silent (quiet) zoom with ois

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prestondavis

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silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 12:04 pm

I have been looking for a good starter lens for the bmcc. I work in sensitive audio situations and am learning that the zooms with ois can be noisy. I was almost sold on the canon efs 17-55mm f2.8 (is) but then read some reviews and saw a vid that proved an unacceptable ammount of noise, Is there a zoom out there (with ois) that is really quiet? Most of my work is interview, music performance and video...
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Jason Greene

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 3:04 pm

Even the L-series zooms have audible image stabilization - though perhaps not as bad as the lower-end EF-S zooms. For example, in a quiet environment, I can hear my 70-200 2.8L II USM IS when the image stabilization is working.

Rather than looking for a lens solution, I suggest looking for an audio solution to this problem. A shotgun mic might provide enough isolation for you. Better yet, an off-camera audio solution should be favored in a situation in which the audio is so critical.
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Peter J. DeCrescenzo

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 3:20 pm

Yes, if audio is important to you, you'll want to position a microphone as close to the sound source as possible, usually within a few inches to a foot or so at most. We can't beat physics, unfortunately.
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prestondavis

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 4:21 pm

Thanks for the help. The vimeo clip sounded noisy enough to be heard by a boom op. I guess quietER than that is what i will be seeking.
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Jason Greene

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 7:47 pm

prestondavis wrote:Thanks for the help. The vimeo clip sounded noisy enough to be heard by a boom op. I guess quietER than that is what i will be seeking.


That surprises me. Was the boom pointed at the camera or some other subject? I will say that no, I don't think that the IS on the 70-200mm 2.8L can be heard by a boom in anything other than an absolutely noiseless room (and similarly noiseless pre-amp). Do you have a link to the video? I suspect the same is true about the 24-105mm 4.0L.

Problem is, while the 24-105 is wide enough, it probably isn't fast enough for what we might want for the BMCC. The 70-200mm is almost certainly too long for what you are concerned about (since the subject would be so far from the camera).

Again, it surprises me that you are that sensitive to that low a noise. Is IS absolutely necessary? For the quietest shots, can you simply turn it off?
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prestondavis

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 10:30 pm

Thanls. I am surprised that the 2.8 is not fast enough for the bmcc. How come? What would you suggest?
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Jason Greene

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 11:26 pm

prestondavis wrote:Thanls. I am surprised that the 2.8 is not fast enough for the bmcc. How come? What would you suggest?


I don't think I said or implied 2.8 wasn't fast enough. But, if your point is that I was making a hasty generalization, then you are probably correct. I did say that F4 was probably not fast enough. And there, my thinking is that, indoors in natural light, F4 can be very underexposed at 800 ISO and still underexposed at 1600 ISO. In a light controlled setting or in daylight, it can be fine.
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prestondavis

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Re: silent (quiet) zoom with ois

PostThu Oct 04, 2012 11:43 pm

The lens in original querry: canon efs17-55 f2.8 (is) Someone else mentioned the F4. I do appreciate your input. I am sure we can work around the noise, I had just wondered if there were quieter lens with same specs. Thanks everyone...

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