Which three primes for HDSLR shooting?

eastAR5

eastAR5

Active member
*I do not mean this as a repeat of my prior post at all. I just would like to see any further specific feedback about lens purchase.

So, my complete cinema rig, monitor & accessories for my 5d Mark iii (just the body) have arrived. Ironically - being the most important aspect of it all (besides the camera itself) are obviously the lenses, which I am going to order (for real this time) by the end of the evening, at the latest.

I decided to step down and that the Zeiss ZE series primes would actually be an excellent professional choice and I just can't deny the clarity and specific contrast Zeiss glass gets over even some of the higher end Canon glass, for instance.

Anyways, I have $3000 left to blow out of the total budget I was given. That ended up being much, much less than I thought I would have to spend on lenses, but with compromising paying 10x more for cine-lens features... Considering the ZE glass is the same as its big brother CP.2 series... I am completely happy with this.

What I think I finally am going to go with as a starting quiver of quality primes, while also staying budget:

- Zeiss ZE T* Distagon 35mm f/2

- Zeiss ZE 50mm f/1.4

- Zeiss ZE 18mm Distagon f/3.5

*All manual focus of course (have follow focus system w/ all dem thangs)

the total actually comes out to $3262.70 (including overnight shipping) actually... but I can manage to swing the extra $262.70

Now, I know people have completely different preferences when it comes to choosing lenses - probably more so than anything else.

However, I am pretty set on this. They are all super good quality glass, I am one of those people who love how Zeiss optics look overall. I will be shooting a plethora of things, commercially.... A lot of promotional, a lot of bigger-name music videos, corporate stuff, close-up archatechure, certain sports/specific action sports commercial footage... etc.

The next lens I would add (probably within no longer than a month) would be a ZE 85mm f/2 prime. Then I would have a seriously dope spectrum covered by some of the highest quality, but affordable prime lenses. For now though, I don't need anymore telephoto than a 50mm.

My only slight hesitation/question that remains:

- The Zeiss ZE 21mm has a maximum apature of f/2.8.... but wait, haha I am retarded.... slept like 4 hours max last night. I was going to say would it be worth pulling back from the incredible super wide look (with absolutely minimal distortion) of 18mm, up to 21mm , just to have an f/2.8 as opposed to 3.5....... but then I realized I forgot that the 21mm is about $1800 compared to the 18mm which is around $1400.

SO, haha, my bad... That was a pointless thread then. Either way, I guess I would be interested to hear any opinions of my 3-lens choice to start.

And no... I am not getting a canon L series zoom instead... even if it's one of the top-shelf ones... I am willing to work harder with the primes to produce a certain cinematic aesthetic.
 
You, sir, are making me really jealous right now. Couldn't really ask for a better lens setup. I would personally get something more telephoto, but if you say you don't need it, then you've got the perfect setup
 
hey man sorry i havent hit you back ive been mad busy, ima hit you up on fb with suggestions
 
I appreciate the positive response bro! I assume you shoot HDSLR then as well?

And I agree - but like I said the next lens I will add as soon as I can, is a ZE T* distagon 85mm prime. And then... I really doubt that I will need anything else for a long time. I'd love to get a super telephoto lens at some point - but I don't like the concept of buying cheap/lower quality lenses, and a high quality suoer-telephoto is going to be reaally expensive!

but yes, I feel like I'm 5 years old on christmas morning again haha.. I'm about to literally begin assembling the entire redrockmicro system right now after this post. Laying it all out organized and with the instrunctions - is pretty much taking up the space of an entire large room right now.

It came in a huuge box, with a million separate little boxes and casings inside those... Reminds me of the days of being obsessed and having to have the biggest, more elaborate lego sets when I was a kid... I loved that shit! this is just a really expensive, heavy lego set that is a lot more fun to play with!

Shall post full pictures and a brief review this coming Monday or Tuesday the latest of my entire rig for sure.

 
I cant stress enough to get the ZF over the ZE. The ZF have a manual aperture so they basically work on any camera. With the ZE's the aperture is controlled electronically - which isn't a bad thing if you only shoot Canon. The ZF's allow you to shoot on basically any camera. I go a 50mm f/1.4 and love it on my 5D. My next lens will be a 85mm f/1.4.
 
I prefer not having to use an adapter/mount adapter....... that is a huge thing for me. So I went with the ZEs and technically each of those 3 lenses are absolutely manual focus lenses.

So, you kind of lost me there. Not going to lie.
 
Well, shit... that's so much fucking money I couldn't even begin to fathom spending right now on an HDSLR setup. I'm happy with what I get out of my 60D and some vintage SLR primes, but jesus. That's like a year of tuition haha.
 
It's all relative I guess.... for some people I know, it would not be an option to spend less than 10k on a single prime for their particular camera setup. Obviously, I am not one of those people. But at the same time, I'm not really sure why spending $1000-2000 on a prime (or a zoom) seems like a lot of money... and I really put emphasis on the fact that I am really not trying to say this and sound like a stuck up dick about it... but I guess, we are talking about [respectively] sophisticated pieces of technology and at the same time - a lot of the same principles of optical science involved with the overall capturing of light from the front of the lens, down into the camera's apature and so forth..... so no, again, of course this is just how I view it - but, for a lens that when paired with the right camera (such as the 5D) and used correctly, can really produce moving images that really not that long ago at all... would require a half a milliion dollar setup/budet or w/e you get my point...

So $1300 - 2000 for these ZE primes? I was stoked when I saw they were that cheap. Before any of this, the only lenses, being mostly primes of course, but zooms as wel... that I would see being used by those I knew in the practice of filmmaking , were of course cine specific lenses. And I never got into any of it enough then, but I was always ware that these cine primes cost anywhere from 10k up all the way to 50k per lens. So, again, it's all relative. But if you are doing something, it makes sense to do it right... And when you can "do it right" for as ridiculously cheap as a little over $3,000 for three lenses that at least have you covered for the majority of scenes you could start out needing to shoot.... ? That's the definition of ballin on a fucking budget!

..I mean, also if I did not know anything at all about all this, just from an observant, kind of normal-logic point of view: I would find it strange that these ZE lenses for example, which are by definition "Photography lenses" - can also shoot and capture video so fucking beautifully. AND while we are at it - yeah, I won't be taking photos very often, but when I do... well that's kind of a massive bonus perk of having a super-high end DSLR camera cinema rig w/ the mark iii - especially combined with the ZE lenses I chose; now suddenly I have the ability in my hands to shoot (some experience definitely helps too, ha..) catalog-quality photos as well. So if you take this into account as well... then the ZEs are actually even cheaper than I had put them into perspective with myself before thinking about it this way distinctively.

I would once again LOVE to have been able to afford basically the same setup of lenses to start out with - like a 21mm , a 35mm and a 50 (and an 85 if I could add one more) , but as the Zeiss CP.2 cine lenses.... Now, I absolutely don't NEED them at all right now. However, there are some serious differences of shooting on a full frame HDSLR such as the mark iii - which again, as the DSLR-video haters , which of course will hate... as that is their job to hate. But, damn... if you can find (very little proper test/comparison footage out there for the mark iii being so new) some of the few excellent video test footage reviews of the mark iii's capabilities and with several different lens tests/comparisons - including the CP.2 cine series.... All I will say is, damn, the differences between even the ZE series and the CP.2 , which as we know are the same zeiss glas... but at least from perspective - there is a damn obvious difference between the two.

Saying the CP.2s would be "stupid to buy" , "a waste of money" etc. is really ignorant IMO.... again, it's completely relative. For myself, at this moment in time: hell no... it would definitely be a waste, ONLY because of what I know I'll be able to get out of the ZE primes. But if you have earned the experience and knowledge, have demanding enough projects/clients/films, and well, more importantly - have the funds to spend on an entire CP.2 cine series kit without it taking away from anything else - then from every single thing I have ever read unbiased on the CP.2s, again -footage comparisons, the one time I have personally had a brief chance to mess around with a couple different CP2s.... they are fucking sick and it's NOT just the fact they also do look aesthetically badass just from a completely vain, outside POV.

And the same goes with the CP.2 series - the fact that they really are a true cinema lens, AND yet are actually made specifically for full frame DLR cameras... yet at the same time, in regards to their optics and just overall features - actually comparable to their "traditional" cine prime counterparts which have been around forever, and like I said: easily cost 10k-50k and up... each.... When you can get a Cp.2 for less than $4000. Pretty fucking incredible if you ask me. That's all I'm saying.

And also, FYI - the rig itself was much more expensive than all three of the primes I bought combined...... Which is a little silly if you ask me, sure... definitely could of charged $1000 less, or at least a couple hundred less, and still made plenty of profit. However, any business that markets & sells high quality "exclusive" products to a small, specialized niche is going to naturally charge a huge surplus. I mean, I would do the same thing. And the funny thing is there really is nothing at all excessive about the redrockmicro rigs... They are actually a lot minimalistic, and simple than you would think. I will hand it to them - upon unpacking everything bit by bit... holding each part, from tiny to huge, you can tell it is a high quality product that is going to last and not give you any issues. And have a high-resell value if it ever comes to that.

*oh and btw, um what kind of school did you/do you go to where half your tuition is less than $4000? unless I read that wrong - I applaud you for finding the most affordable college I have ever heard of, by a far stretch.

damn, i gotta stop posting on this site. Its creepin back like I used to do when i was 16 and shit hah a
 
Holy Novel hahaa..

I wasn't knocking you for it. I was just saying that personally, right now in my life, with what my video output entails, I couldnt see myself dropping that much on an HDSLR setup. I suppose I could see that if say I decided I absolutely wanted to start a 35mm film studio, but maybe that's just because at heart, i'm totally old farty purist when it comes to film.

I can understand paying that much for a lens, sure... as it makes sense from a studio standpoint, but perhaps not as a personal item. I'd feel scared not having a secure studio to legitimately lock that stuff up at night.

Then again, what with how the whole system's changed from studio to freelance, I guess it's not as out there as one might think.
 
What job do you do that you have 10k income guaranteed from shooting video? I think most of the people saying that budget is unreasonable are high school or college students. If you can afford it go for it man. I think a lot of people can buy lenses that are good enough for their purposes for a fraction of the price of what you're buying but if you insist on the best quality it obviously comes with a higher price tag
 
Why are you asking Newschoolers, of all places, for advice on Zeiss primes? Most people here only have experience with low-end glass. Hit up DVXuser if you want better advice.

Also, I don't see the problem with adapters? A piece of metal 1mm thick between the lens and body is completely unnoticeable and is no functional hinderance whatsoever. Plus, ZF lenses will not only be more versatile, but they will hold their value better because of it.
 
I understand.

But why doesn't you care for adaptors? Focus distance and markings?

My only thing is if you are dropping 4k+ (with the 85mm) and you are stuck with EF cameras. I do realize that there are a lot of EF cameras, but still. You could always send the ZF lenses to Ducos and they can remove the F mount of the ZF's and replace it with a EF - completely calibrated. Thats just my 2 cents.
 
also, he said they're manual aperture not manual focus. both ZE and ZF will have manual focus but ZF has an aperture ring so you can control aperture even if you're not on a Canon DSLR body
 
Try Leica R's or Contax Zeiss primes.
I prefer the Leica R's personally, but they'll cost you more.
You can get a good set of the Zeiss's for under 3 grand all at 1.4 with a 35, 50 and 85 I'm pretty sure.
Leica's I'd get the R 24 2.8, 35 2.0, 50 2.0 and 60 2.8 macro.
 
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