C300 Concert Shooting

Sean Ryan · October 12, 2014

Hi all, this is my first time posting, hoping this is the right forum for my question. I am going to be working on a tour/concert dvd and am trying to figure out what the best lenses are to use with the C300. I am all set for the behind the scenes portion, my worry is with the performance and having cameras stationed in the back of various venues. Would like a good fast zoom for variety of coverage but don't think a 200mm or 300mm lens is going to get me in tight enough for good CU's and am not sure what else is out there? Wondering if anyone knows of a good, fast, zoom that can work on C300 and allow me to a get a variety of shots at a great distance? Do i have to rig an ENG lens (expensive!!) on their or is their another ((cheaper)) option? Any help and insight is greatly appreciated! As well as any advice if you've done this kind of project before! Thanks in advance.

Greg Kubik · October 16, 2014

You could put a 70-200m 2.8 with a EF 2x extender. It'll slow it down to an f/4 but that's probably your best bet if you can't be right next to the stage and want extreme close ups.

Albion Hockney · October 16, 2014

yea i dont know if it will get better then 70-200mm with extender.... there is the canon 400m 2.8 but its a sports lens and is enormous and very expensive and no zoom range.

if you want to be really cheap there is the BIGMA ....sigma 50-500mm but not a constent aperature through the range and i think a 5.6 on the long end.

Satsuki Murashige · October 16, 2014

Actually, a 2x extender loses two stops, so on a 70-200 f/2.8 the maximum aperture would be a f/5.6. A 1.4x extender would lose one stop.

Here's the BorrowLenses EF super telephoto page: http://www.borrowlenses.com/category/canon_super_tele

I've done this type of shooting before with the Canon 30-300 PL. You're probably right that 300mm won't be long enough. Whichever lens you get, I would order Mitchell sticks and an OConnor 2575 head for super long lens stuff. And make sure the venue has a riser for you at the back of the auditorium, as well as some apple boxes and sand bags.

Albion Hockney · October 17, 2014

Yea but I'd think the 70-200 even with extender is sharper then the cheap sigma.... maybe not though?

super long lens is tough on big sensors especially if you need a decent stop.

Satsuki Murashige · October 17, 2014

Canon just announced a 50-1000mm Super 35 zoom: http://nofilmschool.com/2014/10/canon-50-1000mm-servo-zoom-cine-pl-ef-lens

Prob won't be avail in time for your shoot but I would expect more of these ENG style lenses to show up in the near future.

Sabyasachi Patra · October 17, 2014

You can use the EF 200-400 f4 L lens with internal 1.4x TC. So with the flick of a switch you can get max 560mm. The quality is great. It costs 11800 usd. You can also attach Tcs with this lens. This would be the better option for you if you need greater focal length as well as zooming over a great range.

There are cheaper options:

The Ef 70-200 f2.8 L IS II USM lens with 2x converter will give you max 400mm at f5.6. I love the quality of this combo.

There is a Ef 100-400 f3.5-5.6 L IS USM lens. You can use a 1.4x TC with it for max 560mm at f8, but the quality drops a bit.

I own a C300 with dual pixel af and it holds focus while zooming in if the subject is more or less centred.