The Best Canon Lens For Video?

ok so i have a canon eos 500d and that is what i shoot all my shizz with. and my 18-55 kit lens just broke. i just hope to god that its not the camera broke as well. it wont auto focus and its like somethings fallen out, its buggered. i really cant afford to pay for another kit lens so i have to go cheaper and hopefully it will work out better.
I am working on extreme low budget so what do y'all think about shooting video with a 50mm lens f/1.8??

what will be the advantages and disadvantages. i dont think not being able to zoom will affect the way i shoot however could anyone just discuss the pro's and con's. thank you so much in advance and hope you can share your experience. thankkks
 
I think, just one lense does affect shooting, but a 50mm could be good compromise.
The bigger problem is the crop factor. That means that a 50mm lense has actually a focal length of 70mm ( factor: 1,5 ; it could be that the factor is 1,6 -> 80mm ).
Therefore a 35mm lense comes in combination with a 550D closer to at least a 50mm focal length.
 
Man Smurfy that sucks! Ill cross my fingers that its not the cam!

I feel your pain. I dont know much, but I was talking with a guy today said the new canons will accept the old FD mount manual lenses.. I have FD 50mm f1.8 on my letus extreme (35mm adapter) seems to work ok.. but going to primes is going to be a big change.. actually MOVING the camera in or out, how old school! :) Good news is you can get a lot of decent glass for a few bucks.. as compared to the new stuff, try b&h or keh.com for old canon lenses..
 
I am working on extreme low budget so what do y'all think about shooting video with a 50mm lens f/1.8??

The DP on the lo-budget film I'm on right now is using a 7D, and has a lens-case with about 15 lenses in it - the fixed 50mm is seeing a lot of action, though he does change it out for special occasions every now & then. The footage it's getting looks really great, though it is just one of the tools that's being used.

I can't really give you any pros & cons though. Just observations. I really don't know a lot about cameras & lenses.

Hope your camera itself ain't broken. Definitely get it checked out before spending money on new accessories, though... 'cos the way you described it, it doesn't sound healthy at all.
 
the crop factor doesn't apply to white grade lenses [like the 18-55 kit lens]

the lens is closer to the sensor, and there is a white square on the back end.

Red fit however [most third part lenses & nice canon lenses] will be red fit, which you will need to take into account the crop factor.

i'd reccommend buying another 18-55 on the cheap - ebay or 2nd hand camera shop.

otherwise fixed lenses give a much nicer crisp photo.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

that will give roughly 70mm on your camera not 50mm


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4570245169/ [these photo was taken with a 500d and that 50mm lens]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4575491033/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4562648461/in/photostream/


[these ones with the regular 18-55mm lens]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4422516364/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4319372047/in/set-72157623475244315/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigmikeyeah/4255559362/in/set-72157623599809888/

sorry about the random subjects, i don't have two of the same photo, although i can upload a few tests if you wish.
 
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thanks everyone, i can still use my lens but you basically have to force the focus wheel and manual focus it. i am going into town this weekend and will checkout the prices where i am: i would order it from amazon but i dont think it will get through customs.
thanks again
Callum
 
Milk: the pictures with that lens look amazing compared to the kit lens. the colours really stand out, and well just generally nice to look at if i use the scientific terms. haha.
BTW if you could upload some test footage to youtube of a room with the 50mm that would be great because all of the stuff already on youtube is close up and focus pulling so it would be good to see how a bigger area would look. thanks :->
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GolkvC_zDxs

theres the first video, don't worry too much about the awful panning action on my tripod, it really is mostly the tripod. However the rolling shutter doesn't deal well with movement. Which you'll get on all DSLR video. [as far as i'm aware]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhO6EsDOdT8

Here is both lenses, the 50mm lens first, and the video skips onto the 18-55 lens. interestingly the colour seems to be better, more saturated on the 18-55mm lens, but i'm not sure if that is because of the filters i have on, one is a 1A skylight and the other a UV very cheap. i'll take both off and re film something more interesting.

The efs 18-55 lens is focusing on the second part of the second video, it takes a ridiculous amount of time to focus. the USM motor is quicker, but not by much. the live view focusing is supposed to be quicker in the firmware update, if it ever arrives.

One good thing about the focusing is the ability to zoom in on the screen so you can see if what you're trying to focus on is actually in focus, but you can only access this before it has started recording.
 
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Shooting video (for a film) auto focus will be turned off anyway, and primes are the way to go. Most movies you could get by with a 50mm, an 85mm and a 135mm, though you'd have more flexibility if you also had a 35mm, a 28mm, and an 85mm. Most people seem to default to a 50mm because it's the closest to a human eye. My default lens is a 28mm. Virtually alll my masters are shot with a 28.
 
i didn't know that, how do keep it in focus when you pan or the subject moves closer? do you have to do that manually?

Another thing with DSLRs is you can't use the eyepiece when filming, the mirror is locked up to allow the sensor to be exposed. Which makes manual focusing difficult, i think.
 
Never shot on a DSLR, so didn't know that about the viewfinder being locked. You have to have some way of seeing what the camera is seeing right... you'd focus using that. I have shot with a redrock for nikon lenses on an HVX200a. When you pan or tilt, or dolly, or whatever you pull focus. You're manually focusing the camera as you move. It can be done with the viewfinder or the screen, but it's better to use a monitor. If auto focus is turned on it seems it would be a nightmare to have the focus where you want it, that it would tend to jump around.
 
i guess the only viable way of doing it with a DSLR is using it with a laptop, or some sort of monitor with the video out connection

Do DSLRs have a video out of some kind?
That's basically standard with anything you shoot on. It's too hard to focus on the little viewfinder screen, so most people use a monitor. Maybe not for quick and dirty or guerilla shooting, but for a long slog on set shooting a feature (or even an ambitious short) , no way I'd shoot without a monitor.
 
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i have concluded it was the skylight filter which affected the colours on the EF lens, so when you buy your lens i reccommend buying a decent 1A skylight filter for around £10-20, the UV filter i had on the other lens was £2 and does no justice to the lens, so i'll be replacing that.

Also i have had a look at the lens i have, and it isn't the £90 lens it's £390 so... these tests aren't really to be anything to go from. However, there isn't too much difference, mainly the fact the aperature is F1.8 on the £90 lens, and mine is F1.4 the £300 lens has a better build and a faster focusing motor, and there is probably a better focus range.

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/EF_Lenses/Fixed_Focal_Length/index.aspx

have a look at canon's fixed focal length lenses, then check prices and try to find an alternative. Try to avoid sigma & tamron 3rd party lenses. In my experience, they're not as good. i'll upload a shot i took with a 300mm sigma, 1/1000 sec exposure with blurring, i was sat in a car while taking it, but still, it's pretty bad. haha.

http://i50.tinypic.com/x0z483.jpg
 
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ok thanks for the video anyways. Hey could anyone tell me... you say to shoot a movie it would be good to have a 28 a 50 an 85 and so on. if i got a zoom lens instead: 28mm - 155mm would it be the same? and a lot cheaper it seems? like so i could just set it myself. i think i am missing the concept of a fixed lens but is it just the same to have a variable focal length? is it better than buying multiple lenses?
 
As Im just getting into using SLR lenses, I hope to gather understanding in this area too..

So far in my research I think some of the reasons why Prime lenses are prefered are as follows:

More accurate focus math. In other words, using a tape measure and marks on the lens to set focus, as opposed to using what you "see" in the LCD\viewfinder. Imagine how much more difficult that would be with a "floating" focal length.

Similarly, integrating with match move and in camera special effects is "n" times more difficult with a squishy focal point. FOV changes etc..

Doing one thing "Great", vs. Doing several things "Good" - zoom lenses are a compromise between image quality and flexibility. You give up quality for the ability to zoom. Thats not saying they look bad.. but what do I know..

????
 
ah yeah, you get software with canon slr's which allows you to shoot using the computer screen as a monitor or you can use a mini hdmi cable with a tv, i'm not sure if you could get a monitor for this purpose, probably not. but on high end DSLRS there are different connections to allow for external monitors, there are also alternatives like this thing that just enlarges the back panel lcd i think.
 
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