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This page will take you through a summary of the separate lenses you can use on the Canon and Sony Cameras available at BSU.
But first a recap on some of the terms used:
Focal Length
This is often referred to in mm (millimeters) e.g. 14mm for a very wide angle prime (fixed angle). 200 mm for narrow angle telephoto lens, or 24mm-105mm for a zoom.
F stop
This refers to the amount of light that comes in through the lens in numerical form.
The larger the number, the smaller amount of light. So F4 lets in lots more light than F22.
To confuse things further, we don't count from 1-20 in whole numbers, we use this scale and then fractions within.
F1, F1.4, F2, F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16, F22, F32.
If you want to get into the details of this (if you fancy yourself as a Cinematographer or DoP then you really do need to…) Read this excellent article about the relationship between F stops, shutter speed and ISO by Hage Jan Kamps
Iris/Aperture
This is the name of the mechanism that controls the light coming through the lens which dictates the Fstop. This is normally controlled via the camera electronically, but in the case of the Cine lenses like the Samyangs it is manually done on the lens itself
The Lenses Available
All of these lenses have an EF mount, which means they will fit directly to a Canon camera (C100 mk 2 or 700d) or on to a Metabones adaptor, which will mount to a Sony A7111. In some cases we only have one each of these lenses. There are lots of Nikon lenses and cameras on Siso but they are not used by the Film and TV course.
We have four Sony A7111s in the store and one older Sony A7s. The main difference is that the A7s only shoots HD up to 50 fps frames a second whilst the A7111 will shoot 4K up to 50fps and HD up to 120 fps. They both have large full frame sensors for a shallow depth of field, picture profiles to shoot Slog and are excellent in low light.
These cameras all have the proprietary Sony E Mount lens fitting and the A7111s all come with zoom lenses that fit. However, if you want to use a different lens like a Samyang Cine prime or one of the various separate lenses we have, you will have to book a Metabones adapter. These don't come automatically with the A7111s as often these cameras are booked out to go with Ronin gimbals with which you should use with the lighter E Mount lenses supplied. A Samyang/Metabones combination Is too heavy for either of the gimbals.
The Metabones adapter has electrical contacts which means that for those lenses with matching contacts, you can control the Iris (or aperture) from the camera. In theory, the autofocus function should work as well, but in practice this will always work better with a dedicated E mount lens. So if you are using a gimbal, another reason not to use the Metabones. Likewise the best autofocus performance on a Canon camera will be with a Canon lens.
Note
As we don't have a fifth E mount lens, the Sony A7s does come with a Metabones adaptor and a very useful Tamron 17-50mm lens, which is very wide, and is fast at F2.8 throughout the zoom range.
Other Lenses Available
Samyang prime lens kits
We have four cases of the Samyang Cine Primes. For more info on them click here
The main thing to remember about these lenses is that they do not have electronic contacts, so all adjustments of Iris and Focus are made manually. They are often faster (let more light in) and the image quality is good.
Miscellaneous Lenses (all EF mount)
Samyang 35mm and 85mm primes
These two lenses are separate to the kits and are handy if you don't want to book a whole case. They are both F1.5 which means they are very fast (good in low light). The 85mm is good for portraits and the 35mm is standard on a C100 and wider on a Sony A7111, and is 77mm in diameter which means you could use a fixed or variable ND from the store. These are chunky lenses.
Zeiss Primes
We have two quality, vintage Zeiss primes, both with manual iris and focus rings.
There is a 25mm which is a wide angle and is reasonably fast at F2.8. They are smaller than the Samyangs.
The 50mm is a ‘standard’ lens on a Sony, which means it has a field of view similar to human vision.
It is also very fast at F1.4, which means it's good in low light and can create an extremely shallow depth of field if used wide open. You can borrow a screw in Tiffen 58mm variable ND filter from the asset store (ask at the desk) to reduce the light coming in.
Tokina 11-16mm
This is the widest lens we have and is almost a fish eye (the Samyang kits have a 14mm).
It is electronic so you can control the Iris via the camera and at F2.8 is as fast as the Samyang 14mm. As its diameter is 77mm, you can add a fixed or variable ND filter as well to cut the light back , which you can't with the Samyang 14mm, as it is too wide for the filters we have. The autofocus is pretty clunky so we recommend you go manual with it.
Canon 24-105mm
This is the same lens that we have in half of the C100 mk 2 kits (no’s 6-10)
It is a very high quality zoom and has a great 24-105mm range. It is F4 all the way through the range so it's not as fast as the Samyangs and is 77mm diameter so a fixed or variable ND will fit on it. If not working in low light it's a great doco, general purpose zoom
Canon 55-250mm
This is the longest zoom we have, so if you want to photograph the moon or sunsets, this is your lens. It is F4 at the wide end and F5.6 at the long, so the exposure can change as you zoom in and out. It has a 58mm diameter so you can add a variable ND from the store
Photo Fred Reed (Sigma 50-150mm, cropped in 100%)
Sigma 70-200mm
The 70-200mm does not have the range of the Canon 55-250mm but is a lot faster with a constant F stop of 2.8 throughout the zoom and a more substantial build quality with better optics. It is a VERY chunky lens.
When affixed to a DSLR or mirrorless camera like the Sony A7111 or a Canon 700d, if you use a tripod you mount the baseplate to the lens, rather than the camera, as it is the much heavier of the two. Recommended tripod for the weight is the Manfrotto 504
For the C100, you attach the base plate as normal to the camera using the smaller quarter 20 screw (if you have the larger one ask at the Asset Store for a small one) then use the other quarter 20 at the bottom of the lens case, to attach to the lens. It's very snug but it is a perfect fit and the plate will support both the camera and the lens.
Included is a very useful lens hood, but if that is not enough you can add the Small rig matte- box to the 82mm diameter lens.
Written by FR
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