Why not use cine lenses for still photography?

Why not use the cn-e50mm t1.3 for photography in a 5dmkii? Advantages/disadvantages?

dhgbeez said:

Why not use the cn-e50mm t1.3 for photography in a 5dmkii? Advantages/disadvantages?

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Well the biggest disadvantage is its price - that lens is expected to cost ~$6800.
See: http://www.photographybay.com/2011/11/03/canon-ef-cinema-lenses-detailed/

dhgbeez said:

Why not use the cn-e50mm t1.3 for photography in a 5dmkii? Advantages/disadvantages?

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As the previous poster notes price is an issue.

IMO the IQ bump that may be present is not likely to be visible to the vast majority of pixel peepers and certainly not on a print.

Canon would be more than happy to see this happen though.

Disadvantages - MF only. Manual only aperture too I think. And the focus ring has a much longer travel than a still lens.
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I think you'll find the lens is optically THE SAME 50mm lens as the regular stills version.

All that happens with a cine version of the lens is the make it to a higher tolerance / QA with regard to it's focus accuracy and the witness marks on the barrel for distance. The focus ring will also have a higher amount of travel with more distances in there for focus pullers to do very fine work. They make it more robust and they have the aperture calibrated for T stops.

So the same glass, in a better made housing more suited to cine production.

jb

dhgbeez said:

Why not use the cn-e50mm t1.3 for photography in a 5dmkii? Advantages/disadvantages?

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John Brawley
Cinematographer
Sydney Australia
http://www.johnbrawley.com
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what are the advantages of using a cine lens for doing video on a DSLR camera as opposed to using lenses intended for still photography ?

galone said:

what are the advantages of using a cine lens for doing video on a DSLR camera as opposed to using lenses intended for still photography ?

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It sounds kinda obvious, doesn't it. What are the advantages of using the proper tools designed for that very job in question? Why would you not use anything but the proper (ideal) tools for each job if you had the chance? Why would you use a wrench to hammer down a nail, if you had access to a real hammer, too?

Right, using the wrench as a hammer only makes sense if the wrench is all you've got at the time, and you really needed to hammer that nail down right there and then. It's doable, but awkward and potentially ugly.

It's the same with photography lenses and (d)SLR's which have originally been designed for photography only. Shooting video with photography lenses and dSLR's is doable these days, but is awkward and potentially ugly.

I know many people (myself included) are using legacy photo lenses for video but that's beside the point. You generally get better results quicker and easier with the right tools for each job.

For example, think about the different ways and needs for acquiring focus and aperture in each job, the relevance of issues like focus breathing, accurate, linear focusing, the need to keep the physical size of the lens barrel intact in each job, and so on. Without going any deeper into the subtleties, there are valid reasons why those two lens designs are slightly different, and often have a different price tag, too.

Then there are also lenses like the Samyangs and few other similar, simplified designs that are not much pricier as cine versions, but the advantages of choosing the optimised version for each job should still be rather obvious.

T-stop instead of F-stop.

Matched lens coatings.

Gearing suitable for follow focus.

Manual geared focusing, not by wire.

Declicked apertures.

There's a few.

thorn- said:

T-stop instead of F-stop.

Matched lens coatings.

Gearing suitable for follow focus.

Manual geared focusing, not by wire.

Declicked apertures.

There's a few.

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Thorn, what gear is used to follow focus ? (point 3 in your list above)

Here's an example, with the Rokinon Cine lenses:


Note the gear teeth built into the lens - it can be used in combination with a follow-focusing system, without having to use those zip-tie gear straps. Plus the focusing is purely manual, without the delay or imprecision of fly-by-wire focusing.