Wide Angle Cinematography Lens

Jeremy Burnes · November 20, 2012

Hi ...

I'm trying to setup a wide angle shoot that roughly duplicates the FOV of classics like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as well as Tarantino films like Resevoir Dogs etc...

I've heard that at least some of the Tarantino films were shot at 24mm on Super35. I don't know for sure because I don't have access to the production details for any of those, but I'll try to back into the what lenses they may have used. Could someone do a sanity check on what I should use?

1. Super35 image area should be very close to the Nikon APS-C format, which is a 1.5 crop sensor compared to standard 35mm photographic film stock.

2. I'll be using a hacked GH2 which is a Micro 4/3 format and has about a 2.0 crop factor.

3. 1.5/2.0 = 3/4. So to correct 24mm on Super35 for Micro4/3 sensor size you multiply 24 by .75 which yields 18mm.

In micro 4/3 the lens with the best combination of build quality, speed and closeness to 18mm is the Voightlander 17.5mm f0.95 which is roughly a $1300 lens and would be about a 22 - 23mm on Super35.

Some have said that the GH2 is actually a 1.89 crop. 1.5/1.89 * 24mm = 19mm. That's almost 20mm. If my calculations are correct I might be able to find an old Nikon Nikor, Pentax Super Takumar or Minolta Rokkor 20mm fully manual.

I also have a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 that I can adapt to the GH2. That might be a little too wide -- even at the long end since 16 / (1.5/1.89) is about a 20mm on Super35. I have heard of some films shot on 21mm, but I don't know what film stock they were using.

So any help is greatly appreciated. I'll admit I'm just an amateur here having only one film under my belt and that one being DSLR and might be way off on my calculations. Obviously there many people here with a lot of experience on actual film, so I value your opinions.

Thanks,

eris