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Best wide lenses
  • 120 Replies sorted by
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    it's 14mm and 20 are basically the same lens other than speed and focal length???

    LOL :-)

    Btw, very good Sony converter suitable for 14mm already exist and easy to get.

  • RamboRambo

    VK > LOL :-) haha yep just read what i said, funny hey, not what i meant, but i think you understand VK. ...haha

  • fehafeha

    @Rambo i think it has to do 20mm has focus barrel relaying on motor(gear) the adapter weight is 75g not much but ... We will have to wait and than can test even on 20mm if it works :-)

  • MimirsanMimirsan

    @Nomad Yeah I was half asleep! ;-)

    I can vouch for the sony ECU1 + 14mm f2.5 combo works very well indeed for wide angle work and very cheap if you look in the right places ;-)

  • kazuokazuo

    I have shot with the Kowa TV lens 17-102mm f2, and currently own the Canon TV16 25-100mm f1.8. While C mount lenses hold a certain novelty, all of them were designed for SD or analog technology, so don't expect the same tack sharpness that digital lenses can produce.

    The softness, especially when the lens is wide open, however does attenuate the harshness of HD, and can give that elusive film look that all of us try to create - visuals that are defined yet not brutally sharp. Having said that, it's also easy to confuse "out of focus" on these lenses for that film look!

  • thougts2ukthougts2uk

    I think for the GH2 the SLR Magic 12mm f1.6 is probably the best wide angle. A little softer than the Olympus F2 competitor but has oodles of character and for me thats important. I hate the sharpness of the panasonic lenses. If the TV look similar to the EX1/3 is what you are going for ok, but for me commercials, music vids and films all benefit from a lens with character. But thats just opinion and experience.

  • disneytoydisneytoy

    Olympus 12mm f/2 is not cheap but a very fast AF lens and still small and light.

  • bheathbheath

    Hi, Great thread. Thanks all! Does anyone have experience with the oly 12-60mm 1:2.8/4.0? I read that this one has a genuine mechanical focus system. (repeatable focus moves) I wonder about the focus throw too. The tokina 11-16 is sure popular, but I'm unsure of the adapter with iris configuration? Oly 12mm 2,o prime... Are repeatable focus moves possible? Lastly, I placed a pre-order on a voigtlander 17.5/ .9. $1700.00! I must be mad.

  • sakattaq76sakattaq76

    I've tried the Olympus 12-60mm. Excellent lens especially at wide 12mm. Take an olympus or panasonic adapter, I'm not so happy with the chinese one. The autofocus is very slow and not accurate. Very good for manual focus but with a follow focus gear. The lens is heavy and difficult to handle on bare hands without support. I wish for panasonic to produce the same lens but for m/43 mount. That's all.

  • rozrozrozroz

    (Vitaliy_Kiselev) "Andrew, it is good idea to make separate topic on C-mount lenses and B4 zooms. People need detailed samples and video links to understand that is useful in their projects :-)".

    i found very little footage of cheaper C-mount options such as Rainbow or Computar zooms. IS there a thread on those? couldn't find one. i really need a constant focus/aperture manual zoom option for ETC mode. also, how wide could i get? i found some 8mm wide zooms but on ETC i'm not sure it's even enough. any suggestions? actual footage? thanks!

  • EbachervilleEbacherville

    I don't see many needing this wide of a lens or fisheye for that matter, but this is the widest C mount I have seen, fast F1.4, its a 1.4mm 1/2" c mount (ext tele should have full coverage), 185 degree viewing angle , you can set the camera on the ground back down - lens up, and see everything around it.. "for use with cameras up to 5 megapixels".. so optics should be OK quality.. obviously distorted to extreme fisheye levels

    I can see a few uses for it like, Googles street view car type projects.. 360 degree home interactive tours or seeing the entire sky at one time for star watchers.. someone may have a use for it.. but I don't have one..

    Specs on B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/404279-REG/Fujinon_FE185C046HA1_FE185C046HA_1_1_2_1_4mm_F1_4.html

    Lowres video sample of the viewing angle used for star watching.

    They use these lenses on this camera setup, has some sample stills and descriptions of interest http://www.company7.com/sbig/products/allsky.html

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    For me like old guitars and amps - valve or transistor :) 12mm 1.6 flawed but alive - Leica 25 so perfect but Voigt so much more - horses for courses - I'm a bit analogue I guess! Great to have the choice :)

  • EbachervilleEbacherville

    @rozroz, attached is a still of the 3.5mm f1.6 rainbow CCTV on a low bitrate GH2 in ext-tele mode, gives you a idea of how wide it is.. but took some major mods to make it work, I'd recommend the 4-12mm Tamron f1.2, far easier to get fit properly. About the same wideness, and can be lessened if you don't like it quite that wide, and it is faster lessening grain from ext tele if that's a concern.. The Tamron looks scary for how deep it goes in the body, but will not touch the sensor.

    still 3.5mm rainbow.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 556K
  • aprioriapriori

    I own the Oly 12mm prime, and it's tack sharp, edge-to-edge at f4.0. I'm very satisfied with it. I also considered the SLRMagic 12mm, but opted for the more clinical look of the Oly. I understand the appeal of the SLRMagics "character", I'd just prefer that it wasn't baked in (I can always add "character" to Oly footage in post, but I can't likewise sharpen the corners of SLRMagic footage). It's REALLY annoying, however, that Oly doesn't include a freakin' lens hood with their $800 lens, as it's pretty much a necessity.

    I also plan to buy a Panny 7-14mm in the next few weeks, assuming NAB doesn't hold any surprises for us ultra-wide devotees.

    I seem to be in the minority these days, but my goal is to develop an ultra-wide, deep focus cinematographic style. For all the talk of how "cinematic" shallow DoF is, the work of Welles, Hitchcock, Ford, Kurosawa, Wajda, Fellini, Tarkovsky, Rossellini, Mizoguchi, Bergman, Kubrick, Gilliam and many other great directors is characterized by compositions with both planes in sharp focus. And yet, ever since the glory days of the DVX100, digital filmmakers have dismissed the deep DoF properties of video as an un-cinematic handicap -- as if achieving that very aesthetic wasn't Gregg Toland's life's work!

    I recognize the value of shallow DoF as a powerful cinematic tool, but feel that too many DSLR filmmakers are guilty of using rack focusing as a crutch. Rather than learning how to guide the viewer's eye with artful composition and lighting design, we just blur the shit out of everything and coo over the "bokeh" on forums. But why make content for the big screen if we're just going to smear vasoline over 2/3rds of every shot?

    So less fast and shallow, and more slow and sharp please :)

  • markus_bmarkus_b

    @apriori You could get one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120665273896 You have to cut away a little at the front (it's plastic), otherwise it vignettes, but way cheaper then the original lens hood.

  • rozrozrozroz

    @Ebacherville, the problem with the Tamron is that it cannot keep focus and also cannot zoom comfortably. i need a zoom lens for continuous manual zooming while shooting, keep the focus, and for it to be comfy somehow.. so i didn't find any videos proving if the Rainbow Computar, or Pentax options can do this.

  • EbachervilleEbacherville

    the Rainbow is a prime lens , no zoom, and yes the Tameron is varifocal so no zooming in shot with that. doubt you going to find anything wider than the kit lens at 14mm, that is para focal and wide, and tele zoom, short of a very wide B4 ENG lens and adapter.. like a 4.5-50mm with doubler ENG lens and B4 to Micro43 adapter..

    I do have a 8-48mm f1.0 Rainbow in Ext-tele its not all that wide compaired to the tameron or rainbow 3.5.. but it is para focal and fast but gets soft at f1.0, so you need to run about f1.5 for a not soft image. Also have the Pentax 8-48mm F1.0 but have not converted it yet for Micro43.. Videos do exist for both these 8-48mm c-mounts.

  • rozrozrozroz

    @Ebacherville, there might be 1-2 videos, not made so good. i couldn't find any video that will show me how wide i can get on ETC, and how good the zoom performs.. i somehow you'll be able to take a 10 seconds video with the 8-48 rainbow, it would be very kind :) also, are the 8-48 feel comfortable to work with in realtime?

  • EbachervilleEbacherville

    Rainbow 8-48mm.. 1/2" cctv , the video shows how to mod it to fit properly and how to adjust infinity focus and then sample shots from it. As for etc tele, one advantage to etc mode.. less if not any jellovision, downfall is added grain noise due to bigger pixels compared to the size of sensor area.. but if your shooting at low iso, like under 400 you should be fine. CCTV lenses are about moding and making them work depending on the lens.. You can't find a lens as fast as the Tamron 4-12mm for the GH2 for $89.00.. great value for a nice wide fast lens... If I carry a small kit with me, that 4-12mm is part of it, it is a must have in my book, next to my 20mm 1.7 Lumix and a 50mm 1.4

    The Rainbow is a nice all around fast lens, but soft at f1.0 I usualy never go past 1.5 unless i need a shot really bad and its a get it or forget it type situation, like just random shooting stuff as it happens in really low light.. you could do better in a non CCTV lens but not for $50 or even 10x that.. that is what I bought my rainbow 8-48mm for, new in the box on ebay.. just kept my eye out for it and stumbled apon it one day BuyItNow price.. sold.

  • aprioriapriori

    @markus_b Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, I already bought the Oly lens hood. At least I bought it with eBay bucks, so it feels a little less like spending money!

  • rozrozrozroz

    @Ebacherville, i'm terribly sorry. somehow i missed your footage section when i watched it a few days ago :( forgive me. excellent tests!

    so you say you have to stay above f1.5, right? but still, in most of the shots the frame is only focused at the center area.. is there a way of improving the overall focus area?

  • KihlianKihlian

    @all For the 3.5mm must the lens be for 1/2 Inch image format or could also be 1/3 Inch?

  • ttancredittancredi

    @apriori Do you find the sharpness of the 12mm pleasant when you shoot "busy", detailed scenes?

  • aprioriapriori

    @ttancredi The 12mm captures details well, but the images don't feel artificially sharp or abrasive. Clinical is probably the right adjective for the Oly 12mm, as it doesn't bake a cinematic "warmth" into its images like the SLRMagic 12mm does. If sharpness is an issue, it can always be dialed down in post.

  • EbachervilleEbacherville

    @Kihlian, for CCTV lensesl I generally don't go below a 1/2" lens.. never tried a 1/3" lens, some may work but I suspect most will show vignetting.. but never really tried any 1/3"

    @rosror, I'm not sure what your asking, that footage isn't from me its someone elses footage.. If you like I can shoot any tests your like with the CCTV lenses I have. The rainbow 11.5-69 is a 2/3" lens and covers way more than the exetele coverage. the 1/2" 8-48mm may have a bit of edge or corner distortion, bit very minor, I have always wanted a b4 2/3" lens setup on the GH2 but the edge distortion onthese with the 2x doubler engaged has always killed that dream for me, these c mounts have done a better job of that, the only reason I use C mounts is if I can't pull off the shot needed in full frame.. Generally if its a parafocal fast zoom from tight to wide or need or a super wide low light shot, I'll be using primes in full frame most of the time. Tell me what you want to see in the c mounts and ill try to shoot it for you.

    I also have a Pentax 8-48mm f1.0 but need to get a machinist involved for the modifications to it to make it usable.

    I think I'll make a demo video of the C mounts I have.. They are great for specitly shots you just cant pull off with regular full frame lenses. Genera for those shots, the stuff I just cant do in full frame is when I pull out the CCTV C mounts.

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