"Vintage-warm-retro" video: Which lense?

[Mark Stobbart]

I am planning to buy a 5d mark II and intend to use it for filming music videos.

I am sooooo confused on the lense selection... The Canon lenses videos look great: Vivid and sharp but I really loved the Lomo anamorphic videos, they looked like a great independent-vintage looking production.

I am having a hard time finding Lomo lenses and all the conversion tools, pfffff...

Which current produstion lenses would you use for that "real-film-retro-quality" on a 5d mark II? What about Nikon or Leica lenses?

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Mark Stobbart

I am planning to buy a 5d mark II and intend to use it for filming music videos.

I am sooooo confused on the lense selection... The Canon lenses videos look great: Vivid and sharp but I really loved the Lomo anamorphic videos, they looked like a great independent-vintage looking production.

I am having a hard time finding Lomo lenses and all the conversion tools, pfffff...

Which current produstion lenses would you use for that "real-film-retro-quality" on a 5d mark II? What about Nikon or Leica lenses?

Vintage Nikon glass is the direction I am going, and I've already started on that path. It's probably going to be the cheapest way to get there. Maybe some early AI glass.

[Mark Stobbart]

Sounds interesting... I am thinking about a 50mm lense to start with. Any ideas on their compatibility with the 5d?

[Richard Gooderick]

Hi Mark
I would go for the Nikon too.
Take a look at this thread:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eo...non-5dmk2.html

[Chris Barcellos]

A great inexpensive lens in the short telephoto/portrait format is the Nikon Series E 100mm, F2.8. It is compact, light weight. Back when I first got the camera, I tested it here, shooting hand held. See below. I think this is as long as you want to go hand held.

Canon 5D Mark Ii 100mm Test on Vimeo

[Liam Morgan]

Here's something I did with a nikon ai 50mm 1:1.2. I think the crowd shots are wide open and the stage stuff is at about f/2.0-4

YouTube - Ga-Pi - Original Thai Rasta (Live) Official Video

Liam

[Manus Sweeney]

isnt the 'lomo effect' something that would be created in post rather than by the lens choice?? (lots of saturation, vignette etc..?)

[Regis Hervagault]

if you want vintage retro looking results, maybe using vintage retro lenses in the first place might help.
post production is nice but the optical stage is really important too so check your 2nd hand shop & look around for some cheap glass from the seventies...
here's a little example done using just older russian glass and a few old M42 japanese too...

LAVAL VIRTUAL AWARDS 2010 show opener on Vimeo

[James Miller]

Here is a bit of retro / vintage / nostalgia

Straight from the camera and shot with the plastic Minolta MD Zoom 28-70mm.
No external grading but "WB SHIFT/BKT" set at "B5,G5/+-0"

Reflections of Light on Vimeo

or an old Sigma 50mm 2.8 Macro

Crimson Skies on Vimeo

On Sussex Downs on Vimeo

[Kalulu Ngilo]

Originally Posted by Regis Hervagault

if you want vintage retro looking results, maybe using vintage retro lenses in the first place might help.
post production is nice but the optical stage is really important too so check your 2nd hand shop & look around for some cheap glass from the seventies...
here's a little example done using just older russian glass and a few old M42 japanese too...

LAVAL VIRTUAL AWARDS 2010 show opener on Vimeo

Is all that flare coming from the lens or in post?

[Charles Papert]

Yes gents, none of this makes any sense unless you are forthcoming about any effects, either in-camera or in post, that are applied to the footage. James' notes about the color adjustments are a good start. Otherwise you may inspire someone to go and seek the lenses you are describing and end up disappointed that they can't reproduce the same look in-camera.

I've shot music videos completely clean on modern lenses and seen them manipulated in post to the point where it would be anyone's guess what we used (like this one).

[Tim Kolb]

I'm with Charles on this one...shooting as clean as possible is the best strategy.

What I see in most of the shots that are pointed out to me as 'retro' can be done in post easily... Milky black levels, some obvious grain...all the defective film tracking through the projector traits if that trips your trigger...glare that seems to indicate that polarizers and matte boxes weren't invented yet...

The advantage to having a clean plate to begin with is that you gain the ability to work in post with much more nuance and apply slightly different settings to different shots to achieve constant results.

[James Miller]

Yeah, but wheres the fun in that.

Sure you can shoot clean but you won't get that spontaneous creative look of that of a clean recording. Of course you can add this in post but it will never feel quite the same.

It may not be your job to interpret the emotional feeling in a shot and with these limitations the safety of shooting clean has to happen most of the time, but outside a commercial world thats a different story.

I find myself recording creative shots and clean shots, but tend to always pick the retro style shots in post or at least have more pleasure viewing them.

I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder and whilst my retro look gives me the same emotional feeling as looking back on my childhood 8mm films, my sons retro look might well be that of a VHS / DV look.

It's the current trend at the moment well at least here in the UK as half of all the adverts broadcast have lots lens flare blue/green blacks, yellow whites and shallow dop. My current favorite advert is the John Lewis "Always a Woman" YouTube - John Lewis TV Ad Never Knowingly Undersold / Blink Productions - View Dougal Wilson Work

I have had so much fun with old lenses and odd filters left over from yesteryear, heck on the clip "Reflections of Light" the lens isn't even attached to the body. What ever works for you, it doesn't have to cost much.

San Francisco on Vimeo

[Manus Sweeney]

i think use of filters is definitely a way to get a vintage look..

seemed like (as charles said) there was a little confusion that using old manual lenses alone will give you some of these more extreme results related to saturation, gamma and colour balance (ive never heard of any lenses that can do that..)

[Don Miller]

Lensbaby...