Which lens is more professional?

G

gregbankley

I am looking to invest in a quality, professional lens for my gh2 panasonic. I have a 12mm slr magic and a couple canon fd lenses, but I figure a 25mm would be a good all around lens to invest in. Through research I have landed on the nokton 25mm .95 and also the Leica 25mm 1.4. The nokton is a good $500 more and I assume better quality, I am just wondering if its worth it to get the nokton over the Leica? Is the Leica quality and sharp enough (but not too much) for a professional film shoot? I read that the show Portlandia Uses DSLR's and I think Canon L lenses, and I am going for that style of shooting. I also know Louie the FX hit uses zeiss ultra primes which are way out of my budget but still the style I am going for... Some lenses I have found were too sharp and not believable to use.

Here's a clip of Portlandia so you can see the style I am somewhat going for. Doesn't seem too crazy to reach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w

What lens would you recommend? Would you recommend an L lens over the nokton?
 
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I don't have any experience with nokton lenses, but I own a small collection of Canon L's and they're fantastic (with the exception of the 200mm f2.8 which I found rather underwhelming).

If you can rent those lenses to try them out, that would be ideal -- you'll want to look at sharpness, color casting, and aberrations (especially at wider apertures). Favor primes over zooms (sharper image, wider maximum aperture, less barrel/pincushion distortion).

Even the regular (non-ultra) Zeiss primes have amazing build quality and work great for manual focusing.
 
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Are you talking about the Leica D 25mm? The $500 one? Because the Canon 24mm f1.4 L is about 3 times the price..? And the Nokton is over double the price?

There are many different types of Leica lenses, they are really great lenses but if you're comparing a $500 lens with a $1500 lens, then the $1500 lens is going to be better..
 
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Yeah I should have been more specific but I was talking about the $500 one. And everyone is always compari ng the Leica 25mm vs the nokton 25mm (which is $500 more) and some say the Leica is better so I was just seeing different opinions. Of course the 1500 would be better than the 500 dollar lens but what about the nokton compared to an L lens?

I'm just trying to see what I should save up for - one great lens. Does anyone know if I wanted to shoot something like the Portlandia quality/style, which lens would be best? A canon L lens? Or something like the nokton? I'm open for more options...

I do plan on renting I just want to pick out a few to rent and see. Thanks again for the help.
 
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If you're going with primes, you're definitely going to need more than one lens.

I've never seen Portlandia, so could you describe the sort of look/feel that you're aiming for. That might help us help you with your initial lens selection. Be aware that when it comes to lenses, you get what you pay for. If you get a cheaper lens now, you'll just be replacing it in the future.
 
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Escher Thank you for your help.

I'm aware I will need more lenses, and I do currently own a couple Canon Fd lenses (24mm and 50mm) which are decent and I also recently purchased a 12mm slr magic hyperprime. It was $600 and I thought would be my go-to lens but Its a little wide. I definitely love it and plan to keep it but I want to invest in another lens that will be more usable and accompany the SLR magic 12mm (thats why the 25mm excites me).

But you are so right about buying a cheap lens, that is why I want to invest in a good one now, I just want to find the best bang for my buck. I was always worried about getting a lens that was "too sharp" or would give the "soccer mom" feel, but I'm also realizing I need something sharp for filming a tv series/documentary.

As far as Portlandia. Here is a clip the show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w

The style and cinematography is one thing, but I am looking for more of the quality of the lens I would have to purchase to get this kind of quality. Its probably out of my range but I am just curious what to strive for. This is a shot of a cameraman on the set of Portlandia and what camera they use. Looks like a DSLR>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2LBICPEK6w
 
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Got it.

First off, there is no such thing as "too sharp". If you want to lose image quality, do it in post. What you want is to capture the best image you can in-camera, as that gives you the best starting point for developing your final look.

On to the Portlandia clips: A lot of the quality there is in the lighting and in color grading. That filmic look they have appears to derive from them shooting with wide apertures for that shallow depth-of-field. To really pull this off, you need lenses that have a lot of clarity. Cheaper lenses will (especially at longer focal lengths) have a sort of flat, muddy look to them. The more expensive lenses will give you images that really pop without having to pull tricks like local contrast enhancement (eg. the Unsharp Mask filter at maximum radius and low strength/amount).

For video, manual focus is what you'll be using, so I'd pay attention to the quality of the focusing ring in addition to image quality.

Your camera is a crop-factor camera, right? Okay, so 50mm will make for a decent medium and close-up lens. You'll want one that opens up to f2.0 or f1.4 or thereabouts. A 35mm lens is the "normal" focal length for crop-factor cameras, but I find that they tend to look a bit boring. If you get a 35mm, invest in a really good one also at f1.4. For wide-angle, 18mm should suit you well, as going wider will introduce a lot of distortion. If 18mm is too wide, 24/25 will make a decent substitute. Finally, you'll want something in the 135-200mm range (the Canon 135mm L is a fantastic lens if you can use EF-mount lenses -- I used it to take this image) when you really need to isolate your subject of if you want to make the background look very large and close compared to the foreground subjects.
 
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Oops! I do that too much.

Here is the shot of the camera crew on Portlandia

https://sites.google.com/a/alexandrosmaragos.com/www/R2.jpg

But thank you Escher. My camera is indeed a crop factor camera, so wouldn't getting a 135mm L lens be too much of a close up? I would like to invest a $1,000 or so in a lens that can be versatile, and then I will use for most of my shots. I was thinking 25mm or 35mm would be a good focal length to invest in, but do you think it would be better to invest in a longer focal length? Are there L lenses around the 25/35mm focal length? And I totally see what your saying now about DOF.
 
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If you're on a budget, start with a 24mm and a 50mm. If you find yourself shooting in small spaces, add an 18mm. The 135mm, while not absolutely crucial, will let you get interesting shots you just can't get with a 50mm. Aside from the very pretty and shallow DOF, remember that longer focal lengths will make the background seem larger/closer and can be very handy in making your film look like it was shot in a larger world.
 
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I can't see the clips as they're 'not available in [my] country'

BUT

You already have a 24mm, so why are you looking for a 25mm?

Honestly, if you've only got $1,000 for one lens, I'd invest in a good zoom, maybe an L zoom like the 24-105 f4 L.

It's really difficult to only recommend one prime, you should really be looking at investing in a set if you want to shoot with them
 
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I should of been more clear: my 24mm is a canon fd f2.8 and I feel its not great in low light and also its not the look I am going for. I would consider selling it once I got another lens But investing in a set of primes is a good idea. I'm just wondering how a canon L lens compares to something like a carl zeiss lens (not ultra prime) or a nokton?.. I don't want to get a Canon L lens and feel that it won't fit in with my slr magic 12mm.. but then again I could sell the 12mm and get an L lens or a set of primes...

As for Zoom lenses, I have always been told prime will triumph with quality and I do need the best quality. Thanks again for all the help.
 
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To answer your question about a Canon 35mm L lens, yes they do make a 35mm f1.4L and it is wonderful. Used, one will cost you in the $1200-$1500 range. I have it, the 50mm f1.2L and the 85mm f1.2L II. This is my base prime kit, but I shoot full frame (5Ds). Since you're rocking the GH2 with it's 1.9X crop factor, a 25mm lens will be in the normal range for you. Your 12mm makes a good wide lens and a 50mm will be a medium telephoto (98mm). The 135mm comes out to 256.5mm, which is significantly telephoto. Canon FD mount lenses can be a good value for you. You might also want to check out the Russian Kiev type lenses (Jupiter series etc.), they are copies of old Zeiss lenses.
 
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