a TL prime on SL for video purpose?

[tomasis7]

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As the title says, Id like to try a prime with AF for only video purposes. Has anyone tried that? What I've understood is that Super35 is similar to APS-C. 

[BernardC]

20 hours ago, tomasis7 said:

As the title says, Id like to try a prime with AF for only video purposes. Has anyone tried that? What I've understood is that Super35 is similar to APS-C. 

I haven't tried the TL primes specifically, but I've used many Super 35 primes on the SL. You are correct that Super 35 and APS-C are similar in size, so you won't have any problems with lens coverage. The SL defaults to Super 35/APS-C when shooting 4K or UHD anyway, so it will be seamless.

[tomasis7]

17 hours ago, BernardC said:

I haven't tried the TL primes specifically, but I've used many Super 35 primes on the SL. You are correct that Super 35 and APS-C are similar in size, so you won't have any problems with lens coverage. The SL defaults to Super 35/APS-C when shooting 4K or UHD anyway, so it will be seamless.

Ok! Cool with Super 35, I assume you have fancy focus system?

I looked at various lenses and have been thinking. Maybe I should go for Panasonic S 24-105 OIS. It is a bit clunky but it'd be nice with some OIS to compensate for the lack of IBIS. 

I heard that Panasonic lenses aren't optimal for the SL focus system. Is that so? 

[BernardC]

3 hours ago, tomasis7 said:

Ok! Cool with Super 35, I assume you have fancy focus system?

To be honest, I rarely use a follow-focus. It's a pain to set-up, and most of the time I can focus just fine without it. I do keep lens gears permanently on my old Contax lens set, just in case.

It really depends what you are trying to achieve with video. For Super-35, 18mm to 50mm is probably all you'll ever need, unless you are doing something really specialized. Ultra-wides and telephotos don't present very naturally on the big screen, so their use tends to be very purposeful. They are used when you want to create an uneasy frame.

IBIS and OIS can be useful for some types of shots, but they can also be very "jerky," as seen in countless YouTube hand-held shots. I don't consider stabilization to be a very useful tool, but again it depends on your use case.

[tomasis7]

On 2/21/2024 at 2:25 PM, BernardC said:

To be honest, I rarely use a follow-focus. It's a pain to set-up, and most of the time I can focus just fine without it. I do keep lens gears permanently on my old Contax lens set, just in case.

It really depends what you are trying to achieve with video. For Super-35, 18mm to 50mm is probably all you'll ever need, unless you are doing something really specialized. Ultra-wides and telephotos don't present very naturally on the big screen, so their use tends to be very purposeful. They are used when you want to create an uneasy frame.

IBIS and OIS can be useful for some types of shots, but they can also be very "jerky," as seen in countless YouTube hand-held shots. I don't consider stabilization to be a very useful tool, but again it depends on your use case.

okay, it is interesting regarding OIS or AF. I'm not sure what I need specifically. I want a general setup and test different things. A bit shaky lens movements are cool. I noticed that the 35mm lens is just ok to hold on. 90mm is impossible. I thought why not get a wider 24mm lens? Zoom lenses are clunkier and I try to avoid heavy stuff. 

My widest lens is 35mm since 21mm is incompatible with the SL body. I only have M-lenses. I don't need AF for photography but not sure what Id want for video. What is your advice?

Eventually, newer used bodies will support 35mm recording though super 35 primes sound fun and not expensive. 

Edited February 23, 2024 by tomasis7

[BernardC]

19 minutes ago, tomasis7 said:

okay, it is interesting regarding OIS or AF. I'm not sure what I need specifically. I want a general setup and test different things. A bit shaky lens movements are cool. I noticed that the 35mm lens is just ok to hold on. 90mm is impossible. I thought why not get a wider 24mm lens? Zoom lenses are clunkier and I try to avoid heavy stuff. 

My widest lens is 35mm since 21mm is incompatible with the SL body. I only have M-lenses. I don't need AF for photography but not sure what Id want for video. What is your advice?

A lot of this you'll need to figure-out for yourself. I can give you general advice, but you need to find your personal style, and decide what works best for each project.

I never use stabilization for video, but that's partly because I am a very stable shooter. I know it's been a godsend for many. If you are using stabilization, make sure you give it the least amount of work to do. It's good at smoothing-out a slight shake, but it can only do so much before reaching its limits. You'll often notice sharp jumps in stabilized shots because the sensor or lens over-extended and went back to its zero position. Some cameras or lenses offer a stabilization mode for panning shots, which is useful because the default "still" mode slows-down the beginning of a camera pan, and then catches-up all at once.

The choice of focal lengths for motion shots tends to be a lot more conservative, unless you are going for a specific effect. We all remember shots, and entire films, that use very wide or long lenses, but most of the time you don't want your lens to be conspicuous. Examples: the long shot at the beginning of Reservoir Dogs which was done with a super-tele (a Canon 600, I think), or Brazil which was shot with ultra-wides (supposedly a 14mm). Most of what you see in movies (and don't notice) is shot in the 24mm to 50mm range. That's around 35mm to 70mm on a full-frame sensor. A 21 and even 18 can work well, especially with static shots. One slight quirk is that you should frame tighter for smaller screens (smartphones), and wider for big screens. The 18-55 TL zoom would be ideal to cover that range.

Aperture is similarly conservative in classical cinema. Most of the time you want to be around the middle of your range (5.6), but there are plenty of examples of shallow or deep focus used for creative effect.

AF is a personal preference. I don't use it for video, but that's just me. It's hard to get it to do exactly what I want, with the right timing.

Zooms vs. primes: both work. Zooms are faster to set-up, so you can work faster. The previous points apply: Warhol was zoom-crazy in many of his "home movies," but he did it for a reason. Most of the time a zoom is used as a variable prime: you pick one setting and stay there for the whole shot.

The rest everybody will tell you. Sound is at-least 50% of a successful scene. Shoot lots of "coverage," like close-ups of important action; you'll need it later for editing. Practice a lot, so you build-up muscle memory. If your friends and family get annoyed, do what I do; go to your local riverbank and practice your focus and camera movements with the local wildlife.