So you want to get into cinematography or photography but aren’t sure which lens to get. Another factor is that you don’t know about the brands especially with such a large expensive selection. I will mention the types of lenses that I use, why I use them and the brands. I will also provide links below for each of the ones that I use.
Lens Types
When I film I get into different types of shoots for instance some are live events others are staged. I might be filming indoors or outdoors and day and night settings as well. When I do live events I need a zoom lens because sometimes I might have to get a shot from a long distance or get a wide shot for something that is much closer. I have filmed live events before with a prime lens but if that’s the case I make sure its a 50mm prime. If you are doing photography make sure that you have a flash and whatever lens you use get one with autofocus. This makes it easier to get your shot in focus while your subject is moving.
If I’m filming indoors it will need to be a fast lens. Meaning it opens up more than an F4, ideally I prefer anywhere between a 2.8 to 1.4 since indoors tend to be dark. Since not all cameras can reach a high ISO without noise, a fast lens keeps my footage nice and clean. You have to be good with rack focusing quickly though so make sure you practice that. But for photography a fast lens can be harmful because you have a small chance of getting your subject in focus. For example if its a person on stage walking back and forth it will be a challenge.
If I’m outdoor then I don’t need a fast lens since it will be very bright outside I can afford to have a maximum of an F4 or 5.6. Unless it’s a night event then a fast lens will do the job.
In a staged controlled environment I like using a fast lens especially to get those shallow depth of field shots. Even with lighting it’s more for the background to be out of focus.
For product shots I prefer a macro lens which allows you to get very close and in focus. This doesn’t always work with a long lens since you will need to keep a great distance. Some film shoots require a wide angle lens if you are doing stabilization shots on a gimbal or glide cam. This is for getting everything in frame and in focus, this is when you will want an F4 or F5.6.
Brands
For my zoom lenses I have Canon L Series 70-200mm and 24-105mm. The quality of these lenses are very good and sharp. The 70-200 I can use for sporting events and the 24-105 is better for outdoor events. Both of these lenses have stabilization mode.
For the controlled environments such as a film or webisode I use the cinema Xeen lenses. These set of lenses are all primes which are a 24, 50 and 85. They open up to a T1.5 with ridges on the housing for pulling focus.
I use a Sigma 17-70mm macro lens for a few reasons. Mainly because it’s the widest lens that I have for stabilized shots and it opens to a 2.8 when its zoomed out. Zooming in it closes to a 4 because it’s not a constant. However I can get extremely close to my subject and it’s been highly used during my commercial shoots. This is a very good lens for weddings when getting ring shots. Also it has stabilization mode that makes it easier to shoot handheld.
And finally I have a Canon 50mm which is the basic one that opens up to a 1.8. It’s very affordable and if you know how to use it correctly you can make miracles happen. The only down side is it does not have stabilization mode but it does have autofocus.
