The best zoom is your feet! Use primes and rails! :)

The best zoom is your feet! Use primes and rails! :)" yeah!

who says you can't slide the mattebox forward and back along the rails

No seriously I want "panavionish" when I've got a whole crew and set of lights.

Well me for one... :) Just kidding... Really, you can do whatever you like, but I've been shooting video on an SLR for while now using zoom lenses and tried a rail mounted mattebox for a while... huge pain in the ass. Unless you have a non-extending zoom (all mine do) it's way more trouble than it's worth, just so you can look like a "filmmaker"... If what you look like is more important than practicality, ditch the zoom and use prime lenses. If you want to keep the zooms, ditch the rails and get a lens mounted mattebox/filter holder.

In Canon, the 24-70 and both 70-200 do not change size. These are not expensive lenses compared to better HDV choices.

That's a nice two lens kit similar to what better camcorders use (in quality) for a whole lot less money. Throw in a 1.4 TC for more reach.

I like that combo and agree with you, but my point is...

If you have quality lenses that do move, why sell them and switch just so you can use a rail mounted mattebox in order to impress people or have the coolest looking 5D on DVinfo??

Also, if you are buying new lenses for a kit, it would be silly to limit yourself to non-moving zooms just so you can use rails.

well for me the most important factor is in a lens is parafocal-ness. In other words it holds focus through out the zoom range.

Any way I think most of us would be fine with a clip on matte box.

I've used the cokins with my mini35 and nikon lenses... works pretty well AND REALLY CHEAP!