Canon 11.5 - 138 & Canon 11-165 for S16 - Your Thoughts?

[Karl Lee]

Judging from a few threads I've found (one started just recently), it sounds like most people speak highly of the Canon 8 - 64 lens. I've been considering a Canon 11.5 - 138 or a Canon 11-165 for use with a S16 camera. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on these two longer Canon S16 lenses, and if so, do they live up to the reputation of the Canon 8 - 64? Does one of these two longer lenses tend to have a better reputation than the other, or is their performance generally considered equivalent in terms of image quality?

 

Thanks!

[Robert Houllahan]

Both of those lenses are newer than the 8-64 and are a bit better design (especially the early black 8-64 which had element separation issues) you just lose the wide end of the lens and they are bigger and heavier.

[John Jaquish]

I've used both the 8-64 and the 11-165. I've had great results from both. Although, I used each in different projects with different stocks, so couldn't give a precise quality comparison; my opinions will be mostly subjective. I used the former on a documentary and the latter on a narrative short with a Microforce zoom controller, both on color S16mm.

 

The long zooms in this short are on the 11-165:

 

https://vimeo.com/36322754 (password: raccoon -- also, please excuse the simplicity of the story; it was more or less a technical exercise.)

 

Actually, Rob, this was processed and transferred at Cinelab, not sure if it was you handling the telecine. Either way, I was pleased with the results.

[Robert Houllahan]

That was me on the DaVinci, I wouldn't forget that cabin in the woods and two guys with guns, even after the zillions of feet through he machine since this job..;-)

 

Always nice to see the raw footage as a film...

[John Jaquish]

Haha, thanks, Rob!

[Dom Jaeger]

Both of those lenses are newer than the 8-64 and are a bit better design (especially the early black 8-64 which had element separation issues) you just lose the wide end of the lens and they are bigger and heavier.

I'm not familiar with the black version 8-64, but the later model 8-64 we have in our rental fleet is actually heavier than those two longer range zooms, and a little physically longer although the barrel is not as thick.

 

From projection testing the quality is similar, 12x and 15x are maybe a little less snappy in contrast at the long end, which is a common price to pay for a bigger zoom range. The 8-64 has the best close focus at 2 ft, compared to 3 ft or more for the other two, and it also breathes less.

 

The 8-64 and 11-165 were both used on Hurt Locker, as an example of how well they intercut. I suspect the T2.5 11.5-138 being only very slightly faster but neither wider nor longer than the T2.8 11-165 (and more or less the same size and weight) is not quite as useful.