Who uses the Samyang 85mm?

[Peter Rush]

I have a wedding in a few weeks in a castle where I've filmed before and it's mega-dark... I mean like a cave. I have my Canon 24-105 which I can get down to 2.8 but I'm thinking I might need something faster - I have the 14mm Samyang 2.8 for my steadicam but for the reception i was thinking of getting the Samyang 85mm but without stabilization it might be a bit shaky - I could use a monopod but that would restrict me a little.

Any users of this lens give me their thoughts?

Pete

[Chris Harding]

Hi Pete

What happens if you need to go a bit wider ...I always find that's an issue for me if the priest decides to move close you are sunk at 85mm! Would the 35mm F1.4 not be a better bet and then if you HAVE to zoom you have the digital zoom to use (not great but it will still be better than a manual slow zoom)

At least that way you would have 35 - 70 at F1.4 .... The only think that concerns me with ceremonies is not being able to adjust focal length and I usually need to do that so I'm stuck with 17-50 at F2.8

We need a 17 - 105 at F1.4 constant don't we?? What sort of darkness are we talking about with the Canon ...more than 21db gain???

Chris

[Peter Rush]

Hi Chris - I filmed there a few years ago with my Sony Z1/FX1 and I was not at all happy with the resultse gain was up to 30db and I had to use Neat Video NR Plugin for pretty much all the footage in that room!- the (the couple were happy though!) It's mainly for the ceremony room but this is where guests mingle before and after - I limit the gain on my EA50 to 24db and I'll bet with my F2.8 Canon 24-105 I'll still be around the 21db mark. It's a civil ceremony so the registrar won't be moving around much - I've also just purchased a couple of Sony CX700 cameras (pretty much the same as the CX730) to replace my Panny TM900 cameras - slightly better low light and match up to my EA50/VG-20 cameras without too much tweaking in post - I'll have these running as well.

I think with the 35mm I'd have to get pretty close for facial reaction shots but with the digital zoom...I've never yet tried it - will have a play this afternoon

I could buy the Canon 50mm 1.4 cheapo I suppose or even the Sony 50mm F1.8 - at least this has steadyshot

Pete

[Noa Put]

I use the 85mm a lot, use it mainly to get talking heads during reception and evening dinner from a tripod but have been using it handheld as well during the reception. It's shaky if you shoot handheld but a lot more stable then that same lens on my canon 550d, for me it's usable handheld but I prefer to shoot on a tripod or even monopod when I can. It's not a lens though you would use on a steadicam, it's very sharp and as fast as it gets, been shooting candle light dinners with it without a issue.

[Peter Rush]

Hi Noa - how do you find the DOF to work with? I'd be using it with my Metabones Speedbooster so I could reduce that 1.4 even further!

Is this a lens for a full frame camera? I also have a Fotodiox EOS to NEX adapter that I could use with it but it might cause cropping.

Pete

[Noa Put]

f1.4 is plenty fast on the nex-ea50 and gives a very shallow dof, don't know if it's a full frame lens but I use a samyang 85mm canon mount lens with a eos to nex adapter without vignetting on my ea50.

[Peter Rush]

Hmmmm - seems it becomes 127.5mm when used with an APS-C sensor (1.5 Crop factor) so it would have to be with my Metabones to keep it at 85mm

Would like to see some footage of a candlelight reception :)

Pete

[Chris Harding]

Hi Pete

You can work out roughly what your DOF limits are with this Online Depth of Field Calculator

Use the Canon 7D preset and you will find that you will have to be really on the ball even at F1.4 with only inches to play with ...What will the Metabones adapter drop it down to??? That will make it even shallower.

My concern has always been if I'm at a crucial distance from the couple at 85mm and my DOF is down to mere inches then the celebrant standing behind the couple is most definitely going to be out of focus if you want the bride and groom sharp ... I can see Noa's use at receptions being very useful but I would worry a little about DOF during a ceremony ...I'm not sure if the bride would consider the shallow DOF as artistic or not??

Just a silly question? Since this seems to be a civil ceremony surely they would allow a discretely concealed light high up over the couple?? It only seems to be Churches that make a fuss about lighting!
A high stand to the side and a bunch of CFL's bouncing into an umbrella would certainly make things a LOT easier for the camera.

Just for reference I limit my cameras to 21db ..there is definitely some noise at 24db but 21db seems pretty clean.

Chris

[Iain P. Johnston]

Hi, I have been looking through the forum to see what I can find out about filming in low light. I filmed my first Wedding on Friday last week and I was very happy with the results - I think I was using PP5 with stock lens at 27db and I was happy with he results.

On Saturday I changed the settings to PP3 and again using 27db gain and I felt the picture was very grainy!

What settings would you recommend using in low light situations - I get the feeling that I should not go above 21db gain, it's the picture profile that I am not sure about! I have bought a Sony 50mm 1.8 lens which is fantastic, but not suitable for filming the dancing at a wedding, I'll keep it for doing interviews on my corporate side of the business.

Iain J

[Dmitri Zigany]

I film a lot of live stuff, usually at around 21dB... try not to go over that... I'm almost always in PP5.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

Seriously??? Using the PP5 preset gives a cleaner high gain image?? I use a modded PP3 and really my limit is also 21db ... At 24db things like walls are decidedly spotty with noise so I'd hate to see how bad noise would be at PP3 and 27db.

Hmmm I must try that or maybe apply some of the black settings in PP5 and use them in PP3.

When I was still on Panasonics guys developed a few "scene files" (same as PP's) especially for low light usage and they worked quite well.

Maybe someone can develop a neat profile for low light shoots and that would also solve Pete's problem?

Chris

[Peter Rush]

At last week's wedding reception with my Canon 24-105 on f2.8 the gain was up to 24db (that's where I limit it) - If it's a busy image then the grain is hardly noticeable - it only becomes apparent on larger areas of flat colour.

I really want to be able to film evening receptions without resorting to my on-camera light as nearly always people moan or shield their eyes and make a comment. The EA50 with Canon glass/speedbooster is helping enormously but I'm not there yet. My next port of call may well be the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom Lens which will go down to (I believe) f1.9 with the speedbooster. Downside is really critical DOF and a price tag of £1400!!!!!

I have a 5DIII which I could start to use more but lack of 50p and the fact it's a pain to use (never got on with the form factor - even in a cage) puts me off

BTW I'm still shooting with no profile - I haven't had the time to really experiment yet

Pete

[Noa Put]

I have been shooting with no picture profile also the last weddings as it gives very nicer color but it's quite contrasty, pp3 will give you more dynamic range indoors when it gets dark with more detail in the blacks but also more visible grain at higher iso's. I think there is no wondersolution here, have the speedbooster will make the lens more sensitive but at the same time more difficult to focus, that's all fine under controlled situations but when things get moving it will be very difficult to maintain focus.

[Iain P. Johnston]

I think this week I will use my NX5 as my main Camera for the Dancing and my NEX 50 as my B Camera - then I will be able to play about with the settings!