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BMPCC PL mount?


Joshua Cleland

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Hey guys, I was lucky enough to pickup the BMPCC on the Summer sale last year. As a student filmmaker and aspiring cinematographer, I love the camera so far. Its DR its stunning and I'm able to get an image somewhat close to S16 film. What I'm curious about is whether it's worth it to invest in a PL mount down the road for cine lenses.

 

Cinema lenses can cost so much to personally own, though I have seen some deals online different places. Is it really worth the upgrade and will it make a huge difference in image quality ? Would it be smarter to save my money for renting out a higher quality cinema camera/package entirely for projects? I see a lot of guys going down the PL road and I'm just wondering...

 

 

 

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I have a PL for my own pocket, which is nice. I splurged and went with a shimmable version as well. It pretty much so lives on my camera but this is only because I often throw it into other shows which are on PL lenses. Also helpful i had a set of S16mm PL lenses in the first place.

So a lot of it comes down to how you use the camera. Maybe a set of the Veydra primes would be a better investment.

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Just an FYI, I looked into the Veydra's and they aren't very fast, F2.2. If they were cheap, it would be a different story, but they're not even cheap! I too will be joining the PL bandwagon soon, once I have something bigger to shoot.

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T2.2 isn't bad. Hell Cooke Panchros are T2.8s, S4s T2. Unless you're using Masterprimes or Superspeeds most of your PL lenses will be in the same ballpark. And even then you rarely will want to be shooting below a 2.8 or so is the general consensus.
Though of note I tend to personally be around a 2/2.8 on S16mm and a 2.8/4/5.6 on 35mm but that's me.

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I guess 2.2 isn't bad, but even the Rokinon's I have are 1.5 and they're cheap glass. I used Zeiss Super Speed's on most of my films, it's what the rental houses have. I'm one of those guys who shoots with the lens all the way open to try to achieve shallow depth of field on these small format cameras. With 35mm, it's a different world, but with S16, it's one of those things I always strive to do in order to make the film look more "filmic".

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Most deff Tyler, would like that greatly.

 

Gotta hand it to the rokinons too btw; they're a lot of lens for the buck. I keep meaning to throw the 16 and the 8 on the Bm one of these days. I think they'd make a great set, if only they had a 12 (or a better 14).

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Supposedly, they're extending the lens selection soon and adding a "cinema" zoom this year. We may see some great stuff at NAB this year. I would LOVE a little cinema zoom, ya know 25 - 70? Something not so crazy, just enough to give some movement to the shot.

 

I'll get in touch via PM when I have some time and my other buddies are around. You'd like them as some of them are industry professionals who have LOTS of fun toys! :)

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Thanks for the input guys! Tyler I own a Rokinon 35mm and I think its pretty great for the price! I've heard them being compared to some Zeiss glass. Adrian, I notice on your website you own a set of OCT-19 Lomos. How do you like your primes? The Lomo anamorphic square fronts look beautiful. I love that sort of 80s film look you get with them, do you find you get a similar look with the primes? Of course without the anamorphic qualities.

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Sounds good Tyler.

As for the Lomos, Joshua. I like them; but it will depend a lot on which Lomo you get, and i don't just mean lens design either. As with any vintage optic the care and upkeep will dictate it's performance in a lot of ways; also who made it when.

Mine are alright, though my main gripe is the markings in Meters, the un-uniform lenght of the lenses and on some, the utter lack of geared rings. Still; I like them for the gentleness they impart.

I keep toying with really PL-ing them; and having them really re-worked into a "pro" level package, but then again the costs involved in that are sightly prohibitive for what is really just an indulgence. There's certainly no lack of good glass in LA; and when all else fails I find myself often drawn to filters and other optical solutions to get a "feeling."

Then again, many of the projects I'm working on these days shy away, sadly, from such ideas.

I would say if you can find a few good, cheap lomos on ebay (much harder now than it used to be where you'd get an OCT-19 lens for a few hundred bucks!) they're well worth picking up and having around. Especially as MFT systems proliferate, you could go dumb-adapter to put them on the camera, or spend a few hundred more to convert to PL.

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