How much does RPP lens flare up?

[Frank_L]

Also what are the focal lengths mandatory to shoot a movie? I read it is hard to rent out RPP lenses. Are RPP lenses better than Zeiss Compact Primes? What do you think a market for used RPP goes for excluding the 300mm as I think it is too much in terms of closeness, or does anyone use that? Also the Epic will work with all the lenses and not be under-covering the sensor, right?

Sorry if these questions are dumb, but I'm new to this kind of stuff. Thanks in advance.

[David Mullen ASC]

The majority of shots in most 35mm movies are made in the 18mm to 100mm range so that's a good starting point, but it all depends on your personal style, though if you are shooting in a lot of small interiors, your 300mm isn't going to get a lot of work... And unless you are Terry Gilliam, you probably aren't going to be shooting your close-ups on a 12mm.

Think of the 32mm to 50mm range as being the most "normal" in perspective, view, etc. You could probably shoot a whole movie on a 32mm for example. 25mm is what a lot of "Citizen Kane" was shot on (later Welles mainly used the 18mm, like on "Touch of Evil".) I think of the 25mm lens as being the most subtle wide-angle, below which and it's more obviously a wide-angle shot. Below 18mm and you definitely are distorting the perspective of the space. But just the other day I was shooting a low tracking shot inside a train station on a 15mm just to make it seem more cavernous.

There's a reason why most APS-C digital cameras have kit zoom lenses in the 18mm to 55mm range. That's more or less the same size as 35mm cine, so just play around with an APS-C DSLR with that zoom and learn what the focal lengths give you.

[Frank_L]

Thanks for your insight.

[Clint Lealos]

Questions are never dumb, but some answers are :) I hope this isn't one of them, but I'll give it a shot.

First, RPP are great lenses. Better than CP2s? That is in the eye of the beholder. RPPs are heavier and bigger, but faster lenses. In fact CP2s are miserably slow in the wide range. CP2s have more flexibility with the changeable mount option. Both lenses have excellent build quality.

I find the lens flare on the RPP to be my least favorite characteristic of the lenses. Half of the time you either get an overall flare over the whole image, or you get the flare that I do not like that I call the rainbow flare. The other half of the time the flares are much nicer. So, if I really want a lot of flares I usually will use another set of primes like Ultra Primes. I would say I use RPPs on 90% of the projects I work on and I love them. For the price they are a steal.

There is no mandatory focal lengths needed to shoot a movie, but a very basic set would consist of 18, 25, 35, 50, 85, 100. That is a set of RPPs:)

In some areas of the world it is harder than others to rent the RPPs. I think attitudes are changing as more and more DPs are shooting with RPPs and getting great results. With Epic cameras due to hit the streets soon there will be an even bigger need for PL mount lenses that cover 5K, so you investment is probably safe in RPPs. To my knowledge, all the lenses cover the 5K sensor (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

Good luck!

[Frank_L]

Thanks for the info.