My lens has a spot on it, is there anything I can do?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

“Worst Canon Lens Ever” LOL
They were meant for each other.

[Chris Hurd]

I pointed this out long ago and I repeated it several times... in this thread plus a couple of other Ryan discussions.

That particular telephoto zoom is without question the single worst lens he could possibly be using. It's cheap junk.

He could stay in the Canon line and choose any one of several other Canon telephoto zooms in that same focal length range. *Any* change would be an improvement.

I have pointed this out more than a few times before and I've just said it again now.

It is definitely a vignetting issue with that lens as Brian points out. It has nothing to do with camera settings or anything else... it's just that particular lens. It's showing off just how bad it is for video -- an application for which it was *never* intended or designed.

Even if he stayed in the Canon consumer range, the very next step up -- the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM -- would be a huge improvement for only $100 more. The next one up from that, the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM -- would be even better, and it's less than $500.

But he's rejected these suggestions because they're "fly by wire" and somehow for him that's a deal breaker. Well, the deal's already broken by that bottom-of-the-barrel junk he's using right now. Either one of these two lenses would put him in a newer and much better world. But, I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall here.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I was told before, that it's not possible to use a follow focus with a fly-by-wire lens, so if you cannot use a follow focus with one, isn't that a deal breaker?

[Paul R Johnson]

I don't quite understand what he really wants - at one point, we're talking camera tape and markings for somebody to do focus while somebody else does aperture, then we switch to night time shooting, then wildlife - my head spins. It's even more difficult when information is dotted around in the other posts.

What is 100% certain is that this lens is the worst for virtually all his projects - it doesn't seem to do any properly - although in all the video clips we see, the killer for me is wobble and shake. Real cinema and real video doesn't do this, yet Ryan hasn't;t spent any of his money on keeping images stable.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I want a lens that I can do telephoto shots with for projects that can zoom up to 300mm. And as a bonus if possible, one where you can zoom during the video without any type of exposure changes or vignette issues that are noticeable. Even if I can only do fast zooms with it, that's fine, as slow zooms look a lot more cheesy anyway, in my opinion. Even if it's not parfocal, I can pull focus myself, during the zoom or so I was told to, if it's not parfocal. And I want one where I can use a follow focus with it, which means no fly-by-wire and mechanical then. That's what I want.

[Brian Drysdale]

The answer is to get another lens and sell this one, Going over this again and again with the same questions on the forum is wasting other people/s time.

Look at the more expansive lenses. You'll be unlikely to be do more than a simple focus pull for the end to be in focus (but with the zoom itself out of focus) if you;re talking about the shot in a different thread, I don't think we want to go over that, since it was well covered

You should do the research on all the zoom lenses in this range, there are online reviews on many of these lenses, so you can check these reviews out and make a decision yourself.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Well I was told before, that it's not possible to use a follow focus with a fly-by-wire lens, so if you cannot use a follow focus with one, isn't that a deal breaker?

What you have right now is a deal breaker.

Plus, you're wanting to shoot video with a still-photography telephoto zoom. Considering that your budget is too limited for a proper cine zoom or a traditional broadcast video lens (and a camcorder to match), I think something as elaborate as a follow-focus mechanism is pretty much out of the question here.

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

Well I want a lens that I can do telephoto shots... where you can zoom during the video without any type of exposure changes or vignette issues that are noticeable.

That would be almost any telephoto zoom lens other than what you have right now.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh ok but why is a follow focus out of the budget though?

As for my lens being wobbly like in the video, i thought that that is because in the video, the guy is handholding it. It wouldn't be wobbly on a tripod.

[Josh Bass]

because the legitimate non-janky ones are expensive. Youre gonna google search and find all kinds of stuff for $150 and probably less. Those are crap. The good stuff is around $600 and up.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay then, thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I know I am going to get a new lens, but if I search for one that does not have vignetting, I want to know how to spot it. I can't spot the vignetting in my footage. I know when I zoom, it goes from darker to brigher, then repeats that, but I can't see any vignetting, when zoomed all the way to 300mm.

Here's a shot zoomed all the way. Is there vignetting in it, than I am not seeing?

Birds - YouTube

[Mark Williams]

Some of the best wildlife video work by an amateur that I have seen is by Tara Tanaka. You would do well to read/study her notes for her videos. Lots of valuable info there on gear and technique.

https://vimeo.com/h2otara

Also, on the low cost equipment end of things is the amazing work done by Bob.

The Log 2: Another year - YouTube

[Paul R Johnson]

Ryan - no I cannot see any vignetting at that iris setting. The lens has it listed as a common issue so if you can shoot your long shots at that aperture you have it covered.

It's been a while but I bought a cheap matte box from India with a follow focus unit. The eluminium was ridiculously poor and soft. Screws pulled out, hinges twisted off when they got stiff, and the plastic lens gears lost their teeth. I replaced the matte box with a proper brand but never replaced the focus unit because frankly, I didn't need one!

[Brian Drysdale]

In the review video the vignetting test was shot against at plain blue card (so there's no distracting detail) and was poor at f8 and better at the other stops and changed with the focal lengths, It may also vary with the distance your lens is focused at, but I assume the test was done with the lens focused at its closest distance.

For example, the Zeiss 10mm to 100mm T2 16mm zoom lens vignetted at the shorter focal lengths when focused closer than 5ft. It didn't have any focus markings below 5ft (it can focus down to a metre) , so it was left to your discretion if you focused closer than that.

So it would depend on which stop your bird video was shot at if the vignetting was noticeable and the longer distance involved may mean that the vignetting doesn't occur..

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, I think that bird shot was done at f18. However, I did tests on that lens while zooming at f22. It get's darker than brighter, then darker, then brighter, during the zoom. So if that is vignetting, then it is only occuring during the zoom, but then disappearing after the zoom. Why would the vignetting disappear, if there is no zooming going on, if that seems to be what's happening? I just want to know so I know what I am looking for when getting a new lens :).

[Brian Drysdale]

Since people here don't have access to your lens or camera, I suspect you'll have to go to a local technician or similar person to get them checked out.