@stonebat

Btw, Cinematics are making Zeiss conversions making CP2 like housings for Zeiss lenses :-)

+1. I totally agree with you.

It's useful to know which lenses are readily video friendly. That's all ;)

Many SLR lenses are great. But mostly not video friendly. e.g. Try to use the Nokton 25mm 0.95 with a matte box and 4x4 filters. Of course you could use a Fader ND filter and a hood. It works. But this topic is about "readily" video friendly lenses.

When a maker claims for video optimized lens, it's gotta have a fixed length barrel.

Has anyone picked up the samyang/rokinon/bower 14mm2.8?
right now I'm using all olympus zuiko om mount primes, mainly the 24/2.8 and a 55/1.2, working great, but I lack a wide lens

I use legacy primes extensively on the GH2, and I concur with Markussen that the Contax Zeiss 50mm f1.7 does yield tremendous images - creamy, visuals are very sharp in the centre only to taper off in lovely bokeh. I compare this with the Canon FD f1.4, another very fast lens; both have very thin DOF, but I like the Zeiss quite a bit better.

I also use Leicas, and Voigtlanders and they blow me away despite all the cropping. There's also the venerable Nokton 25mm f0.95, the one lens you must have in yr kit if you disregard all the rest. I use this as a general lens, and almost always stick to it as much as possible. Just vary my focal distances, until of course I am forced to go really wide, like shooting landscape or buildings.

Speaking of 50mm lenses, check out also the Noktor Hyperprime. Another very fast lens that you would use to make films of cinematic quality.

When you pair a Nokton or Leica, or Zeiss, with the hacked patch, you do get something that far exceeds the 5D, IMHO. I have shot more than 20 projects on the 5D; in fact i was amongst the first to adopt it when it was still shooting only in NTSC (I live in PAL land). But I have since traded it for the GH2, and never looked back. The 5D may be a full frame camera but many pp don't realise that its sensor actually functions at half its optimal value when recording video (thus all the issues with moire et al).

I can't wait for the day when Zeiss or Leica finally starts making m4/3 lenses.

@LPowell
Just a shout for all the great contributions to the hack and also, you are an excellent writer -- your posts are always lucid and eloquent. I think you need your own blog by now.

Tokina AT-X 116 Pro 11-16mm f2.8

This is a very good lens, good quality also in HD. It is heavy, and the front lens is quite large, mounted on a GH1 looks even bigger. I bought mine with the Nikon mount, so I can control the aperture with a m43 / Nikon adapter specifically for "G" lens. This adapter has a pin connected to a ring on the adapter to continously control the diaphragm. There is no scale thus it is not possible to use an external exposimeter, but usually I rely on the internal exposimeter of my GH1, so no problem. I recommend it.

@DrDave
Yes, the Tokina AF 28-70mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro SV ("Special Value") version was a cheapened downgrade. From what I've been able to deduce, all previous versions with 77mm filter rings used the same internal design, with variations in barrel housings and labeling. I suspect the original "f/2.6-2.8" rating was simplified to "f/2.8" in other versions of the same lens. The similarly labeled Tokina 28-70mm with a 72mm filter ring was a different, unrelated design.

As for rumors of a fast M4/3 zoom, the most video-friendly Lumix lens I've used is the 4/3rds Panasonic/Leica 14-50mm f2.8-3.5, with its exclusive manual aperture ring. I doubt, however, that Panasonic would be eager to revisit that particular marketing experience. While it's far from flawless, the Leicasonic works surprisingly well on a shoulder-mounted run-n-gun rig, especially if you gear a follow focus into its zoom ring. (Just make sure to preset your focus for the finish point of your zoom.) The plastic eBay "matte box" 15mm rail-mounted lens hood fits loosely around the front lens barrel, easily accommodating the zoom's one-inch max lens extension. The Mega-OIS on the Leicasonic is pure magic, like an electronic steady-cam: WWVv~~----

I second the explanation of reflections from the sensor. Have a look at the adapter from Sony for Alpha to NEX: it has an extra rectangular aperture. I suppose this is meant to reduce the light bouncing around in the rear, and one should be able to make something similar for ones vintage lenses adapters for µFT.

@stonebat
The type of lens flare I've seen in very fast vintage primes was not from an out-of-frame light source that could be blocked by a lens hood or matte box. What happens is that at very wide apertures, the lens appears to bloom with internal light reflections, which casts a milky glow over the frame and reduces contrast. Some might call this a soft focus effect, but it's not due to defocusing. I've read that this blooming effect can be intensified by reflections from the digital image sensor itself, which is much more reflective than the 35mm film stock that vintage lenses were originally developed for.

BTW, the Tokina lenses suggested by you and Vitaliy both share a drawback that for me is a showstopper: no manual aperture ring. While some M4/3 adapters have primitive "Lock" rings that can be used as a workaround, I've yet to see one that I'd consider reliable.

>Then we wouldn't need a matte box. About the ugly flaire... use a versatile rubber hood?

Last time I checked real clients reaction, rubber hood makes big difference compared with proper matte box :-)

Ok VK, for once you are right (tongue in cheek):-) Still a top lens thou.

R