Lenses for cars tutorial videos

Hello, I need to make tutorial videos for a car brand. I'm thinking of using a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K or 6K. For car interiors (dashboard, use of accessories etc...) which lenses would be perfect?

For the interiors like the dash, I would use a wide angle zoom that allowed for a close focus and fairly wide FOV. In my case that would be the Tokina Cinema ATX 11-20mm that can focus to less than 1’ away.

You may also look at some rectilinear primes that may have less distortion than the Tokina such as the Laowa Zero distortion lenses, 9mm or 12mm (which I believe is better).

An app like LensToolkit f8 will help you select the focal lengths you need to use on the camera you select.

Both of these videos below were shot using the UMPG2 and the Rokinon Cinema Lenses. I had the 16, 24, 35, 50, 85, and 135 lenses in that kit at that time. I've since switched to DZOFilm Vespid Primes, but could still shoot everything exactly the same with those lenses.

Of note, the Pocket 6K will be closest to the Super 35 sensor size of the UMPG2, so these focal lengths on that camera will look similar to what is in these videos.




I also agree the Tokina 11-16 or 11-20 are good options for the event where you need to get wider than 16mm on Super 35 sensor size. Another option is the DZOFilm Pictor 12-25mm, and they also have a Vespid 12mm.

Nice work!

Using the 11-20mm zoom on the BMPCC4K provides a FOV approximately the equivalent of using 13-24mm on the BMPCC6K. That could be useful for those detailed interior shots. Exterior shots would also be able to use longer focal lengths as Tim suggests. I’ve used the Tokina for closeups on narrative work.

Rectilinear (not bending a straight line across the frame) is a must so as not to distort the design of the car. Also keep in mind that for wide angle shots (as in a closed space) a larger sensor can be advantageous (as it will allow a larger focal length for the same angle of view.) In general the wider a lens, the harder (and more expensive) to have it be rectilinear.

Another thing to watch for is chromatic aberration which could also distract from the car's design.

I have a Tokina 11-16 T2.9 and would not recommend it for this purpose. Laowa Zero or a Zeiss Apo Distagon may serve the purpose. Test before the shoot.

For the price, the Laowa Zero is quite impressive in this respect.