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Combining lenses


Jon O'Brien

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Is it quite possible on a fully-funded, professional movie production, just to name a scenario, to film with Panavision film cameras and anamorphic lenses, but also to add into the mix, as it were, an older Arri MOS camera with non-Panavision eg. PL mount anamorphic lenses on it? Are there any contractual problems with that usually? How difficult is it to match the look and colour rendition etc of two completely different makes of lens for instance Arri and Panavision?

 

So can you combine your own lower-cost gear with major rental house gear to save money on the same production? Eg. you need sync sound Panavision or Arri camera/s with rental lenses etc but also want to use you're own (or your friend's) gear on the same production for MOS shots.

Edited by Jon O'Brien
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There seems to be a bit of a myth that when you use a certain manufacturer's equipment, you are somehow beholden to them, and that restrictive contracts are signed. If you rent from Panavision, you sign a standard rental agreement, just like you would anywhere else. They might ask you to put their logo in the credits in return for a discounted rate, but they are certainly not going to specify what other equipment you may or may not use.

 

Matching the look of different lenses is something that's done all the time. How difficult it is depends on the lenses in question. Matching a Master prime to a Super Baltar is going to be harder than matching it to a Primo, for instance, but it's certainly possible.

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Beyond specialist shots or 2nd Unit shots, it's probably unlikely you'd want to mix the lenses on the main unit, plus the unit's focus puller may not like running two lens systems together on a regular basis on the same production unless there's a good reason. It can upset their work flow.

 

They would run tests, if the lens mix is required, to ensure a match.

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Is it quite possible on a fully-funded, professional movie production, just to name a scenario, to film with Panavision film cameras and anamorphic lenses, but also to add into the mix, as it were, an older Arri MOS camera with non-Panavision eg. PL mount anamorphic lenses on it? Are there any contractual problems with that usually? How difficult is it to match the look and colour rendition etc of two completely different makes of lens for instance Arri and Panavision?

 

So can you combine your own lower-cost gear with major rental house gear to save money on the same production? Eg. you need sync sound Panavision or Arri camera/s with rental lenses etc but also want to use you're own (or your friend's) gear on the same production for MOS shots.

 

Just try it. Some times your friends lens are going to be an step down compare with cinema lens, and you can tell in the shots, some times they'll be just fine. Just experiment with what you have.

Edited by Giacomo Girolamo
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The other thing is that a lot of comparatively affordable modern stills lenses are very competitive with anything in the world from a sheer sharpness and resolution perspective. Where they fail is in ergonomics and factors like focus breathing. Many (most?) stills lenses are probably sharper than a lot of movie lenses.

 

P

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