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Starter lens?
After much research I have decided to go with a 60D camera. It is the most for my budget. Lens choices however are driving me crazy. I was hoping to get some feedback on which lens you guys think would best suit my needs. My budget is around 600.00 give or take a little. I plan to shoot 90% video and have a Z5U that I will be using in conjunction with the 60D. I am an avid outdoorsman and film a lot of stuff outdoors, however I also plan to shoot some weddings ect… I’ve heard auto focus isn’t that important for shooting video and I could save some money going with a lens that doesn’t have it? Also that prime lenses are cheaper but think I need a little zoom for my outdoor stuff. Any help is appreciated. Regards, John
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4 Replies
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Are you buying the body only or body with kit lens?
If you get the body with the kit lens, you will have a basic lens all the time and it is CHEEP to rent lenses when you want something else.
https://www.borrowlenses.com/category/canonIf you find yourself renting the same lens over and over then it would be good to consider purchasing that lens.
**Hindsight is always 1080p**
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[John Applewhite] “I’ve heard auto focus isn’t that important for shooting video and I could save some money going with a lens that doesn’t have it?”
Problem is, that autofocus doesn’t work properly with those cams in video mode. So autofocus isn’t that important, because you won’t use it anyway. 😉
The kit-lens is not that bad, especially when shooting outdoors. IMHO it’s a good starter. The first videos I made with my T2i, I made with the kit-lens. But when shooting indoors, you’ll most definitly need a faster one. Maybe get a couple primes and a good zoom-lense.
As Zane wrote: Start with renting lenses an then buy the ones you know you need often.
All the best!
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Its worth while taking a look at other brands, Sigma for instance. If you are mainly shooting video these lenses will be more than adequate as the HDSLR cameras “line shed” to process a full frame sized image from the chip. This means a lot of the benefit of the high resolution of Canon’s expensive lenses are lost when in video mode.
It’s still well worthwhile choosing a lens with a wide and constant aperture. A zoom lens without constant aperture will change exposure as you change focal lengths. A wide aperture is what these camera are about, giving you the ability to use selective depth of field when composing your shots.Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Final Cut Pro Post Production.
https://www.steadi-onfilms.com.au/ -
Hi John;
Phil is dead-on about Sigma lens for video. And they make lenses Canon doesn’t (30mm f1.4, 20mm f1.8). As I own both these lenses, I love the images and huge DOF options, but a word on focusing. I would always look for Sigma lenses with a button for AF/MF, as the 20mm has a focus ring that clicks forward and back, and this design introduces play when focusing in the manual mode. The 30mm has no such play, and a much kinder “throw” (more overall movement, like a cine-lens) when racking. I love the view angle and speed of the 20mm, but it’s really hard to follow a moving subject-even more than normal with a DSLR. Still my favorite brand of starter lenses though; plan on the 17-50mm f2.8 next…ML
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