Urgent HELP. EX3 lenses

Dino Ziric · April 9, 2009

I am shooting a project on the EX3 and want the best possible look i can get on this cam. We have the camera for free so there is a budget for glass. What should/can i go with? Video lenses, 35 lenses or still photo even?? I have never worked with high quality video lenses so i don't know what to expect. Would it be better to go with some high end still photo lenses?? Can anyone recommend an affordable rental house in SoCal for photo and video lenses?? Any help appreciated! Thanks!

David Williams · April 9, 2009

I am shooting a project on the EX3 and want the best possible look i can get on this cam. We have the camera for free so there is a budget for glass. What should/can i go with? Video lenses, 35 lenses or still photo even?? I have never worked with high quality video lenses so i don't know what to expect. Would it be better to go with some high end still photo lenses?? Can anyone recommend an affordable rental house in SoCal for photo and video lenses?? Any help appreciated! Thanks!

That's like saying, "I have car, now where do I go?". What is your project? What do you want it to look like? Why is the native lens not suitable? Do you even understand what the effects of the different types of lenses will be?

Dino Ziric · April 10, 2009

That's like saying, "I have car, now where do I go?". What is your project? What do you want it to look like? Why is the native lens not suitable? Do you even understand what the effects of the different types of lenses will be?

Hmm, well the camera lens is most likely not suitable because there will be quite a few car interior scenes. I figure i will need a fairly wide lens. Also we will have a few scenes at night in the car and i need a fast lens. I also need really shallow DOF, my concern is that we will only have a few street blocks closed off for us and i do not want the background to be recognizable so much. Honestly i do not know what difference i will get if i used let's say video vs. still photo lenses. Like i said before my experience with video lenses is limited to whatever the manufacturer includes with the camera most of the time. When i work with still photography or film the solution is obvious, but with let's say the EX3 there are so many different routes to go with. I'm just wondering what will give me a nice crisp look, DOF, and still work with the small budget. Thanks for your help!

Brian Drysdale · April 10, 2009

Hmm, well the camera lens is most likely not suitable because there will be quite a few car interior scenes. I figure i will need a fairly wide lens. Also we will have a few scenes at night in the car and i need a fast lens. I also need really shallow DOF, my concern is that we will only have a few street blocks closed off for us and i do not want the background to be recognizable so much. !

If ypu use a lens adapter you'll lose light going through that compared to just using a video lens. Adapters also tend to soften the image slightly, so you won't get a clean crisp look.

Seemingly, Sony do have a 1/"2 B4 mount to EX3 mount adapter, so it might be worth checking out which lenses options you have using that. It could come down to your budget limitations. The ideal could be to use 2/3" high speed video prime lenses, but they could be expensive to rent unless you get a deal. However, you'd need to check out any mount adapter issues.

David Williams · April 10, 2009

The stock EX3 lens is fairly wide, 5.8mm giving @ 63 deg FOV, or 31mm SLR equivalent. There is a bit of barrel distortion though at that length.

If you need wider and more rectilinear I'd go with 1/2" as Brian suggests. Any of the Fujinon or Canon 1/2" ENG lenses will pop straight on with the supplied 1/2" adapter. 2/3" and Nikon mounts are available too. The Nikon crop factor is about 5.4 I think.

If you must have shallow FOV your best option is the Letus EX3 relay with a Letus Ultimate. The relay is faster than the stock lens F1.5 vs F1.9, then F0.5 for the adapter, plus whatever lens you bang on the end. Actually the EX3 lens ramps from F1.9 to F2.8 between 10mm and wide at 81.2mm, so when you zoom into the adapter to frame it at @ 40mm and F2.4 really. So with a fast prime attached you might end up with only @ a 1 stop loss overall.

The relay is fixed to give academy fov, and the Ultimate can come with your choice of various mounts, including PL. The relay is pretty new though, I don't know if they have hit rental yet?

Dino Ziric · April 11, 2009

Hey guys, thanks for your responses, i really appreciate all the help. I will try the ENG lens option and depending on cost might be forced into the Nikon stills with mount. The Ultima adapter plus a lens on it may be a bit large for a car interior scene. Let me know if you know an affordable rental house. Thanks!