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full screenprintcontentsfull screenprint26 VIDEOMAKER >>> JUNE 2019
versatile and more likely to keep
their place in your arsenal over time.Adapters
Adapters can be used to attach a
lens made for one mount type to
a camera with a different mount.
They can be found for almost any
combination of mounts. Although
they allow you a wider range of the
lenses you can use for a specific
camera, they also have drawbacks.
You’ll still need to consider sensor
size and lens coverage when using
an adapter, and few adapters allow
for digital communication between
the camera and the lens. If you lose
digital communication, you lose
the ability to autofocus, and on
newer lenses, possibly the ability
to change your aperture. Adapters
also can affect the light that passes
through the lens to the sensor,
often cutting a full stop from your
exposure. They’re a handy tool,
but if used, the drawbacks should
always be considered.Cine Lenses
Cine lenses are different from still
lenses in a few ways: they often have
a more robust build and lower toler-
ance for variation in their specs. They
have longer focus throw for smooth
racking and smooth, de-clicked
manual apertures. Cine lenses are
made for use in bad weather. Because
of these demanding specifications,
they are often considerably more
expensive than similar still lenses.
Cine lenses will also measure
aperture in T-stops rather than
F-stops. Unlike F-stops, T-stop
measurements represent how much
light hits the sensor of the camera
rather than how wide the aperture
is. This difference makes T-stopsmore consistent for cinematic ap-
plications. A certain amount of light
that comes into the lens is lost as it
moves through the glass elements
and other parts of the lens and
camera. A lens that has an F-stop
of f/1.2 might have a T-stop of t/1.4,
which would represent a .2 loss of
light. You’ll usually only find T-stops
on cine lenses, since filmmakers
especially value the consistency in
exposure they provide.
Cine primes are much more com-
mon and affordable than cine zooms.
Since it’s important that cine zooms are
parfocal, meaning that they are able to
maintain consistent focus across the
throw of the lens, cine zoom designs
are much more complex and expensive
to manufacture. Because cinematogra-
phers value consistency, cine primes
are often sold in sets. These lenses
share similar image quality characteris-
tics and physical design, making it easy
to switch lenses between shots.Special Options for Lenses
As you shop, you may notice that
some lenses offer additional featuresContributors to this article include Erik Fritts,
Robin Cripe and the Videomaker Editorial Staff.enough to cover a smaller sensor,
meaning they’ll work fine. But, if you
use a lens made for a crop sensor on
a full frame camera, the image will
only cover a portion of the sensor,
creating heavy vignetting of your
image. Unless you very specifically
want this look, avoid using a lens
made for a smaller sensor on a larger
format camera.
Some manufacturers use different
mount subsystems that represent
the sensor size as well. For example,
the Canon EF mount is a full-frame
mount, while the EF-S is for Canon
crop sensors. EF mount lenses will
work on an EF-S cameras, but EF-S
mount lenses will not even attach to
an EF mount system. While lenses
with full frame coverage are generally
more expensive, they are also moreThe best lenses For Video - 2019
BECAUSE CINEMATOGRAPHERS VALUE CONSISTENCY,
CINE PRIMES ARE OFTEN SOLD IN SETS. THESE LENSES
SHARE SIMILAR IMAGE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND
PHYSICAL DESIGN.385 B02 Best Lenses.indd 26 4/23/19 2:01 PMVIDEOMAKER >>> JUNE 2019 27
Contributors to this article include Erik Fritts,
Robin Cripe and the Videomaker Editorial Staff.You can comment on this article by going online:
http://www.videomaker.com/?p=97362intended to make shooting with that
lens a bit easier. Here’s are three of
the most common.AF: Autofocus can be a useful
feature, but unless the camera sup-
ports continuous autofocus, it’s just
not as useful for video work as it is
for stills. With continuous AF, your
camera maintains focus while the
subject moves through focal planes
— clearly, a highly useful function.
While it’s becoming more common,
some cameras don’t offer good
continuous AF, making autofocus
features on a lens somewhat limited
for video.IS: Image stabilization is useful in tak-
ing some of the jitter out of handheld
camera work. While it is definitely
a handy feature, it doesn’t replace
a Steadicam or gimbal. It does help
with minor shakes, however.Aperture Control: Older lenses had
manual aperture control in the form
of a ring, just like the focus ring,
that twisted to stop up or down. This
can be a handy feature when using
lenses on a camera that doesn’t
have digital communication. Most
Cine lenses offer manual aperture
control, but still photography lenses
might not.Conclusion
There are a number of considerations
that go into picking the right lens.
Some big ones include how it will be
used, which camera system it’s for,
and of course, price. There’s no single
lens that suits every need, but with
the right information, you can choose
the best lens for your work.How Much
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I Charge
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RESOURCE
385 B02 Best Lenses.indd 27373 VM Rate Calculator ad two-thirds.indd 48 4/23/19 2:01 PM4/19/18 2:53 PM