Tuesday, April 8, 2014

What is the best canon lens for filming documentaries?




iya.george


I'm looking for a really sharp, fast lens that works well in low light conditions. It can't create a really shallow depth of field however as it would be too hard, the slightest movement would put it all out of focus so this rules out 85mm 1.2 :( however, I'd like a similar lens like that (possibly at half the price too) but that does all of the above! Also, do you recommend any other lenses in particular for filming documentaries (and general filming as I often make trailers etc) thanks!
Oops, yes, I meant a DSLR, I find them loads easier to control!



Answer
Filming requires you use a 16 mm or 35 mm motion picture camera, so this answer covers filming.

If on the other hand, you are calling using a dSLR with a video feature "filming" look further below

The lens you choose depends upon what is called for in the script.

I have used Leica, Nikkor and Canon lenses on various motion picture cameras that have "T" stops engraved on them and have been converted to fit the ARRI or other camera we were using.

Here is a site that rents production gear including motion picture and HD video cameras.

Rental lenses

http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/_camera-rentals/lenses/

Rental cameras

http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/_camera-rentals/16mm-cameras/

http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/_camera-rentals/35mm-cameras/

http://www.birnsandsawyer.com/_camera-rentals/hd-cameras/

As you can see, most camera rentals include a lens.

Answer 2:

Some of the shooting lenses used when using a dSLR to shoot video:

16-85 mm, 12-24 mm, 24 mm and 70-200 mm lenses

The larger that aperture and longer the lens, the easier it is to control selective depth of field.

Too assure critical focus, you will need something like this

http://www.markertek.com/LightBox.asp?b=HCKP&x=0

A camera for a music video ?




vileC


Ok so I want to get the cheapest camera possible with these specs

â¢25 FPS
â¢.48 KHz audio
â¢1920x1080 HD
â¢50 Mb/s bitrate

Haha I don't know these things and I got these of a website
Those are the requerments they give so I don't know if some of those are referring to the songs audio

I would really apreciate if someone could help me

Thanks a lot :D



Answer
There are cameras that fit your specs that are not camcorders but stills cameras that do video. Some examples are the Panasonic GH3, Canon 70D, Canon 6D, and the soon to be released Panasonic GH4 which does bit rates up to 200 mbps for 2k HD and 100 mpbs for 4k.

The cheapest of the cameras I mentioned is the Panasonic GH3 which costs just under $1,000 with no lenses included. It will do 50 mpbs and 72 mpbs. 50 mpbs is considered the minimum for broadcast standard video which is why you likely got this from the website.

All of the cameras I mentioned above are cheaper then camcorders that do the higher bit rates. Cameras like the Canon XF100 and XF300 do the 50 mpbs in camera but with much smaller sensors and the cost is closer to $3,000 - $5,000. The advantage of the camcorder is that you have a fixed lens and do not need to buy additional lenses but you can get a GH3 with some really good lenses for less money still.

You do not need to be obsessed with a the 50- mpbs mark though. As I have said above unless you budget is close to $2,000 you will not be able to touch that bit rate as easily. The GH3 may be under $1,000 but you will need to buy lenses and that will push your cost at or above $2,000. Major motion picture work has been done with DSLR's that only shoot 24 mpbs video. Visually you may not notice any difference between 24 and 50. The difference shows up more in post production where you have more room to edit video shot with higher bit rates and less compression.

If I was going to recommend a budget camera for this kind of work it would be the Panasonic G6. You can get it for less then $600 right now with a kit lens. If you have budget left over go out and rent some additional lenses for the video shoot. If you want the camera to do focusing for you pick lenses by Panasonic or Olympus. It is also a good idea to get lenses that an aperture at or below 2.8. This will help you get a more cinematic look as well give you more flexibility in shooting in low light. The other benefit of the G6 is that it does do 60 frames per second in full HD which allow for some slow motion photography which is often used in music videos.

As another poster mentioned music video audio is usually a copy of the recorded studio track that is put into the video in post production. You will however want to record in camera audio for syncing purposes if you are showing the performers singing the lyrics in the video. I would recommend the purchase of a shotgun microphone or the rental of one. My personal favorites are made by Rode but Sennheiser also makes some good ones. If you are doing a live track for your music video you will likely want to consider also buying or rental an external recorder like the Zoom H1 or H4.




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