Epic Lens Test - Canon vs PL Elite

[Evin Grant]

Control focus and follow focus are very different things. Yes, the remote or even the side handle can be used to focus, but that is not the same as having a properly mapped focus scale with repeatable stops and accurate distance markings. That is what's needed to make AF still lenses useful in production.

[Stephen Pruitt]

I'm still confused here. Based upon what you said above, I would say that the Birger must possess "a properly mapped focus scale with repeatable stops and accurate distance markings," or at least a reasonable facsimile. But you are saying that the REDMote as it now exists does not allow for repeatable stops???

Thanks.

Stephen

[Josh Beadle]

On the cine auto focus topic: Canon 1DX will have 61 point matrix focus @ 12 times per second and record to raw. I don't remember throwing out too many frames from my Canons over the years from confused focusing. On my manual focus lenses . . . well, my eyes aren't getting any sharper. AF will come to cine as it did to still photography. Picture a DP holding a WiFi connected to camera iPad with a stylus dynamically choosing the point/zone of focus in real-time.

[Randall Brown]

@stephen you can dial in the focus feet/ distance in a menu, but to my knowledge you can't turn the wheel on the Redmote or side handle and have it respond, as if you were turning the knob on a follow focus. Though that would be awesome!

[Demetri Zuev]

@stephen you can dial in the focus feet/ distance in a menu, but to my knowledge you can't turn the wheel on the Redmote or side handle and have it respond, as if you were turning the knob on a follow focus. Though that would be awesome!

Wait a minute, Jarred stated in the Canon mount thread that you will be able to pull focus with Redmote's wheel on fully electronic lenses.

[Evin Grant]

Autofocus, as it exists in still cameras, is not useful in film production no matter how accurate or fast it is. Focusing is a creative act that is constantly changing dynamically as the shot changes and different actors or elements eneter or leave the frame. Even with face detection you need a focus puller (this is not the DP's job) to properly choose and ramp the focus form subject to subject. Autofocus may provide fine tuning focus tool that can handle the small adjustments, but for real production it's quite a long way from being ready.

My understanding is that the redmote wheel will be useable for focus but this is no more useful than grabbing the barrel, you need a true preston/berger style follow focus with mapping, a marking wheel and hard stops. This is what I expect the redmote pro to include.

[Jack Shanahan]

welllll...Jannard and some buddies in Vegas did some comparisons btw Canon and cine glass on an earlier thread - and Jim came away disappointed in the performance of most Canons. I use the word "comparison" since I don't think it was a hard core test. Didn't stop me from getting 3 Canon zooms for my Scarlet tho...
Worth a read- JJ has certainly seen his share of glass.

Stu Aull
Alaska

its not really scientific to compare a $1.5k lens to a $3k-$6k+ lens....which is why i have no regrets getting in to some L series primes for a starting point.

[Randall Brown]

@demetri i have the mount and have been shooting with it extensively. I haven't been able to enable the ability to use the scroll wheel as a follow focus knob. Maybe it's coming? If someone who has the mount and camera knows the secret. Let us know.

[paulherrin]

let's throw some non-L canon's in there. i think many will be even more surprised with that in real world conditions. i'd be interested to see it all projected at 4k in a blind test. or just projected at 4k :)

[Lauri Kettunen]

In wildlife shooting PL lenses are often too heavy, so have shot quite a bit with Canon L-series lenses.

My experience seconds what Evin says about shooting wide open. Say take a Canon 24-70mm/f2.8 and the Red 17-85mm and shooting on low light the lens wide open. I think most dedicated people will notice the Canon image is less sharp towards the corners.

What comes to autofocus and following focus, was rather pleased with the Birger Impero controller on R1 that demonstrated an electronic controller can result in beautifully smooth focus. Consequently, have quite a lot of expectations on the Pro Redmote and Canon lenses.

My preliminary experience with the autofocus in Epic has created less plans for serious usage. In low light the autofocus does not seem to spot the focus on moving objects and a pumping autofocus is worse than slightly out of focus in motion capture. In addition, nailing the focus precisely on a desired point, such as an eye of a bird is challenging. However, should add, the autofocus in Epic is very handy to quickly set focus in the beginning of a footage.

When testing Canon lenses, I think it's better to have the backfocus adjusted in maintenance before drawing conclusions.

Finally, the Canon 24-70mm/f2.8 is already bit old design and an updated version from the days of film. The newest designs such as the Canon tele lenses have made a remarkable improvement that can be noticed by a naked eye. Correspondingly, would not be surprised if the new versions of the shorter lenses show a similar stepwise improvement.