Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Are you sure that the DOF remains the same? How does that work? I could swear that I struggle more at 2.8 than 4.
And yes, I really enjoy the Speedbooster too. Thanks for explaining the math. I couldn't quite figure out before how it worked!

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

I think I oversimplified it. I don't fully understand what's going on. The Bokeh definitely remains the same as the lens itself.

Here's what the Metabones FAQ says:

How does Speed Booster® affect the depth-of-field?
The short answer is Speed Booster® on an APS-C sensor gives essentially the same depth-of-field effect as if a full-frame camera body were used.

The long answer is complicated. If we are referring to depth-of-field in the mathematical sense, that depends on the aperture, magnification and circle of confusion (CoC). Magnification in turn depends on distance and focal length. The 50mm lens now becomes a 35mm lens which behaves very differently in terms of perspective. The question is, do we still keep the distance the same? Should the CoC be kept the same? There are many missing variables we need to choose and fill-in before we could get a meaningful answer. When people claim Speed Booster® does not change the depth-of-field, they usually neglect to state the implicit assumption that the distance is kept the same (thereby changing the object size) and the CoC is kept the same. The same logic would lead to the conclusion that an APS-C camera has the same depth-of-field as a full-frame camera, too, which under the same implicit assumptions is mathematically true (the depth-of-field formula is format-size-agnostic, after all), but with which many people would disagree from practical experience.

However, when most people ask about depth-of-field, they are not interested in mathematics, but rather, they are after a certain kind of shallow depth-of-field "look". If this is the case, the short answer above applies.

How does Speed Booster® affect bokeh?
From practical experience, Speed Booster® has negligible effect on bokeh. In most cases the resulting bokeh is that of the lens alone. Speed Booster® does not leave its own "character" or "signature" in the pictures. It is very neutral.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Chad, your lens selection summary, in particular for the 24-105 range as an all round event/docu lens for the FS5, is really useful for me. My shortlist was the Canon 17-55 f2.8 with the E-mount smart adapter (least expensive), or the 24-105mm F4 Canon or Sigma with the Metabones Ultra T SpeedBooster. There have been varying reports about camera to lens communication via different the Metabones adaptors, in particular quirky aperture control. I'm guessing, aside from being satisfied with the image quality, you have no issues with the Sigma in this respect? Thank you.

Terence

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Hi Terence,

Yes I'm loving the Sigma 24-105 f4 with the Speedbooster Ultra. The "Ultra" gives you a .7 crop factor which makes whatever full frame lens even out to close to what is marked on the lens. I usually like lenses to be a bit wider so with the Ultra I'm getting an f2.8 and the 24mm end is actually 25.2 (24 x 1.5 x .7) which is fairly close. I am waiting for NAB where Canon is expected to announce their 16-35 f2.8 mark III. I have fingers crossed for IS, but it probably won't have it. I'm holding out for only f2.8 lenses now so I'm getting an f2 indoors where light is scarce. I could get the Canon 16-35 f4 that does have IS, and is newer, sharper and cheaper than the f2.8, but that extra stop can come in handy when you need it.

My Iris control on the camera works with the Sigma lens, so there are not any issues that bother me. I usually set the iris where I want it, then use the variable ND to control exposure, at least outside. Auto focus is slow/non working, but nobody really should be using auto focus for video. Even in the best case scenario your focus is going to hunt sometimes, and you can't fix that in post.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

That's great and just the reassurance I'm after. I would rarely use autofocus either. I think I will go with the Sigma then. The SpeedBooster is quite a chunk of money, but well invested I think for future glass. Thanks again!

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Actually, I have only just this second realized, after rechecking the specs, the the Sigma lacks OIS, which would be nice to have for non-tripod work. Was that a factor you considered when buying this over the Canon? Do you miss not having it at all?

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Yes, with the expensive Speedbooster Ultra, I'm thinking that it's such a great tool, and it makes it easy to adapt a bunch of glass to E mount easy. If I ever get an A7RII I can use it in Super 35 mode on that camera too. So I'm buying everything as Canon Mount.

As a side note, I have purchased a great little 14mm lens for wide stuff to hold me over until I find a suitable 16-35mm. Rokinon makes fairly decent prime cine lenses, but not everyone knows that Rokinon is made by Samyang, and they put out the same exact lens with a different brand on it. I saw the Rokinon 14mm Cine Prime is 500.00 on B&H, BUT the exact same lens with Samyang written on it is only 329.00! I had borrowed a friend's Rokinon 14mm to shoo some real estate stuff, and it worked great, so I ordered the Samyang.

It is similar to the Canon 14mm that goes for 1,500.00. Not as good, but not bad at all.
Samyang 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens for Canon EF-Mount SYCV14M-C B&H

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Thanks for the extra information, Chad. There are almost too many routes when it comes to lenses / adaptors. Yes, I did know about the Rokinon/Samyang thing and have seen some prety nice work done with those. I was also toying with the Veydra primes as a serious non-breathing cine lens for nice focus pulls. Veydra are apparently soon to bring out a sub-20mm prime that works with APS-C/super35. These are all future possibilities of course. I just want to get the best all-rounder gun/run zoom to get going.

Just my last question again, wondering why you didn't opt for the Canon 24-105 over the Sigma, since it has got OIS.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Like I mentioned before, I was going to get the Canon, but I started watching shootouts, and it looked like the Sigma was performing better as far as sharpness goes, especially on the edges. I also heard one guy mention that the IS on the Canon was loud enough to hear in his recordings, where the Sigma was silent. So I went with the Sigma. It's also cheaper, but cheapness isn't the deciding factor when I'm buying lenses I plan on using forever. I would suggest you watch a bunch of shootouts and decide for yourself. The only thing I don't like is the extra half pound of weight, but really, I'm on sticks 99% of the time. But if I were carrying the camera I would be using a shoulder mount, where the weight doesn't make as much difference as holding the camera out in front of your body.

Hope that helps.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Very helpful - thank you!

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Hi Chad. I've done some tests now and the DOF definitely changes with my Canon lenses I use with the Speedbooster. I strongly disagree with that statement. (If it carries any importance for people, well, that's another thing...)

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Chad is correct. The depth of field is determined soley by the optics of the lens so adding a speedbooster or putting the lens on a camera that has a smaller sensor than full-frame does not change the lens. The lens is still the same lens. It may feel to you like the depth of field has changed because the the field of view has has changed -- but any change you think you see to the DoF is just an illusion.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Well, I know nothing about the maths but I'm sure the difference in these pictures are not imagined. Canons 40mm wide open and stopped down, to it's "normal" 2.8.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

There is a rumor that Sony will come out with a PZ zoom like the PZ 28-135 but with a range more to the wide angle range. The rumored range is 18-105. If so this might be a good multi-purpose lens with none of the ergonomic issues of the kit lens. It should also be sharper than the Canon 24-105 (which I never much liked and sold early on). Admittedly I shoot stills more than video, but many folks have a similarly low opinion on the optics of the 24-105. When I used Canon DSLR's, I found the Canon EF-S 17-55 constant f/2.8 to be much better optically, but this lens is an EF-S mount...). When I went to Canon full-frame DSLR's I bought the EF 24-70 f4.0L IS. Much better than the 24-105.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

OK my bad fro not being more specific and exact. Apparently the DOF is made to be like a full frame camera, however the bokeh is not affected.

From the Metabones site:

How does Speed Booster® affect the depth-of-field?
The short answer is Speed Booster® on an APS-C sensor gives essentially the same depth-of-field effect as if a full-frame camera body were used.

The long answer is complicated. If we are referring to depth-of-field in the mathematical sense, that depends on the aperture, magnification and circle of confusion (CoC). Magnification in turn depends on distance and focal length. The 50mm lens now becomes a 35mm lens which behaves very differently in terms of perspective. The question is, do we still keep the distance the same? Should the CoC be kept the same? There are many missing variables we need to choose and fill-in before we could get a meaningful answer. When people claim Speed Booster® does not change the depth-of-field, they usually neglect to state the implicit assumption that the distance is kept the same (thereby changing the object size) and the CoC is kept the same. The same logic would lead to the conclusion that an APS-C camera has the same depth-of-field as a full-frame camera, too, which under the same implicit assumptions is mathematically true (the depth-of-field formula is format-size-agnostic, after all), but with which many people would disagree from practical experience.

However, when most people ask about depth-of-field, they are not interested in mathematics, but rather, they are after a certain kind of shallow depth-of-field "look". If this is the case, the short answer above applies.

How does Speed Booster® affect bokeh?
From practical experience, Speed Booster® has negligible effect on bokeh. In most cases the resulting bokeh is that of the lens alone. Speed Booster® does not leave its own "character" or "signature" in the pictures. It is very neutral.

http://www.metabones.com/article/of/faq

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

I bought the Sigma 24-105, f/4 Art lens because in all the shootouts I watched, the Sigma was much sharper than the Canon 24-105. I'm really liking the Sigma Art lens, but it is a half pound heavier. That's not a biggie because I use a tripod for almost everything. Generally it seems like Sigma is killing it with their quality. I've got my eyes on their 50mm f/1.4 now.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

That would be wonderful if true.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Yes, but a sony 18mm would still only work out to 27mm with the FS5 crop factor.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

True, but better than, what is it...~45mm? with the current offering, and in a lens designed for videography.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

I'm just using the Sigma 24-105mm f4 with the Speedboster ultra, which makes it effectively a 25-110mm f2.8. The combo is cheaper than the PX 28-135mm, and performs better. Sony zooms aren't as good quality as their primes relatively speaking.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Using the same Sigma Speedboster combo with great results. Also the Sigma 70-200 as well. F2.8 becomes F2

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Has anybody tried this one with a speed booster? Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 COMPACT-SERVO

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

"Has anybody tried this one with a speed booster? Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 COMPACT-SERVO"

It's a new lens, just announced and not yet available to buy/shipping later this year. It is designed for 35mm sensor cams with EF mount. It will NOT work with a Metabones Speedbooster as the image circle will be smaller than what the 35mm sensor size needs - think EXTREME vignetting with big black corners in the frame!

The "normal" Metabones Mark IV EF to Sony E-Mount should work but that is yet to be proved on a Sony cam such as FS7 or FS5 - but of course the FOV (Frame of View) range would remain the same as what's marked on the lens (18-80mm) and there will be no "F stop boost.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Thanks Andy!

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Speedboster Ultra / focal reducers only work with full frame glass on an apsc/super35 sensor. But the cheaper ones work.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Well, we have a lot more experience, now, with the FS5 cameras. We still use the 18-105mm "kit" lenses a lot. But, when possible, we are using my still camera lenses quite a bit.

I have a shelf full of Nikon glass, but a few months ago I started buying Zeiss primes for my Nikon, and we are using them on the FS5 bodies and the FS700.

The kit lens is pretty darn good, but it can't hold a candle to the Zeiss glass.

So far we have the Zeiss 15, 21, 55 Otus, 100 macro, 135mm APO, 25mm Batis and 85mm Batis.

Not using a Speed Booster adapter. Just accepting the crop, for now. Last week we set up a quickie "talking head" interview in a plant. Put up two LED panels on stands, and had someone holding a "camera mount" LED light on the end of a monopod, to be the hair light. Shot it with the 135mm APO Zeiss. It's so crisp it looks like a green screen shot, though it wasn't.

Yes, the camera is important, but we all will buy a lot of cameras. Money put into good glass is an investment.

Eventually we'll probably look at PL lenses. Sigh.

Re: Lenses for the FS5
 

Wooden Camera has an E mount to PL lenses adapter. That is what Jeff Berlin used to make a feature-length movie using Leica Summicron C lenses on a Sony A7R ii.