Different Lenses

[Marquette Trishaun]

Hello All,

 

I have a question about the various lense manufacturers out there today. I have a DP friend who squares by the Cooke glass.

 

My only experience is with Canon and Ageneiux (pardon the spelling). Recently I am looking into shooting my next film with a set of primes, and would like to get some different opinions about the avaible choices out there.

 

Also I am looking for opinions about doing anamorphic on S16, is it really worth the hassle.

 

Thanks in advance,

Marquette

[Elhanan Matos]

So far from my experience with lenses I have learned that every lens has its own unique characteristics, and its really about which lens suites your movie the most. The majority of work I do is HD and for HD I prefer Zeiss Digiprimes over any other lens out there. As far as film lenses go I have only used the Arri Superspeeds, Arri Ultraprimes, and Cooke S4's. Each one has a different look.

 

I would really recommend you go to a rental and shoot some tests to see which lenses suite the look your going for.

 

One really neat thing I noticed about the Cooke S4's are the way things go out of focus with them. They are absolutely amazing lenses.

[DavidSloan]

Unfortunately it comes down to personal preferance and experience. Someone telling you he likes Zeiss lenses or Arri superspeeds means nothing to you because you have no point of reference. You really just have to go out and test them. I often hear about this lens doing this or that, and I think "hmm..that's not what I'm looking for," but then I see it and find it looks great. The point is, people telling you this lens is sharp, clear, soft, etc...is completely abstract. It's a visual medium: you have to see it! What's soft and murky to them may be exactly what you want!

 

If you have it in your budget shoot tests and see.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Are there any examples of different lenses? I thought the better the lens, the sharper the image, because of optical quality. (And faster the lens)

 

Didn't know they each had their own individual look.

Edited November 15, 2004 by Daniel J. Ashley-Smith

[J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR]

Besides testing them personaly you can go see films knowing what lenses were used. You can really see a difference with the Cooke lenses. Watch a Deakins film you'll see it. Lovely in the OOF areas.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

Yeh but finding out what lens they used is a task as it is. Unless there's some source listing the equipment they used I'm unaware of.

[David Mullen ASC]

At some point, comparing the top of the line prime lenses is a little like comparing wines, because technically they are all similar, sharpness-wise, but vary in subtle ways (contrast, how the image falls out of focus, how it handles direct flare, indirect flare, etc.) It's not so much whether an Zeiss Ultra Prime is better or worse than a Cooke S4, but which you like the feeling of.

[Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith]

comparing the top of the line prime lenses is a little like comparing wines

Ooooo.. I doubt testing lenses is as fun though.. ;)

 

 

What would the difference be between, say, the lens they used in "Lord of the Rings" and "Dodgeball" ? I mean, it looks different, but the lenses both films used must have been damn good quality.

 

Is it JUST the quality that's different? Or does it actually determine a unique "look" ? (i.e. like using different film)

Edited November 15, 2004 by Daniel J. Ashley-Smith

[Marquette Trishaun]

Thanks Guys,

 

I can gather a lot from what's been said so far. Although I don't have the money and resources to test out the many different lenses right now, I think I will just pick a good set of primes and learn on a project by project bases. Unless you can shoot the same test with lenses on still cameras that you can with motion picture film by RGB labs.

 

The comments by my friend that threw up a flag for me was his statement about the Cooke glass being slightly warmer than most lenses. Now I can deal with slight differences in things like sharpness, but a lense making an image warmer or cooler is different story.

[J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR]

Yeh but finding out what lens they used is a task as it is. Unless there's some source listing the equipment they used I'm unaware of.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Read American Cinematographer, they give the lowdown on that stuff or ask here.

[DavidSloan]

Thanks Guys,

 

I can gather a lot from what's been said so far.  Although I don't have the money and resources to test out the many different lenses right now, I think I will just pick a good set of primes and learn on a project by project bases.  Unless you can shoot the same test with lenses on still cameras that you can with motion picture film by RGB labs.

 

The comments by my friend that threw up a flag for me was his statement about the Cooke glass being slightly warmer than most lenses.  Now I can deal with slight differences in things like sharpness, but a lense making an image warmer or cooler is different story.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I have never heard of glass affecting color temperature to a degree that the image is noticeably warmer! Can anyone confirm this guy's statement?

[David Mullen ASC]

Some individual older lenses will impart a color cast (pink, green, etc.) but it can easily be timed out. I've never heard of a modern lens like a Cooke S4 causing a warm color cast, but even if it did, it could be adjusted out in post. What makes these modern lens sets so desirable is that they match each other, color-wise, so you don't have to spend as much time in post color-correction getting shots to match.