Fixed, fast lens for FS5

[Richard D. George]

Andy. Agree regarding "Horses for Courses".

Here is what I got rid of:

EF 16-35 f/2.8L II
EF 24-70 f/4.0L IS
EF 50 f/1.4
EF 100 f/2.8L Macro IS
EF 70-200 f/4.0L IS
EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II

EF-S 10-22
EF-S 17-55 f/2.8
EF-S 15-85
Tokina 11-16

[Glen Vandermolen]

Originally Posted by Alfred Okocha

Quite impossible question. But for me a 24 probably would be a useful length.

I used the Zeiss 24mm, f1.8 E-mount lens on my old FS100. That was an amazing lens. I'd probably go with this.

[Dmitri Zigany]

Originally Posted by Richard D. George

What about the Sony E mount 35mm f/1.8 OSS (stabilized)? Fast, optically good, and currently $398 at B&H.

I have both the Sony 50mm/1.8 and the 35mm/1.8. I really like the 50mm, it has something too it. The 35mm I don't really like at all. I end up using that one if I really have to. But it's very small and light so it has that going for it...

[Richard D. George]

Dmitri:

What are the things that bother you about the 35mm f/1.8 OSS?

[Dmitri Zigany]

Originally Posted by Richard D. George

What are the things that bother you about the 35mm f/1.8 OSS?

it just really lacks 'mojo' in lack of a better way to describe it. The 50mm has something, I find myself often really happy with it (especially considering the price) but the 35mm I'm very rarely happy with. Maybe because I have the 35mm/1.5 Samyang as direct comparison, I don't know.
That said, the Sony 35mm is extraordinarily small and light so it is a good lens to have for some occasions.

[Andy Wilkinson]

My Canon 35mm F2 IS EF arrived this afternoon. OK, so it's just first impressions/very brief testing so far, obviously, but I love it! The IS is, basically, inaudible too. Shooting some stuff in Norfolk tomorrow with the FS5 and will put it through it's paces.

[Andy Wilkinson]

OK, next fixed fast lens that's on my wish list is the new Sigma 20mm F1.4 Art lens in EF mount.

No image stabilisation of course, fairly heavy and I believe the focus ring has a very short throw. Anyone using it on an FS5?

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Review

[Chad Johnson]

Samyang / Rokinon has been making some sweet / cheap manual lenses like this one:

Samyang 35mm T1.5 Cine Lens for Canon EF
Samyang 35mm T1.5 | B&H Photo Video

Samyang makes the same lens rebranded as Rokinon, but for some reason they are more expensive as Rokinon. T1.5 is the same as F1.4 by the way. This is a "Cine" version with gears and click-less exposure. You can get theswe in E-mount, but I personally have a Metabones Ultra that gives me an extra stop of light. I don't own this lens, but I recently got their 14mm Cine Prime, and it's very nice for the money. 1,000.00 cheaper than the Canon equivalent.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

OK, next fixed fast lens that's on my wish list is the new Sigma 20mm F1.4 Art lens in EF mount. No image stabilisation of course, fairly heavy and I believe the focus ring has a very short throw. Anyone using it on an FS5?

Just to update this. In the end I thought hard about it and decided I'd rather spend £529 (inc VAT) on a Metabones Speedbooster Ultra which will not only turn my Canon 35mm F2 IS lens into an image stabilised 25mm wide type animal (could be very useful, but it remains to be seen if it will produce nice images wide open at F1.4). The Speedbooster is on back-order with Wex Photographic in Norwich - not sure how long it might take before I get it.

I already have the normal Metabones MkIV (i.e. the non-focal reducer one) for my Canon EF-S and EF glass and the Speedbooster will give me a nice, additional wider and brighter range with my EF lenses, specifically my Canon 70-200mm F4 IS L, Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro HIS L lenses, as well as that latest 35mm IS EF. I already have a Canon 10-22mm F3.5 EF-S that covers the ultra wide end...well I will have once it comes back from repair - details below!

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-ci...rror-01-a.html

[Chad Johnson]

Cool! But with the Metabones ultra, Your 35mm lens will be the equivalent of a 36.75mm.

35mm x 1.5 (super35 crop)= 52.5mm x .7 (Speedbooster Ultra Crop) = 36.75mm

[Andy Wilkinson]

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).

[Chad Johnson]

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.

[Andy Wilkinson]

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!)

[Andy Wilkinson]

Originally Posted by Chad Johnson

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.

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 :-)

Ely in May - FS5 4K (Canon 35mm F2 IS Test) on Vimeo

[Chad Johnson]

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.