Best budget 50mm equivalent for G7 lowlight cinema?

Kylefowler85 wrote:

I’m gearing up to start test shots & planning for some guerrilla style horror and dark drama films in low-light scenarios.

I’m using the LUMIX G7. In the past (on Canon 70D) I’ve enjoyed the freedom and results of using a “nifty 50” for most shots, space allowing. I’m looking for something that will be a 50mm equivalent on Micro 4/3 and is less muddy than the 7 Artisan lenses I got when learning the camera, and hope to cut down some noise.

I am on a very tight budget and really don’t want to spend too much more than $300 on a lens. I know that keeping the aperture open wide enough for low-light will result in some background blur but I’m not really trying to lean into bokeh artistically.

My research has led me to believe that the Voigtlander 25mm F/0.95 Nokton and Samyang Cine 24mm T.15 with an EF to m43 adapter might be solid options. I’d also looked at a meta bones speed-booster but I don’t have many great 35mm options handy.

Any advice? Much appreciated, Cinematography and color grading have never been my strongest suits but I often find myself doing hand-made projects and operating the camera by default

You're mentioning some fine all manual lenses but I don't know what your shooting style is. The Panasonic 25 1.7 is a bargain - but there's no aperture ring. You control that thru the interface. The autofocus, if you want to use it, is almost silent.

There's a lot of "trendy" lenses out there. I tend to notice trendy buzzwords like "T stops" and Cine. "T stops" are typically used with hand held meters. "Cine" is a bit too "Charlie Chaplin. The Nokton at least has some history and reputation behind it.

dlevitt wrote:

Have you considered any native lenses?

Fo example a Panasonic 25mm f/1.7 lens?

I did look at them but maybe didn't give them the attention they deserve, have you had good experiences?

ahaslett wrote:

I have absolutely no idea whether it’s suitable for cinema, but I bought a used PL25/1.4 mk i for £250 here in the U.K., with a dealer warranty. You should be able to get a good one in the US within budget. It’s a good performer, see reviews.

Andrew

Thanks for the tip

leorimkus wrote:

Kylefowler85 wrote:

I’m gearing up to start test shots & planning for some guerrilla style horror and dark drama films in low-light scenarios.

I’m using the LUMIX G7. In the past (on Canon 70D) I’ve enjoyed the freedom and results of using a “nifty 50” for most shots, space allowing. I’m looking for something that will be a 50mm equivalent on Micro 4/3 and is less muddy than the 7 Artisan lenses I got when learning the camera, and hope to cut down some noise.

I am on a very tight budget and really don’t want to spend too much more than $300 on a lens. I know that keeping the aperture open wide enough for low-light will result in some background blur but I’m not really trying to lean into bokeh artistically.

My research has led me to believe that the Voigtlander 25mm F/0.95 Nokton and Samyang Cine 24mm T.15 with an EF to m43 adapter might be solid options. I’d also looked at a meta bones speed-booster but I don’t have many great 35mm options handy.

Any advice? Much appreciated, Cinematography and color grading have never been my strongest suits but I often find myself doing hand-made projects and operating the camera by default

Was that a true 50mm on 70D or something equivalent to 50mm on full frame?

It was a true 50mm, at the time I didn't understand the effect of the crop. All my videos did have a kind of claustrophobic feel which I was fine with (I was mostly just making things for class and Vimeo) but there was a degree of confidence I got from thinking it was a 50mm image  now I want to use the real equivalent for a variety of reasons

thinkinginimages wrote:

Kylefowler85 wrote:

I’m gearing up to start test shots & planning for some guerrilla style horror and dark drama films in low-light scenarios.

I’m using the LUMIX G7. In the past (on Canon 70D) I’ve enjoyed the freedom and results of using a “nifty 50” for most shots, space allowing. I’m looking for something that will be a 50mm equivalent on Micro 4/3 and is less muddy than the 7 Artisan lenses I got when learning the camera, and hope to cut down some noise.

I am on a very tight budget and really don’t want to spend too much more than $300 on a lens. I know that keeping the aperture open wide enough for low-light will result in some background blur but I’m not really trying to lean into bokeh artistically.

My research has led me to believe that the Voigtlander 25mm F/0.95 Nokton and Samyang Cine 24mm T.15 with an EF to m43 adapter might be solid options. I’d also looked at a meta bones speed-booster but I don’t have many great 35mm options handy.

Any advice? Much appreciated, Cinematography and color grading have never been my strongest suits but I often find myself doing hand-made projects and operating the camera by default

You're mentioning some fine all manual lenses but I don't know what your shooting style is. The Panasonic 25 1.7 is a bargain - but there's no aperture ring. You control that thru the interface. The autofocus, if you want to use it, is almost silent.

There's a lot of "trendy" lenses out there. I tend to notice trendy buzzwords like "T stops" and Cine. "T stops" are typically used with hand held meters. "Cine" is a bit too "Charlie Chaplin. The Nokton at least has some history and reputation behind it.

I always use manual focus. I may have benefitted from exploring auto focus more but I understand it's not great on G7 anyway? I mostly use sticks, very occasionally pan & tilt with the fluid head. I recently acquired a Weebill S gimbal which I've used for some casual videography but no cinematic storytelling as of yet, I believe the lenses I've been using are too light for its optimal settings anyway. I should run some more tests with that

I can live with controlling aperture in camera, you've enjoyed the Panasonic 25 1.7?

I'd heard that T-stop was standard for a lot of lenses used in cinema and those lenses tend to be designed to get a slightly softer image than still photography lenses?

Kylefowler85 wrote:

thinkinginimages wrote:

Kylefowler85 wrote:

I’m gearing up to start test shots & planning for some guerrilla style horror and dark drama films in low-light scenarios.

I’m using the LUMIX G7. In the past (on Canon 70D) I’ve enjoyed the freedom and results of using a “nifty 50” for most shots, space allowing. I’m looking for something that will be a 50mm equivalent on Micro 4/3 and is less muddy than the 7 Artisan lenses I got when learning the camera, and hope to cut down some noise.

I am on a very tight budget and really don’t want to spend too much more than $300 on a lens. I know that keeping the aperture open wide enough for low-light will result in some background blur but I’m not really trying to lean into bokeh artistically.

My research has led me to believe that the Voigtlander 25mm F/0.95 Nokton and Samyang Cine 24mm T.15 with an EF to m43 adapter might be solid options. I’d also looked at a meta bones speed-booster but I don’t have many great 35mm options handy.

Any advice? Much appreciated, Cinematography and color grading have never been my strongest suits but I often find myself doing hand-made projects and operating the camera by default

You're mentioning some fine all manual lenses but I don't know what your shooting style is. The Panasonic 25 1.7 is a bargain - but there's no aperture ring. You control that thru the interface. The autofocus, if you want to use it, is almost silent.

There's a lot of "trendy" lenses out there. I tend to notice trendy buzzwords like "T stops" and Cine. "T stops" are typically used with hand held meters. "Cine" is a bit too "Charlie Chaplin. The Nokton at least has some history and reputation behind it.

I always use manual focus. I may have benefitted from exploring auto focus more but I understand it's not great on G7 anyway? I mostly use sticks, very occasionally pan & tilt with the fluid head. I recently acquired a Weebill S gimbal which I've used for some casual videography but no cinematic storytelling as of yet, I believe the lenses I've been using are too light for its optimal settings anyway. I should run some more tests with that

I can live with controlling aperture in camera, you've enjoyed the Panasonic 25 1.7?

I'd heard that T-stop was standard for a lot of lenses used in cinema and those lenses tend to be designed to get a slightly softer image than still photography lenses?

I think it depends on the scene/situation to go with manual or autofocus, even experience. Crazy enough I don't have a preference. I look at the boards, the lighting and have a "yep, like that" moment.

I've got the 25 on my GX1 right now, a much older camera than the G7. It's a grab and go. The AF is fine and nearly silent. Not sure where you heard the G7 is bad. There are a few people out there that swear that a camera is bad and not a "real camera" without PDAF. Sure, whatever.

T stops came about with cine film and lenses on turrets. Check out the cine camera below. You need the exact same exposure from all three lenses (short, medium, long/zoom). The lenses are calibrated for actual light transmission.  Example t/8 is the same on all 3 lenses. f/stops would be different. The long lens has less light transmission. T/ is not all that relevant on cameras with built in meters, it just sounds "important".

Getting back to reality and the present: To keep it on the cheap, find a used 25 1.7 with a great return policy and give it a go. I didn't notice where you're located. In the US KEH and MPB are good.

Side note: You can probably adapt these old lenses to your camera... I think it's C or PL mount. It depends on the cine camera. It's been a while since I thought about it...

I have been pretty happy with my Rokinon/Samyang 24mm t1.4 in m43 mount

I mainly use it on a Z-Cam E2 but works fine on my GH6 and E-M5 II. It's a BIG lens but sharp enough wide open with no real flare or CA issues. Focus is nice and smooth with enough throw for fine adjustment at 1.4

As far as AF goes; my GH6 does fine on moving human subjects. Static stuff gets the background pulse. My G9 was...less robust but really if footage is critical and can't be re-shot, MF is the way to go.

If you plan on maybe getting a different camera down the road EF mount is good, the reason for non-native M43 cine lenses for cine stuff is that most of the cine lenses are optically corrected pretty well; nearly ALL of the native lenses have both distortion, ca and vignetting that is corrected in the camera. If you stick them on a BMPCC or a Z-Cam that doesn't do in camera correction you have to fix all that in post. With some lenses it's a big issue and with others not so much...but you have to look at reviews that check for it.

They are also generally rated using T-Stops to make matching exposure easier between lenses and cameras. F stops are theoretical, T-Stops are measured transmission. How accurate they are on lower priced cine lenses I couldn't say but they have seemed pretty close across my 3 cine lenses when taking photos.