Nikon D3s movie shoot lens recommend?

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Nikon D3s movie shoot lens recommend?

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pacha_x

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Joined: Sep '10
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Hello to all professionals there.

After some quite long time of consideration I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to D3s first thing on monday, and very soon after that I will do some video shoot for some restaurant, it will be promo movie for their website and will be lots of close ups from food with studio lighting but some fast kitchen life as well like people bringing and preparing vegetables and rushing around the kitchen.
So if you can please recommend what would be the best lenses or any other tips for use of video in that environment?

For photo shoots I'm quite comfortable but video a bit nervous, I've used video DSLR with rented Canon 5D markII and the results were great but the environment was quite controlled in studio so everything was perfectly set up, and the busy kitchen is a whole another story....

just for reference I'm currently owning these lenses and I can rent another in case if you recommend:

AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G
AF Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8D
AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
AF NIKKOR 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6D
Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG IF HSM

Thank you and all your replies are most appreciated!

PS: Does anybody knows what is the longest time you can shoot video in one take before camera overheating or something like that?

Posted 2 years ago #
smarterchild

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Joined: Jan '10
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That is a nice setup of lenses you have to start with. Just for warning, there is a rumor circulating that the D4 will be released this spring but only a rumor.

For lenses. Id suggest a 24-70 2.8 for a all around type lens. I also feel that a 85 1.4 would be a supurb lens to have if you have the right focus.

Posted 2 years ago #
Mike Gunter

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Joined: Sep '10
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Hi Pasha,

I'm guessing you'll be limited to 2GB or 5 minutes (I don't think it's an overheating issue).

You have an impressive line up of lenses.

The CODEC is MJPEG, and it is directly influenced by the Picture Controls, something that has no influence on RAW, for example. You'll want to run a few tests with a calibrated monitor to ensure that your saturation and contrast are spot on. The tendency is to over-saturate and too much contrast will ruin your production.

My best,

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
studio460

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Joined: May '10
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Just my random $0.02:

The Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 is an EXCELLENT "movie" lens. It's possibly my favorite focal length on a full-frame body. I think it's great for complex dolly shots that also include people and faces, since there's little noticeable barrel-distortion at this length, yet it still offers a fairly wide angle of view on an FX body. I bought the manual-focus, Nikon f/1.4 AIS version, specifically for moviemaking (its longer, more-heavily dampened focus throw makes it easier to pull focus). If the f/1.4 is too steep, you could get the very affordable Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 instead.

Here's what I would consider a nice assortment of primes for filmmaking (optimum for an FX-body):

Nikkor 14mm f/2.8
Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 (or, subsititute either the 24mm or 28mm, depending on your preference)
Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 or f/1.8.
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4.
Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8.
Nikkor 85 f/1.4 or f/1.8
Nikkor 105 f/2.0
Nikkor 180mm f/2.8.
Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 (older, cheaper, non-VR versions are fine for filmmaking).

I know that you're already covered on the wide end with your short zoom. I happen to prefer primes for filmmaking, so I bought just about every short, manual-focus prime Nikon still makes (in addition to the above short primes, I also bought a 24mm and a 28mm). Still need to get the 105mm and 300mm.

Posted 2 years ago #
jonnyapple

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Joined: May '09
Posts: 3,400
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studio460 said:
I bought the manual-focus, Nikon f/1.4 AIS version, specifically for moviemaking (its longer, more-heavily dampened focus throw makes it easier to pull focus).

Yes, not to mention that with the manual focus lenses there's a one-to-one correspondence between the focus ring position and focal distance. It seems like AF-S would make it harder to pull focus because if you overshoot infinity, for example, the ring just keeps turning and you don't know where the focus is any more relative to anything you've marked.

Awesome setup, studio. Keep us posted on how the D3s works out, pacha. That is also awesome.

Posted 2 years ago #
Mike Gunter

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Joined: Sep '10
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Hi,

On an FX body, IMHO, I think he would be better with a normal or slightly tele lens which will increase the DOF for the shoot, but that's likely just me. Of course, I don't even know what his POV is nor what he's trying to say, so it would be awfully hard to put the cart in front of the horse - making lens decisions before we see the storyboard. ;-)

In all cases primes are better than zooms. They are better and easy to control and manipulate pull focus, and a pull focus controller will be yet another device for the kit.

He also needs a sound kit, stabilization kit, editing suite, and much more, a lot of which can, and probably should be rented. ;-0

It's an endless list...

My best to all.

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
DaveyJ

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Joined: Jun '10
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I would go with the 24-70 2.8 Nikkor lens for first experiment video with the D3s. I have never shot video with that camera. I have only seen a few of that camera model. Since I have shot a lot of video in the field (some quite good) I do know that they can be frustrating. My business has videos (not taken by myself) on the Internet regularly but my personal interest and area of inquiry has been almost exclusively with DSLR in recent months. Before that I did have some movie camera experience, especially underwater scenes.
Here is why I would use the 24-70 2.8 zoom. I have used that lens to video on DX and during the MJPEG (AVI clip) I have sometimes zoomed during the shoot. Why? When a powerboat backs up or takes off the scene now requires a different scope. The use of Nikon DSLR video in such manner seems very effective at times. I however am not doing video in a highly controlled studio or movie set environment. The very reason DSLR video has caught on so big though is precisely why it is now appearing on almost every DSLR out there. I have been on a number of movie sets. I am always blown away on how set up they are and how contrived the whole movie making process can be. But I do think the Nikon D3s could produce spectacular video results without all that set up. Experiment!
I would very much like to hear what lens turns out to be the best for your applications!

Posted 2 years ago #
SquamishPhoto

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Joined: Feb '10
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Get a 300mm prime if you want the best quality image for your video.

Posted 2 years ago #

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Nikon D3s movie shoot lens recommend?

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