What makes a good lens?

Michael Rogers

Michael Rogers

What do you look for in a lens?


I guess I've always been curious... how do you know if a lens is good or not? What are the deciding factors for quality when you choose a lens?


I just got an HDSLR after being skeptical of the craze... now I need to learn what needs to accompany it.

Answers?
 
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More expensive means better ;)

Just kidding.. kind of lol

I look at the apeture, image quality, distortions, any weird dark spots. Also, the material that the lens is made out off, so I could throw it at my sound guy if he keeps f*king up the frame line!
 
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Most photo lenses are glass, you have to go into the either crazy cheap or crazy expensive lomography type lenses to get plastic optics.

The housing though on cheap lenses (like the Canon f/1.8 50mm) is plastic and also important, the mount is plastic.

A quality lens doesn't distort the image, doesn't vignette, doesn't flare and has even lighting and color throughout. You know, basically all the stuff we do in post to make an image look cool.

When lens shopping, you first decide prime or zoom. Zoom can change focal lenght (ie 18mm-135mm) where a prime is fixed (50mm). The pro's to zooms are versatility, the pro's to prime is a better price/quality ratio.

Then figure out your focal length. How tight or wide do you want the image. 35mm and under is generally considered wide, 50ish is standard and 80-200ish is telephoto and longer than that is super telephoto.

Then decide on aperture. Prime lenses can be really fast for a great price. There's a couple that go to f/1 (for about $10,000 each) and then most are between f/1.2 and f/2. The smaller the number, the more light the lens lets in and the less light you need on set. Cheap zooms however are usually variable aperture and slower overall. That means that the aperture changes as you zoom in. You can get fixed aperture zooms, but they cost more and only a rare few are faster than f/2,8, some are f/4.

That's the breakdown, there's so many choices no one can answer what the right lens is for you. And there isn't a single lens that can do everything, that's why you build a kit full.

If you're only buying ONE lens, I recommend the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L, Superb qualuty, relatively fast and relatively versatile.
 
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PaulGriffith said:
Then decide on aperture. Prime lenses can be really fast for a great price. There's a couple that go to f/1 (for about $10,000 each) and then most are between f/1.2 and f/2. The smaller the number, the more light the lens lets in and the less light you need on set. Cheap zooms however are usually variable aperture and slower overall. That means that the aperture changes as you zoom in. You can get fixed aperture zooms, but they cost more and only a rare few are faster than f/2,8, some are f/4.

That's the breakdown, there's so many choices no one can answer what the right lens is for you. And there isn't a single lens that can do everything, that's why you build a kit full.

If you're only buying ONE lens, I recommend the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L, Superb qualuty, relatively fast and relatively versatile.
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Dont forget vintage lenses!!! high quality well built lens for the fraction of the price..tho these are going up in price since people are redicovering these but still a better deal....but be careful on who and what you buy.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vivitar-200...90676165?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item53e8f54ec5
im not saying to buy this ..its just an example what you can get
 
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Psychosis Media said:
Dont forget vintage lenses!!! high quality well built lens for the fraction of the price..tho these are going up in price since people are redicovering these but still a better deal....
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true. i have vintage olympus om lenses on my gh2 and they're awesome! i have the 50mm 1.7 and the 28mm 2.8...together they cost me about 65 squid...
 
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Yeah..i had dived into finding a vintage lenses...right now im in hope my current bid for a super tak stays as is....but here is a list of top rated lenses..at least these are the names that keep poping up

Helios 44m 58mm f2
MIR 24m 35mm f2
Nikon MF lenses
Helios 40-2 f1.5
Takumar SMC 50mm f1.4
Leica-R series lenses
Olympus OM
Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5
Nikkor 105mm f/2.5
Nikkor 180mm f/2.8

othe metionables
Vivitar 28mm f2.0 Close Focus
Porst 35mm f1.8
Super Takumar 50mm f1.4
Helios 40-2 85mm f1.5
Jupiter-9 85mm f2.0
Vivitar 90mm f2.5 macro
Porst 135mm f1.8
Jupiter 6-2 180mm f2.8

the mir and ziess will be the most expensive but also the best lenses ever made from what i gather...so if you can find an excellent mir or ziess that is 1/2 of a modern lens you might want to at least look at it.

these 2 vids started me to look at vintage lens 1st one is a mir
http://vimeo.com/13866779
2nd helios
http://vimeo.com/10942299
i found all this info and list on another forum so do some research
 
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woohoo! just scored a Asahi SMCTakumar 55mm F:2.0 screw mt (m42). $15.50 for da bid and $8.25 fer shipping! so for $25 <verry cheap score!) i got an awsome lens! took me awhile i kept getting out bidded lol...now to find a helios and im working on a SCHNEIDER XENAR 50MM 2.8 ZEBRA ...but that 4days away ..anyway i cant wait to get my adapter an do some test filming!
 
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Diving into vintage lenses would give need for a lot of adapters though, am I right? I know a friend of mine has a helios that they got for like $20, I'm definitely thinking about going the vintage lens route....
 
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ADAPTERS: Camcorder to 35mm lenses

I have a camcorder (1/2.5-inch C-MOS sensor) with a threaded filter mount.

With a step up ring + double male ring I could attach a Nikon F-mount adapter.

Something like this:
novoflex-adapter-for-nikon-lens-to-sony-nex-camera.jpg


To that I'd like to dabble in some manual focus Nikon/Nikkor lenses, starting with a 50mm.


Questions:
A - Have any of you crazy people out there ACTUALLY TRIED THIS, and what was the outcome?

B - If not, in principle, should it work?

C - What kind of aberrations (vignetting, FUBAR focus, magnification effects, etc.) should I expect from the additions to the front of the camcorder's lens?

D - Can someone help me out on some basic Nikon lens lore?
50mm-Lenses-Compared.jpg

From left to right: Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.4D, Nikon 50mm f/1.4G and Sigma 50mm EX DG HSM.

I understand the Nikon Series E is a less than optimal product made for amateur consumers.
Good enough? Get something else? What's better?

Thank you.
 
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rayw said:
I have a camcorder (1/2.5-inch C-MOS sensor) with a threaded filter mount.

With a step up ring + double male ring I could attach a Nikon F-mount adapter.

Something like this:
novoflex-adapter-for-nikon-lens-to-sony-nex-camera.jpg


To that I'd like to dabble in some manual focus Nikon/Nikkor lenses, starting with a 50mm.


Questions:
A - Have any of you crazy people out there ACTUALLY TRIED THIS, and what was the outcome?

B - If not, in principle, should it work?

C - What kind of aberrations (vignetting, FUBAR focus, magnification effects, etc.) should I expect from the additions to the front of the camcorder's lens?

D - Can someone help me out on some basic Nikon lens lore?
50mm-Lenses-Compared.jpg

From left to right: Nikon 50mm f/1.8D, Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, Nikon 50mm f/1.4D, Nikon 50mm f/1.4G and Sigma 50mm EX DG HSM.

I understand the Nikon Series E is a less than optimal product made for amateur consumers.
Good enough? Get something else? What's better?

Thank you.
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I haven't tried it but, unless you have manual focus on the cam, you will have a hell of a time getting it to focus. You will lose quite a bit of light due to the multiple lenses (amount will vary). That doesn't even get into any mismatch between the sensor and lens sizes. If you try this, be sure to post the results, no matter what they are.
 
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Lucky Hardwood said:
I haven't tried it but, unless you have manual focus on the cam, you will have a hell of a time getting it to focus. You will lose quite a bit of light due to the multiple lenses (amount will vary). That doesn't even get into any mismatch between the sensor and lens sizes. If you try this, be sure to post the results, no matter what they are.
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All very valid points of concern and E X A C T L Y why I posed this question before trying this (possibly) dumb stunt.
I hadn't considered either the sensor confabulation or loss of light, which certainly makes sense. :)
 
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