ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXwhat is a must have camera lens for canon 5d mark 3
11 years ago - lyly bui
I'm looking to buy more camera lens and i was wondering which lens i need,at the moment i have a 24 - 105mm Lens
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Response from 11 years ago - lyly bui SHOW
11 years ago - Marlom Tander
But only 200 on lights? What on sound? You need to look at your budget and strike the right balance.
Sound, for example, if bad, your film is simply unwatchable. If good, your audience will forgive almost anything on the visuals side :-)
Response from 11 years ago - Marlom Tander SHOW
11 years ago - Gareth Bowler
you have the only lens you need currently, what you need to do is take time to learn and that costs nothing aside from an internet connection
Response from 11 years ago - Gareth Bowler SHOW
11 years ago - lyly bui
hey peter its not letting me down but i think its time to add more camera lens to my collection
thanks matt ill look at the 50mm one
Response from 11 years ago - lyly bui SHOW
Response from 11 years ago - Kays Alatrakchi SHOW
11 years ago - Gareth Bowler
shot on a 7D with a sigma 30mm https://vimeo.com/38775602
you don't need any more gear.
Response from 11 years ago - Gareth Bowler SHOW
11 years ago - Dan Selakovich
Before you buy a lens, think about the stories you want to tell, or YOUR style of directing. I personally love wide lenses. I like a lot of Depth of field. Think about the directors you like. Hitchcock: 50mm. Frankenheimer: 18mm. Wes Anderson: 35mm.
See what I'm getting at? You can fill your kit with everything under the sun. Who do you want to be? Start there.
Response from 11 years ago - Dan Selakovich SHOW
11 years ago - Matt Jamie
the 70-200 f2.8 is amazing for long lens work (only useful in big spaces or outdoors really though). And a decent 50mm (maybe the f1.4 lens is good for closeups. (even the £80 f1.8 is great for film work) (looking at Canon own brand here). generally all their "L series" lenses (the ones with the red ring on the barrel) are amazing, so just pic something which fits what you need to shoot.
Response from 11 years ago - Matt Jamie SHOW
11 years ago - lyly bui
heya alwyne is sigma lens good for canon cameras? it is the same quality as canon brand lens
Response from 11 years ago - lyly bui SHOW
11 years ago - Deva Palmier
Hi lyly,
I recently bought this macro lens, which is outstanding. Expensive at about £ 600 but will give you amazing shots. Great for detailed macro shots, but also protraits - CUs head and shoulders. It has an image stabiliser, so gives a steady shot hand held, but the motor of the stabiliser is a bit noisy, so best to use this tool for all un-sync sound.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
I also have a great zoom lens, which is about the same price as the lens above. This also has an image stabiliser. It really is a fantastic lens. I use this lens as my standard lens.
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
NB. both these lenses are f/2.8 - i.e. they are great for shooting in low light.
Worth researching these lenses, if you can afford either of them or even both of them.
Good Luck!
Response from 11 years ago - Deva Palmier SHOW
11 years ago - Matt Jamie
for reference, this very quick fashion film is entirely on the 70-200 f2.8 (i'm shooting on a 7D so the zoom is more extreme due to crop factor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ydAXfdgTO0#t=36
And all the extreme closeups in this are on the cheap 50mm f1.8 (The wider shots are on a 17-55f2.8 which doesn't work with the 5D. Your 24mm would give a similar width with your sensor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8usazaJSfFg#t=15
Response from 11 years ago - Matt Jamie SHOW
11 years ago - Peter Ward
I could list 100 "must have" lenses. What are you looking for that the 24 to 105 is letting you down on?
Response from 11 years ago - Peter Ward SHOW
Response from 11 years ago - lyly bui SHOW
11 years ago - Tony Oldham
I did a whole feature with the standard kit lens 18-55mm... But the 50mm 1.4 is a great lens and will help teach you to isolate your subject from the background and camera placement.
Paddy's answer is excellent though. Far too many people make films concerned about format and camera choice. For many of us in the early stages of our careers, it is crazy to spend a heap of money on films with bad stories, badly cast, with bad sound etc. Know where the film's final platform will be i.e. internet, or high/ low end film festival etc. It's only when you're going for a cinema release and TV that you need those high spec cameras/ lenses etc, also if you're wanting a career as a DoP, then yes, it's worth the investment perhaps. But better to put your money into a book that teaches you about the psychology of lighting, angles, camera movement etc. You can learn this on the cheapest kit lens...
Best Wishes to you in your filmmaking
Response from 11 years ago - Tony Oldham SHOW
11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin
I'm with Marlom in that you need to get some balance in your budget. A camera kit worth £10k won't tell a better story than one worth £1k, for instance - especially if the frame is dark, sound ropey, dialogue wooden, staging undressed, etc. I come back to the Danny Boyle movie 28 Days Later which was shot on DV. I'm sure we all wish it was sharper in retrospect, but I'd rather watch it than a dozen student films shot on HD DSLR's. The camera wasn't what made the movie.
Dan also raises a great point about discovering what you want in terms of framing etc. You can do most of that with what you have already. The limitation isn't the lens or brand of manufacture. A Sigma lens is certainly good enough for the stage you're at.
Put it this way, in cinema, people will rent single-length 'prime' lenses worth maybe £12k each, and rent a whole set of them. They only rent then for as long as it takes to shoot the film because they're so expensive and specialist. They may also carry a DSLR or frankly a pocket camera or mobile phone for general 'snaps'. It's about the right tool for the job and balancing your spending.
But the thing that seems to come up over and over is that you need to work with others - you can't operate a camera, direct, light, swing boom, monitor audio, etc all at once. Or you can, but it takes practice. Spending money on specific kit doesn't solve the problem that film is collaborative and has many disciplines. Things will look better if you have more time and dedication, and really apply yourself to learning from the greats. Find any movie you like. Find your favourite scene within it. Analyse the heck out of it, watch it and study it until you are sick of it. Where are the lights? How is it framed? Does the camera move? Does the camera zoom? Does the focus change during the shot? Does it sounds crisp? Is the sound echoey or close? Are there sound effects? How has the choice of shots helped the story? What are the characters going through? How has the editor conveyed this in the edit? Does the music contribute to the mood? For every single element of the scene, ask yourself what and why. Films don't record events, they create them, stage them, frame them, choose every single element that goes on screen, so everything in that shot is there for a reason - every single thing. Study that and you'll learn from every film you watch.
Response from 11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin SHOW
11 years ago - lyly bui
thank you guys I've taken all this information in and will use these advice in the cute thank u :)
Response from 11 years ago - lyly bui SHOW
11 years ago - Alwyne Kennedy
Without going into really silly price land...
Canon 16-35mm f2.8 ( MKI or MK II) - Sigma 24-70mm F.2.8 - Sigma 70-200mm F2.8
That's should cover you for almost every situation.
In addition, a Sigma or Canon 50mm F1.4. And maybe a dedicated macro lens.
That's the what's in my kit bag, anyway.
Sell your 24-105mm F4.0 if you have to to buy the above.
Response from 11 years ago - Alwyne Kennedy SHOW