Best cinematic lenses for Scarlet X

[Michael Panfeld]

A 50 is a 50 is a 50 :)

While a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, when you use a 50mm lens on a small sensor size than the lens was designed for, then the field of view that the sensor captures is a smaller portion of the image projected by the lens. Hence, a 50mm 35mmFF lens, when used on a Scarlet with its smaller sensor, will capture the same framing as a 64mm lens designed for the Scarlet's 15 x 30mm sensor. So its not just the focal length of the lens, but the combination of lens + sensor size.

Crop factors have nothing to do with the lens. It has to do with the sensor size.

Exactly my point. If you multiply the crop factor times the focal length, you arrive at the focal length framing equivalent for a lens designed for that smaller sensor.

[Brant Hadfield]

This is a really subjective topic. I think your best bet is to simply try out some different used lenses. Go to a camera store, brick and mortor, and see if they will let you try out some lenses in the store, or buy them with a return possibility. So many people have gone with automatic "modern" glass, that some of the best Nikon glass made showed up in my local camera store at very low prices. I did some research and found many people believe the older, metal body Nikon glass to have a similar character to Cooke lenses. Sharp, but with smooth character and not overly harsh, as I find some modern glass to look, particularly on digital video cameras. I think the lens coatings are very critical to the "look". I have 25mm f.95 Voigtlander micro 4/3 lens I use on my AF100, and it's not the "sharpest" lens I own, but certainly by far the most cinematic looking in the bokeh, and handling of color and highlight. If you want it to look like film, brutally sharp images are not what you want, in my opinion.

[Michael Panfeld]

I think the lens coatings are very critical to the "look".

Brant is correct, coatings do play a part. In addition, older lenses use minerals and chemicals that are now banned in manufacturing. For example lead-based glass is a no no. Thorium is a radioactive isotope that Canon and others used in the 70's era: now banned. The look also has to do with the dispersing agents and the magical brew of chemicals added to glass - an industrial secret recipe that makes Canon glass different from Nikon glasss, different from Fuji glass. Even the basalm used to glue elements together and the paint used on the inside of the barrel affect the image. The bokeh is largely affected by the shape and number of the iris blades. Lens design also plays a big part of the resulting image.

[Terry VerHaar]

There are actually several recent threads where Epic/Scarlet users have posted footage and revealed what lenses they're using. Here is one from my friend Jason Beckwith posted recently where he has some beautiful footage (using Canon L glass, if I recall). This is just one example. ENjoy.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...ges-Heavy-page

[David W. Jones]

If you want it to look like film, brutally sharp images are not what you want, in my opinion.

Well my opinion differs. You can always make a shot look softer...

And what does film look like?
Seinfeld?
The Brady Bunch?
Law and Order?

[Brant Hadfield]

Well my opinion differs. You can always make a shot look softer...

And what does film look like?
Seinfeld?
The Brady Bunch?
Law and Order?

I think it may come down to what film DOES NOT look like. And that would be the short film shot on Scarlet hand-held in Germany. It looks great on a typical laptop LCD or computer monitor. But, I downloaded the file and played back to my 50" Panny studio monitor (no sharpening in monitor) and it was hyper, brutally sharp. Video dead-giveaway. The person who posted it did reveal he'd ADDED sharpening in the down convert, so this further aggravated whatever inherent "video" characteristics may be in the image. It also suffered from pretty pronounced moire in the monitor. I took the file into Avid, and also AE, and experimented with various types and degrees of blur and defocus, and grain, and ended up with a much smoother cinematic looking image. I used a 35mm film and Alexa frame grab as reference too. I agree that you cannot bring back a soft image if captured too soft. But, there's no replacing the nuance of what certain lenses do to an image, or in some cases, the way some lenses hurt the image. There's just far more to aesthetic than detail and K's.

[Todd T]

You seem to be confusing Field of view with focal length.

A 50mm EF lens on an EPIC would have the same field of view as a 50mm cinema lens on an Epic.

The only time crop factors come into play is comparing the FOV of different sized sensors.

What you saying is that a 50mm EF lens on an Epic has the same FOV as a 65mm lens when you compare it to the FOV of a 50mm EF lens on a camera with a larger sensor (i.e. Canon 5d)

While a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, when you use a 50mm lens on a small sensor size than the lens was designed for, then the field of view that the sensor captures is a smaller portion of the image projected by the lens. Hence, a 50mm 35mmFF lens, when used on a Scarlet with its smaller sensor, will capture the same framing as a 64mm lens designed for the Scarlet's 15 x 30mm sensor. So its not just the focal length of the lens, but the combination of lens + sensor size.



Exactly my point. If you multiply the crop factor times the focal length, you arrive at the focal length framing equivalent for a lens designed for that smaller sensor.

[Poj Pitakjamnong]

Hi, I'm planning to shoot both on 4k and 2k and I just bought the 16-35mm F2.8 L Lense. It gives you the 50mm Focal Length for both 2k and 4k. Hope that helps!

[AndrewThomas]

While a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens, when you use a 50mm lens on a small sensor size than the lens was designed for, then the field of view that the sensor captures is a smaller portion of the image projected by the lens. Hence, a 50mm 35mmFF lens, when used on a Scarlet with its smaller sensor, will capture the same framing as a 64mm lens designed for the Scarlet's 15 x 30mm sensor. So its not just the focal length of the lens, but the combination of lens + sensor size.

No. You are wrong and this mis-information needs to stop. A lens doesn't know what camera it is mounted on. A lens manufacturer may list the 35mm equivalent of its focal length for a given sensor size smaller than FF35, but that lens is still whatever focal length it actually is. The only thing that changes when putting a 50mm lens on a crop sensor is that the FOV is narrower than if it were mounted on a larger sensor.

[Jarek Zabczynski]

I am probably get a set of ZE primes for my personal set. I have Canon zooms and the Tokina 11-16mm.