EF 85/1.8, but I'm less and less happy with it. The focus ring just isn't adequate for most video applications. The 85/1.2 L focus ring isn't ideal either. The Zeiss 85/1.4 is the way to go, if you can afford it. The EF 100/2.8 macro is a viable option for about $400 used. The framing might be tighter than you would like though. The focus ring on the 100/2.8 macro has a decent throw and feel for an AF lens, but it breathes like mad. Breathing won't be an issue for interviews though...