Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Doh! Yep!

No matter, it's the speed and usefulness with my 70-200mm and 100mm that I'm mainly interested in the Ultra for - and a very fast 37mm FOV would be a great docu "walkabout" lens (especially because of the Clear Image Zoom on the FS5).

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Yes, I to have considered that lens for the IS, I have the Speedbooster Ultra, and have been only buying Canon mount lenses. I would love a report back on that 35mm with the FS5! Maybe some sample footage.

I recently bought the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm cine lens, and find it very nice. Rokinon has many high performing / reasonably priced lenses. What I have also found is that Rokinon is made by Samyang. So you get the same lens branded Samyang often for much less. ON B&H the Rokinin was 500.00 and the same lens branded Samyang was 329.00. They also rebrand even cheaper for the same lens as "Bowen". So if you are in the market and don't want to pay top dollar, Samyang has some nice stuff for 1/3 of the Canon price often.

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Canon 35mm F2 IS is a lovely lens on the FS5, currently behaving as a slightly over 50mm as you know (!) with the Standard Metabones MkIV. The focus ring on it is butter smooth and I find it very easy to focus with - but I still wish the focus had (even) more travel. Not a deal breaker - it's certainly a heck of a lot easier to focus than my much used Canon 17-55mm F2.8 IS EF-S, that's for sure! The IS is whisper quiet - and effective - both very important to me with the way I typically shoot.

To test it's sharpness wide open I did take a few stills for a client on my 7D last week (so again also a crop factor) and I was impressed - so was she! Nothing I can share at the moment, but if I get time in the next week or so (and the weather improves here) I'll try and put up a short video clip with it on the FS5 (we had some fabulously sunny and hot days in England the last few days but now we have dullness, cloud and rain again!)

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Here you go Chad.

Shot in a spare 2-3 hours around Ely (where I live, just north of Cambridge) on Thursday - a hazy spring day to quickly test my new Canon 35mm F2 IS. Sony PXW-FS5 in 4K with Metabones MKIV EF to NEX Lens Adapter.

All shots were (deliberately) only with this lens and (again deliberately) hand-held - but even with image stabilisation I felt I had to stabilise a lot of them in post (edited in 4K with Adobe CC on a new Mac Pro). Using a 1.53x crop factor calculation I found the approx. 54mm FOV (frame of view) with this lens on the FS5 a bit challenging for some shots - I often wanted it wider! One shot (the sundial) was with Clear Image Zoom at maximum reach (1.5x in 4K mode on the FS5). I have a Metabones Speedbooster Ultra on order which will give me a 38mm FOV with this lens and that should be more or less ideal for a walk-about fixed, fast prime for my needs. One other note. On a couple of shots I ramped up the Variable ND to try and get a shallow DOF but in the bright light I typically could open the Iris no wide than about F3.5.

This will be my last test with Firmware V1.11. Moving on up to V2.00 this weekend :-)

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Hi Andy,

I think the shots with the 35mm Canon look very nice! Lots of detail, contrast and color rendition. But I need you to clarify:
1. Did you do all these shots hand held? I know you said they were, but I almost can't believe it because I was positive most of them were on a tripod, as they looked to be not moving at all. If they were all hand held, then I am very impressed with the IS!
2. When you couldn't get any more open than f3.5, was your ND up as high as possible? 1/64?

I guess one could get an extra ND to screw on the front to get max bokeh. Anyway, I keep thinking about this lens, so I'm just going to order it. I need something small, fast and stabilized to facilitate hand held. I do have the Speedbooster Ultra, so the lens will become a 1.4 (minus the extra stop of bokeh) making it great for indoor stuff at night.

Thanks for sharing your test! You've pushed me over the edge to grab this little gem.

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

I just found the Canon 35m f2 IS USM as a store demo model for 499.00, and including the normally not included lens hood that goes for 44.00, so I saved close to 100.00 US. Not bad. I can't wait to get that baby on my FS5!

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Hi Chad,

1. All hand held - I promise (the odd shot was resting on a fence post or whatever). But, unlike my heavier C100 and much heavier, semi-shoulder PMW-300, I find the FS5 is very susceptible to "rocking/twisting" when held to your chest or face - still working on perfecting my technique with it. Therefore, many of the shots have been Warp Stabilised in post (Adobe CC2014). I think it is because the FS5 is small but also so blummin light in weight. I have a similar problem when using my tiny Panasonic TM900 camcorder.

I think the IS on any lens is great for removing those horrible micro-jitters that one sometimes sees - I find any footage like that totally unwatchable. But no, the IS on THIS lens is not going to make it look like you are shooting highly detailed 4K on a tripod. That's my conclusion and why I felt the need to Warp Stabilise many shots in post - but hey, at least I could and get some decent images :-). The only other thing I did in post was very mild contrast boost. All shot with Doug Jensen's Vortex FS5 Pro Picture Profile and White Balance locked at 6500K

2. I only ever use the Variable ND (or set it to Clear, i.e. off, for most indoor shooting of course), never the old fashioned stepped ND approach on the FS5. As you know, regardless of ND wheel position (1, 2 or 3) you can dial in very tiny steps up to maximum of 128th when the FS5's thumbwheel is set to allow it - I find it a wonderful way of exposing.

What I do is decide Iris (F-Stop) setting I want (a lot of that film was shot around F9 to get a deep, sharp DOF), then I adjust exposure via the variable ND until I just start to see zebras on highlights. I have Zebras set at 95%...I may lower this to 93% with the new V2.00 Firmware that I've just installed, as I got a bit hot on one or two shots. In V1.11 firmware only 5% steps were possible, now it's much more flexible - and you can have a second Zebra too.

When I wanted a shallow DOF (e.g. the shaky railing spikes shot early on - not stabilised in post), I found I could not stop clipping (as judged by those Zebras) without using an Iris setting of at least F3.5 - because of the bright sunny conditions. No F2 or F2.8 was possible there. So yes, an additional screw on ND filter would be needed if you really wanted to open up more on a bright sunny day.

The lens is a definite keeper - but without the Speedbooster (in my opinion) is not quite wide enough on the FS5 for a walk-about general lens. When I get my Speedbooster it'll be perfect.

Re: Fixed, fast lens for FS5
 

Thanks for the report Andy! I have my lens on order now. I can't wait to try it out. Now to go install FW 2.0.