Being involved with video more and more recently, I have been wondering this myself, why choose a cinema lens over a regular photography lens when it comes to video? Photography and Videography are similar in many ways, however, video seems to be a whole different world when it comes to codecs, shutter speed, lighting, lenses, aperture, focus, and so on. In this video, Greg and Caleb share some knowledge on what lenses should be used where.
My business partner and I just picked up our first Cinema Lens and have been testing it out a bit on the Ronin-M with a wireless follow focus. In the past, we have struggled with focus while being mounted to the steady cam but now it seems like with just a little more practice any shot will be achievable. I have to be honest, I think this would be a lot harder to do with a standard lens because it is not set up or built the same way a cinema lens is to adjust focus, aperture, and so on.
Two of the main reasons we decided to pick one up was one, to be able to keep the focus on our subject when the steady cam is moving, and two, to be able to adjust aperture smoothly when going from a very dark space into a bright space or vice versa. These two things may seem like small things that could be possible on a normal lens, and maybe they are, but they will be much more achievable with the cinema lens and tools to help keep everything clean. Hopefully this video helps you out when it comes to buying and using a cinema lens over a standard lens.
