Camera guys - Canon lens questions - VIDEO

[rock-reed]

Question guys.... We shot a small/micro budget feature movie using Canon t3i's and the 50mm 1.8 -- The nifty 50. (Non adult)

We really love the look of the lens and the bokeh it provides - and the low light quality overall.

But what really kills me is the small focal plane and if a subject moves a bit---they go in to soft focus.

Can anyone recommend another lens for us to try? It doesn't have to go to 1.8 - We have light... but we just need something that is cheap#1 and offers interesting #2 bokeh.

Thanks in advance to anyone that has input!

[candyflip]

I've shot three shorts now and have used the Canon 18-35 2.8 L almost exclusively.

$1500 isn't cheap though. I have been lucky enough to have been able to borrow and rent.

[dgraves]

The 24-105 is a nice lens.

[DeanCapture]

Question guys.... We shot a small/micro budget feature movie using Canon t3i's and the 50mm 1.8 -- The nifty 50. (Non adult)

We really love the look of the lens and the bokeh it provides - and the low light quality overall.

But what really kills me is the small focal plane and if a subject moves a bit---they go in to soft focus.

Can anyone recommend another lens for us to try? It doesn't have to go to 1.8 - We have light... but we just need something that is cheap#1 and offers interesting #2 bokeh.

Thanks in advance to anyone that has input!

What aperture are you using? Are you shooting that lens wide open? If so, try stopping it down to F4 of F5.6 and see if that gives you what you want. I have a Canon 50mm 1.4 that I use but can't use it wide open unless I'm doing wide/master shot. Or if I'm looking for artsy/fartsy limited depth of field type stuff. Otherwise, I use smaller aperture and that usually works. You might also try a Canon 35mm lens and see if that helps -

[bhutocracy]

The 24-105 is a nice lens.

Doesn't operate THAT well in low light going from a 1.8 to 4.. well, not against other lenses out there... It's also expensive and he wanted cheap.

[SmutHammer]

you can also bump the iso up to give you more area in focus

[dyna mo]

iso doesn't effect dof.

i was going to recommend going to a 35mm lens, on that t3i, that's = ~50mm, so you will get a deeper dof at the same aperture.

but there are many variables, how far you are from the scene, how far the subject is from the background, your focal length and f-stop.

so i would suggest doing a bit of the math on a dof calculator such as

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html and plugging in your specifics to see what your dof is, then make adjustments to any of the variables you can to create the perfect dof.

[SmutHammer]

iso doesn't effect dof.

i was going to recommend going to a 35mm lens, on that t3i, that's = ~50mm, so you will get a deeper dof at the same aperture.

but there are many variables, how far you are from the scene, how far the subject is from the background, your focal length and f-stop.

so i would suggest doing a bit of the math on a dof calculator such as

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html and plugging in your specifics to see what your dof is, then make adjustments to any of the variables you can to create the perfect dof.

If you use a higher iso, you can use a higher f stop giving you more area to shoot that is in focus.

[johnny o]

stop down the lens genius.

[dyna mo]

If you use a higher iso, you can use a higher f stop giving you less dop.

yes, indirectly iso effects dof, change iso the equivalent of 1 full stop so you'd adjust aperture and/or shutter speed to balance. Sure, but even as good as the canon's are with high iso values (well, the ff, not sure about the cropped sensors) i'd make sure and check for noise eh.

[tony286]

You can get an adapter and then look at a shit load of older lens.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...ge-Lens-Thread

some have very nice quality

[Grapesoda]

Question guys.... We shot a small/micro budget feature movie using Canon t3i's and the 50mm 1.8 -- The nifty 50. (Non adult)

We really love the look of the lens and the bokeh it provides - and the low light quality overall.

But what really kills me is the small focal plane and if a subject moves a bit---they go in to soft focus.

Can anyone recommend another lens for us to try? It doesn't have to go to 1.8 - We have light... but we just need something that is cheap#1 and offers interesting #2 bokeh.

Thanks in advance to anyone that has input!

focal plane = depth of field = f stop 'ON EVERY LENSE' ... you can thank me later...

[candyflip]

You can get an adapter and then look at a shit load of older lens.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...ge-Lens-Thread

some have very nice quality

Love that thread. I have a set of Canon FD lenses that I paid less than $500 for. For the cost, I don't think that there's a better option. Lots of adaptors for these old lenses too.

[kurbsterproductions]

Sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4 OS is what I use mostly on my Nikon D7000, but they make it also for you Canon users.

Best lens I ever bought for the bucks 349.00-399.00 on line from different sellers

My take on a great all purpose lens
The Kurbster