Advice Wanted Which Lens?

easymarc

New Member
I have a BMPCC 4K (without a lens).

I was considering the Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 because it seems to be recommended by so many BMPCC users.

however, I ended up on Ken Rockwell's photography website where he reviews the lens and doesn't really rate it so highly, which has now made me hesitate to get one.
In Summary, he said it's too sharp and has plenty of issues.

I want a lens to film a few short movies outdoors at sunset to dusk and a few scenes indoors.
I wanted a soft movie feel, and not the ultra-crisp blue-ray documentary feel.
Mostly its mid-shots and close-ups.
Can you recommend any other lenses I should look at ?

I'm looking at the lower budget lenses (perhaps $500 max)
I'm ok with 2nd hand.

Any suggestions?
 
Firstly, welcome to the forum. :)

Ken Rockwell is quite a divisive figure in the photography community. A quick online search will reveal quite strong opinions of him. Personally, I have mixed feelings about his site: I like the layout and presentation of data but am very wary of his opinions and recommendations. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s rated different pieces of equipment as his ‘favourite’. If all those statements were true, his camera bag must be the size of a train truck.

I’m not a BMPCC user. However, in your position, I’d be inclined to listen more to fellow BMPCC users than Ken Rockwell. Is there a dedicated video forum that might help?

I’ve done only a little video work with my Oly OM-D EM5 iii. I found the Oly 45mm f1.8, fully open, gave some nice soft results. I love the bokeh on the lens but that’s just my personal taste.

I’d be interested to know what you decide and how you get on.
 
Marc, firstly, a warm :Welcome: to this forum.

Secondly, Ken Rockwell is a very unreliable and biased source of information, IMNSHO.

Thirdly, think about the angle of view (AoV) that you wish to achieve, and how that translates to field of view (FoV) at the approximate subject distance.

There are good reasons why 25mm (50mm in 135 format terms) was and is considered to be a standard lens.

Maybe the f/1.8 25 would suit you better. It has a flatter plane of focus than the f/1.8 45 (sharper in the corners). The 45mm is also a short telephoto (in 135 format terms) at 90mm equivalent FL, ignoring the aspect ratio difference.

Remember, you can always soften a sharp image, you cannot sharpen a soft image.
 
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