What lens to buy with $2000 for BMCC MFT - Please Help!

Hi guys,
A bit of a newbie - I've decided to buy a BMCC and as I don't own any other cameras or lens been advised to go down the MFT mount route - correct advice ?
I'll be mainly using it for music promo's plus acoustic sessions and maybe some live shots. I've a limited budget - need lens,however I don't want poor choice or cheap choice limiting quality.
In the past I have used a Canon 5d mk3 with Canon Ef 35 mm L and Canon 2.8 70-200 mm is mk2 and had great results.
Could anyone advise me 2-4 really good lens for the MFT mount which will give me similar results (or better) - I'm right in saying no IS is available ? $2000 budget.......
HOPE someone can help......
Kj

There are already so many lens discussions on the forum. Just a quick search and you'll have your answers and learn a whole lot more in the process.

Here are a few to start with:
BMCC-EF-or-MFT?
viewtopic.php?t=12115

Confusion-about-lens-options-for-the-Blackmagic-MFT
viewtopic.php?t=12684

Lens-compatibility
viewtopic.php?t=12530

Cheers kj

So I'm thinking of spending 1000-1500 pounds(1700-2200 dollars) on MFT lens------ Can anyone throw at me some confirmed great looking working lens for MFT mount..... Cheers kj

I doubt you'll get 2-4 good lenses for $2000. With your budget, I would recommend Sigma 18-35/1.8 (Nikon mount) with Metabones SpeedBooster. That should cover you from wide to portrait with good fast glass. I'd then personally add Nikon G 50/1.8 and 85/1.8. That's my kit list anyway, once I've finished buying it - waiting for the Nikon mount of the Sigma.

Cheers - Anyone else have opinions for which MFT lens for music videos ? kj

I'm a big believer in using prime lenses.

You might want to look at the Voigtländer series; 17.5mm, 25mm and 42.5mm - all very fast, at a ridiculous f/0.95. They would let you shoot under nearly any lighting conditions, or create very shallow DOF, if that's what you're looking for.

Right now, I just got the 17.5mm, and I'm loving it on the Pocket. I do plan to get the 42.5mm as well - they run $995 - $1,150 on the street, and they're worth every penny. Have a look at galleries on Flickr, or search for video that was shot with them... you'll see what I mean.

They are totally manual, and no IS - but for me it's the look that matters, and I can find other ways to eliminate the jitters.

I'm a big believer in using prime lenses.

You might want to look at the Voigtländer series; 17.5mm, 25mm and 42.5mm - all very fast, at a ridiculous f/0.95. They would let you shoot under nearly any lighting conditions, or create very shallow DOF, if that's what you're looking for.

Right now, I just got the 17.5mm, and I'm loving it on the Pocket. I do plan to get the 42.5mm as well - they run $995 - $1,150 on the street, and they're worth every penny. Have a look at galleries on Flickr, or search for video that was shot with them... you'll see what I mean.

They are totally manual, and no IS - but for me it's the look that matters, and I can find other ways to eliminate the jitters.

I have the 17.5mm and the 25mm, just awesome lenses, waiting to buy the 45mm and the SLRMagic 12mm

These sound great ---- do they fit directly onto the MFT mount - I'm about ready to pull the trigger on the camera - Just need to know what Lens and also frame/Tripod possible jib for the camera ......
Thanks guys - keep the options flowing .... kj

SLR Magic 12mm anyone ? kj

For fiction/narrative work, I love using prime lenses. You mentioned you did some "live shoots", though. A good zoom lens can be invaluable for any sort of doc. work, IMO. However, you know better than anyone else here what kind of work comes your way. If it's a matter of zoom vs. prime(s), you have to make that call. Just keep in mind that for $2,000 you are most likely looking at rokinon/samyangs vs. sigma 18-35 (nikon mount)

If I was to get one good Zoom ? advise ? kj

Karl, those Voigtländers have MFT mounts; they're native on the BMCC MFT and Pocket.

The thought of a Speed Booster on a f/0.95 lens is kind of funny...

I'm a big believer in using prime lenses.

You might want to look at the Voigtländer series; 17.5mm, 25mm and 42.5mm - all very fast, at a ridiculous f/0.95. They would let you shoot under nearly any lighting conditions, or create very shallow DOF, if that's what you're looking for.

Right now, I just got the 17.5mm, and I'm loving it on the Pocket. I do plan to get the 42.5mm as well - they run $995 - $1,150 on the street, and they're worth every penny. Have a look at galleries on Flickr, or search for video that was shot with them... you'll see what I mean.

They are totally manual, and no IS - but for me it's the look that matters, and I can find other ways to eliminate the jitters.

I have the 17.5mm and the 25mm, just awesome lenses, waiting to buy the 45mm and the SLRMagic 12mm

I have the 17.5mm and 25mm Voigtlanders but still at position 260 in the wait for the BMPCC at CVP so it's going to be a while before I get to use them.

Can anyone advise me on a good zoom they are using on the BMCC MFT ?
kj

The zoom everyone seems to love is the Panasonic 12-35mm.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8 ... Vario.html

I have the Voigtlander 25mm. It's a nicely built lens, solid to feel, and the picture quality in early testing with my pocket camera is excellent.
It's a fully manual lens though. just bear that in mind.
I don't know the 12-35mm Panny, but if you are looking for a single all-rounder to start with, I would probably recommend that. Some very cheap prime lenses with excellent quality are c-mount.
Randy, is your Switar 10mm non-RX? They seem hard to find.

Panasonic 12-35 it's a good lens but it will suite better in BMPCC which has an active mount and can take advantage of the O.I.S., AF, etc. For the BMCC MFt I would go for the voigtlander and the slr magic series. You can look for the 12mm slr magic, the 17.5mm voigtlander, and regarding 25mm there's both an slr magic with T0.95 and a voigtlander with f0.95. As far as I know, slr magic is more sharp and faster(t instead of f) but the voigtlander have nicer bokeh and a more flat color, but that's my opinion.

Now that I'm thinking it again, how you would use the 12-35 in the BMCC, you cannot control aperture in passive mount, there's no aperture ring... So, you have to go for manual prime lenses which has aperture ring

As others have said, you can't use the Panasonic MFT lenses on the BMCC MFT. Get the Nikon mount Metabones speedbooster and a good Nikon mount zoom.

I personally would do exactly what I did with the EF BMCC and get a set of Contax Zeiss glass. 28 f/2.8, 50 f/1.4 (for low light) and the 35-70 f/3.4 and covers normal and tele. That should cost about $1000.

Then you need something for wide shots. I have the Tokina 11-16, but that needs active mount so you could get that with an adapter and I think you'd be right at $2k. There may be better options on the MFT for wide but I haven't researched that because I went EF.

For $2000 you can get some great super16 glass, too. Zeiss Super Speeds as low as 16mm T1.3 will cover the BMCC. I paid about that much for my Zeiss MkII 10-100 T1.8 zoom WITH the Mutar 2x extender. Covers the BMCC through the full range AND it's parfocal. With some patience and ebay searching, you will find a lot of great stuff. Schneider Cinegon super16 lenses are a great option at certain focal lengths.

Some great glass that you can get for that budget. I'd stay away from buying new - it is not necessary.

For example, the zoom:

Zeiss 10-100 on ebay for $1800
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carl-Zeiss-10-1 ... 27d88b2bee

and a PL extender to make it cover BMCC - $600
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-16-Centur ... 588748b97c

That is a $2400 sunk cost for a cinema-quality lens, arguably better than most being manufactured today in this price range.

Can anyone advise me on a good zoom they are using on the BMCC MFT ?
kj

I'm using the Sigma 18-50mm with fixed f2.8 aperture. I went for the Nikon mount and a Novoflex adapter as that then gives me access to a ton of cheaper Nikon glass. It's fine although even with the crop factor, 50mm isn't exactly a telephoto type of shot. I think I'll invest in a further, longer zoom at some point or even a telephoto prime.

My main lens is the Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f0.95. I can't stress enough how utterly beautiful and incredible it is. In my opinion it makes the MFT mount definitely the go-to option for the BMCC.

For a bmcc mft with passive mount you need manual aperture glass OR Nikon glass with aperture control adapter.
If you do live event and documentary , you'll have to take a zoom.
Manual apertur zoom are usually vintage glass and the wide angle are usually not very fast .... and short focale with old design is not a very good combo usually (i've heard somewhere that computer designing did the wide angle side a lot better).
So I suggest to take a Nikon to mft speed booster , and to buy a used Nikkor 17-55 2.8 or a Sigma 16-35 1.8 , eventually a Tokina 11-16 .

Regarding to prime lens , my choice are samyang lenses 16mm , (24mm) , 35mm and 85 ... with a speedbooster.
I know that seem strange to stick with the speedbooster in all my option but i have a few reason for that:

-i can rent Compact primes with Nikon mount if i need proper cine lens with long focus throw and keep the posibility of wide angle.

-I can stick my lenses to virtually any camera if needed .
Ex 1 : need slowmo , no budget , still able to rent an FS700 or Epic body for a day or two. Ex 2 : 5 years from now , getting tired of the bmcc , want to buy the new hype camera S35 or full frame sensor... Yay Already have glass.

- the after market is larger , if i decide to quit video production to become a Tibetan Monk , lenses are sold more easily to get my plane ticket.

For $2000 you can get some great super16 glass, too. Zeiss Super Speeds as low as 16mm T1.3 will cover the BMCC. I paid about that much for my Zeiss MkII 10-100 T1.8 zoom WITH the Mutar 2x extender. Covers the BMCC through the full range AND it's parfocal. With some patience and ebay searching, you will find a lot of great stuff. Schneider Cinegon super16 lenses are a great option at certain focal lengths.

Some great glass that you can get for that budget. I'd stay away from buying new - it is not necessary.

For example, the zoom:

Zeiss 10-100 on ebay for $1800
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carl-Zeiss-10-1 ... 27d88b2bee

and a PL extender to make it cover BMCC - $600
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-16-Centur ... 588748b97c

That is a $2400 sunk cost for a cinema-quality lens, arguably better than most being manufactured today in this price range.

Hey Kenny, Do you have problems with your Zeiss 10-100 not being parfocal when you use the teleconverter? I have this same set up and the parfocal doesnt work when I use the mutar teleconverter.
Was hoping you might have some insight?

cheers