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Zoom Lens Close Focus: Opinions


Guest JP Creatives

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Guest JP Creatives

Hello,

 

I am in the market for a s16mm zoom and I have come to debate about how constricting a 5ft close focus may be. I don't have a ton of Zoom lens experience and I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with a zoom that has a not to savory close focus of 5ft. (Zeiss 11-110 or 12-120 and others) and how much they thought it constricted them or not.

 

I know some zooms with less range i.e. the Cooke 10.8-60 or Canon 8-64 have a nice tight close focus, but have less range.

 

All in all I just don't want to get a lens that limits me too much because the close focus or the small range, but still has great optics. The Zeiss is very appealing, and it seems to be very popular. If people could just discuss their experiences with zooms, the pros and cons they encountered it would be great.

 

I am looking to get the lens that can allow me to do everything. I would like to just keep that lens mounted and shoot my movies.

 

Any opinions are welcomed.

 

JP

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Hi,

I have a Cooke 10.4-52 and it focuses down to 18 inches. In practical experience that is really like being able to focus with the camera 10 inches or less from your subject due to the fact that the lens is about 7 inches long and then you have the length to your flange/gate/ground glass to subtract from the 18". I really like the lens and would say it would be more useful than the Optar Illumina primes I have because I can easily change focal lengths. I still use the Illuminas for low light shooting.

 

Mike Welle

Charleston, SC

 

Hello,

 

I am in the market for a s16mm zoom and I have come to debate about how constricting a 5ft close focus may be. I don't have a ton of Zoom lens experience and I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with a zoom that has a not to savory close focus of 5ft. (Zeiss 11-110 or 12-120 and others) and how much they thought it constricted them or not.

 

I know some zooms with less range i.e. the Cooke 10.8-60 or Canon 8-64 have a nice tight close focus, but have less range.

 

All in all I just don't want to get a lens that limits me too much because the close focus or the small range, but still has great optics. The Zeiss is very appealing, and it seems to be very popular. If people could just discuss their experiences with zooms, the pros and cons they encountered it would be great.

 

I am looking to get the lens that can allow me to do everything. I would like to just keep that lens mounted and shoot my movies.

 

Any opinions are welcomed.

 

JP

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Guest Ian Marks

JP - at the risk of stating the obvious, you can always throw a diopter on the front of your zoom when you have to get a bit closer. If you have a lens that works for you in every other respect, it's not a bad alternative, and obviously it's cost effective. Also, I have noticed that extreme close-ups tend to "appear" sharper than may really be because of the extremely short depth of field - it sort makes the in-focus objects "pop" from the background.

 

BTW, did you see the thread about the 15-150mm lenses? Somebody posted that he's using a 15-150 Canon on his Aaton and is quite happy with it.

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Guest JP Creatives
JP - at the risk of stating the obvious, you can always throw a diopter on the front of your zoom when you have to get a bit closer. If you have a lens that works for you in every other respect, it's not a bad alternative, and obviously it's cost effective. Also, I have noticed that extreme close-ups tend to "appear" sharper than may really be because of the extremely short depth of field - it sort makes the in-focus objects "pop" from the background.

 

BTW, did you see the thread about the 15-150mm lenses? Somebody posted that he's using a 15-150 Canon on his Aaton and is quite happy with it.

 

 

Thanks Ian, I did see the thread and I still plan on getting the Canon 15-150 and giving it a try. It might be the best lens option in the end, and most likely the most bang for the buck. I was just asking this question because a friend of mine feels very strongly about having a tight close focus, and I wanted other opinions on the matter.

 

I am curious about the canon 12-120 macro lens too, I will give it a look as well. I personally like a Macro lens, it seems to give you a lot of options.

 

Does anyone know if the macro function on the 10-100mm Zeiss remains after the optex conversion? Also, is the macro function usable throughout the whole range, or does it only function as a prime (10mm) when in use?

 

Thanks,

 

JP

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