Pocket Camera for short films, need lens help

Hey I was thinking about buying the BM Pocket Camera, was was wondering what lens I would need to go around it for the best possible look for a feature film / indie film style looking. Also any suggestions for recording audio? Thanks

Take a look at the Veydra prime lens set. Tons of other choices but if you prefer primes, Veydra may be a good choice.


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There is loads of info in his forum answering both those questions. Probably why you haven't received much of a response - though Rick's suggestion is a good one.

I suggest you have a good look though, and also check out the BMCUser Forum where there's a dedicated lens thread:
http://www.bmcuser.com/forumdisplay.php ... Discussion

Some search terms to try (also search in google):
Metabones Speedbooster BMPCC
Super 16 lenses for BMPCC
BeachTek pre amps for BMPCC

Good rule of thumb is: a basic set of lenses includes a normal, wide and tele lens.

A "normal" lens (similar to human eye) is 18mm on the BMPCC.

Affordable recommendation:

Normal: Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 - close enough to 18mm, and lets a lot of light in.
samples

Wide: Tokina 11-17mm zoom with the Metabones Speed Booster gets you out to 8mm wide angle
samples

Tele: Sigma 18-35mm very popular lens
samples


Ther are much better/more expensive lenses available, but many people think these get you a lot of bang for the buck. The Speed Booster is essential gear, as it gives you the choice of widening the lens and adding over a stop of light. You have to order a SB to fit the lenses (Nikon or Canon)

You'll also need to buy a straight Nikon or Canon adapter.

HTH Good luck.

Also, in addition to the Veydra Mini Primes Rick mentioned, in the native MFT lenses, you could have a matched set with the Panasonic Leica DG lens series: With a12mm f/1.4 (Olympus 12mm f/2.0 less expensive alternative), 15mm f/1.7, a wide normal, and 25mm f/1.4 for the short tele. Also their is a 45mm f/2.8 and the acclaimed 42.5 f/1.2 Noct. lens (also a little pricey). The 15, 25, 45mm set is not too expensive, used copies are also available.

The Panny/Leica all share a similar cinematic IQ, and have well controlled distortion. Since they are native MFT lenses, Pocket camera "push to focus/Iris" function works well for a quick focus/exposure setting. On the Micro cameras, you get dual auto Iris capability, and LANC focus works very well.
DS

Here's a current list of Super 16 lenses that may be a good read:

http://cinematechnic.com/resources/opti ... =hootsuite



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Rick's reference above drives home a very important point, to get the full benefit of a S16 sensor, you need higher quality optics/lenses, than you would need on a larger sensor. Most still lenses designed for 35mm photography do not have the resolving power of good S16 lenses. An exception here is Leica, which is why Leica is a step above the rest in 35mm film photography, they got it right and designed very high quality optics for their camera that gave similar results as shooters using a medium format camera.

A S16 sensor is about 1/2 the size of s35m so to get the same quality, you need to double up the resolution. To get a 2K resolved image quality on S16, the lens needs to have the resolving power of a S35 lens, so you need a 4K optical resolution if using S35 or MFT lenses on a S16 camera, if,you want to use larger format lenses on the smaller sensor. Veydra Mini Primes are 4K rated, so work fine, and are close to the Zeiss Super Speeds, another excellent S16 lens.

The above reference is a good read for any S16 shooter or someone considering Lenses for a S16 camera setup. Thanks Rick.
Cheers

You could shoot an entire film on the Pocket with the Sigma 18-35 and a Metabones Speedbooster plus a dump adapter if you really wanted to. Depends on your budget. I shot about 50% of a feature with that exact combo.

Here's a current list of Super 16 lenses that may be a good read:

http://cinematechnic.com/resources/opti ... =hootsuite



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This is a fantastic list! The only lens missing that I used in college with the ARRI SR2 S16 Camera is the Zeiss 12-120mm T2.4. That was a great lens. Used that and the Canon 8-64mm T2.4 at Drexel.

EDIT: Oh, wait. They do have it. The 10-110 T2 is modified into the 12-120 T2.4. Cool. http://cinematechnic.com/super-16mm/sup ... conversion

Glad you enjoyed that read. And Vic's advice is good too as his feature film looks great (based on the stills I've seen).


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Tim, how do you like the Zeiss converted 10-110mm T2 zoom lens? I have been looking at this conversion as well as the original Zeiss 12-120 S16 zoom version.
Cheers

Tim, how do you like the Zeiss converted 10-110mm T2 zoom lens? I have been looking at this conversion as well as the original Zeiss 12-120 S16 zoom version.
Cheers

I used the 12-120 in college. I loved that lens. Preferred it over the Canon. If I could buy it today to use on the UM4.6K in a S16 Window mode I'd be ecstatic.


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Thanks. I am considering one of the CinemaTechnic conversion from the Zeiss 10-100 to the 12-120, as well as an Angenieux 15-150 PL mount S16 zoom, both are in the $1800 price range.
Cheers

Hey Denny,

I've owned the 12-120 Optex conversion of the 10-100 and still own the 11-110mm. The Zeiss' are sharper than the the Canon 8-64mm but harder to use. The close focus of 5' is a bummer indoors, the "macro" function is useless. The Zeiss' will actually focus closer than 5' but you'll get a hard vignette. Also the front of the Zeiss' move whereas the Canon is fixed. Right now I pretty much use the 11-110mm on exteriors and primes for interiors. I might flip the Zeiss for a Canon 11-165mm, what I'm really looking for though is the very rare Canon 10.8-180mm. I'll be home in a couple weeks, hit me up if you want to borrow it.

Good Luck

Good to know, thanks Howard, we should get together when you get back. Good luck with the rest of your trip.
Cheers

Here's a video I just got on to my Vimeo that I shot back in 2008. I selected a couple of test shots from the ARRI SR2 Super 16mm Film Camera that I did for my Advanced Film class at Drexel University:



Used the ARRI SR2 with Zeiss 12-120mm T2.4 lens.
Mixture of Kodak 50D & 500T (with 85 Filter) and various ND filters.
Days of shooting were July 28 & August 13, 2008.

I hope this video shows how the Zeiss 12-120mm T2.4 looked despite the piss-poor SD transfer of the film.

Interesting test, thanks for sharing Tim.
Cheers

Tim, there's a company in Arizona I think it was that will do an HD telecine of 16mm film. If I ever have $1,000 burning a hole in my pocket, I know they'll take it from me as I'd like to transfer some 16mm B&W to HD video someday.

If you need me to get the name of the company, I might have it in some old emails if Apple didn't lose them on me around the time you shot that film.

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Rick, most of that film was left at the school when I graduated. I only have a couple hundred feet of some projects. None of the test footage stayed with me. Only what I had on tape that made its way to a hard drive. Although, I do want to HD transfer film from two projects. One B&W shot on the Bolex H16, and the other color from the ARRI SR2.


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Let me know when you need the lead, and if you find your lead, maybe share that here. Would be a good discussion actually in the Cinematography thread here in the Cinematography forum. My footage is from a very old Bolex. It was old when I bought it in the early 70s. Tempus fugit!


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