What zoom lens for mirrorless (video) system.

I just bought a Fujifilm XT2.
Upgrading from my old photo system, and my old (sold) Pocket Cinema camera system to have only one camera, I'm questioning about video lenses.


My doubt is:
should I get again a Sigma 18-35/1.8 in Nikon mount with the Metabones NG/X adapter, or should I get the Fujinon 16-55/2.8 which is a stop slower, but an autofocus lens on my Fuji camera?


Sorry if the question sounds strange ... I don't know a better place where asking this type of question....
What would you do in my situation?


For photos I'm thinking to get a trio of primes instead.

marco

I dont know much about your fuji camera but theres a few things to think of here.

If the auto focus works as good as canons dual pixel auto focus in video mode then I'd go with the native lens, it seems to have great reviews. Bonus is that this can also be used in photo mode auto focus.

However if the auto focus isn't worth betting on then I'd go with the sigma for the extra stops of light and manual focus throw. Plus its just a great lens.

I use the Fujifilm eco-system. It's a very impressive system - especially from a photography POV. The lenses are superb. The colour science beautiful. And the X-T cameras, both 1 & 2 are, for my tastes, simply the most usable photo cameras I've ever used. Film or digital.

My X-T1 is a regular addition to every job it's so compact. Using a gorilla-grip and the inbuilt intervalometer, I've ditched the GoPro headache and do all my timelapse with it. If I'm not using the amazing 14mm F/2.8, my alternate wide is a trusty fisheye, the 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8.

Getting to your question. I think unless it's a vintage look you're after (IE. old DSLR lenses from Zeiss Contax, Leica-R, Canon FD etc) then stick with the awesome Fuji X-series lenses. They are simply incredible value. The extra stop is not such an issue as the Fuji X-series cameras perform exceptionally well in low light. You won't get better autofocus than with the native lenses. And the range on that lens of 16-55mm is really usable for video shooting, though I doubt very much it's parfocal.

Personally, I wouldn't use the X-T2 for all my video work, I much prefer a dedicated video/cinema camera. But I'm sure if you shoot carefully, and light well, you could get great results straight out of the camera - no grading needed.

You won't get better autofocus than with the native lenses.

Well.. I'm not getting any autofocus with the Sigma. the adapter has just a diaphragm control.

But looking at the reviews the Fujinon 16-55/2.8 seems the already seen big lens, with moving zoom tube (which won't be smooth as the Sigma internal zooming), with a big non-corrected distortion of 5.59%, with the non-practical focus-ring, etc..


I know the Sigma: its perfect, its sharp, has very low distortion, smooth zoom and smooth focus....
Woul you get the Sigma and stay without autofocus?
I'm thinking to get the sigma

Why are we discussing a Fuji Camera on this BM Camera site? While their is some cross over on lenses that can be used on both Fuji and BM cameras, the OP is asking about Fuji zooms, which do not work on BM cameras.
The last time I looked, BM does not sell lenses or lens adapters...

Well... because Im asking a cinematography question, and I thought this is one of the most professional forums around on the argument...
But if offended I can ask to the canikonian forum.

No Marco, I was only attempting a little dry British humor, no offense. Thanks for the compliment about our professionalism.
Cheers

You won't get better autofocus than with the native lenses.

I know the Sigma: its perfect, its sharp, has very low distortion, smooth zoom and smooth focus....
Woul you get the Sigma and stay without autofocus?
I'm thinking to get the sigma

Sounds like you've made up your mind.

Yes, I would go with the Sigma over the other choice you listed. Auto focus is not always the best way to go for cine/Video work.
Cheers

No Marco, I was only attempting a little dry British humor, no offense. Thanks for the compliment about our professionalism.
Cheers

In the dslr forum they do not know anything about cinematography, in the mirrorless forum they don't care about video, in the Sony forum... well all the sony mirrorless works very bad for video .

Fuji has a nice image which reminds me of the pocket. in 1080 24fps and Log output it works quite well. Its an 8 bit image but not bad.

There's no many places where there's people which use many systems and know what is better with this or that..

Another question... should I get a Blackmagic VideoAssist?
(now we are in topic)
The camera output 422 F-LOG only in 4K. In 1080 it does a normal gamut output which is not the same.

In camera records in H264 at 100Mbps 1080 or 4K (same size for both).
I should say that I'm not interested in 4K but if I want a flog 422 I have to get a 4K recorder...

You might want to look at the VA 4K, but it only does 4K/UHD, not 4KDSC, and has a 7-inch screen, which I find a little large for a DSLR type setup.

Atomos has some nice recorders, that do 4K, different options there. But these record to SSDs, and are bulky a.so.

I went with the Video Devices PixE, 5-inch model, not much bigger than the VA 5-inch model, it does HD and up to 4KDCI, has SDI and HDMI inputs (will do 4K on HDMI), and records to a small eSata drive, housed in a USB key drive type enclosure, very easy to transfer to a computer, just plug it into a USB input. It also has the best audio support and an option for on-board Two channel Mic/Line inputs for excellent sync’d audio recording.

Hope this helps
Cheers

in the Sony forum... well all the sony mirrorless works very bad for video .

Really? I've certainly seen some nice videos from Sony mirrorless cameras; check out

for example or

You might want to look at the VA 4K, but it only does 4K/UHD from the SDI in,it, HDMI is SD and HD only, and has a 7-inch screen, which I find a little large for a DSLR type setup.

Atomos has some nice recorders, that do 4K, different options there. But these record to SSDs, and are bulky a.so.

I went with the Video Devices PixE, 5-inch model, not much bigger than the VA 5-inch model, it does HD and up to 4KDCI, has SDI and HDMI inputs (will do 4K on HDMI), and records to a small eSata drive, housed in a USB key drive type enclosure, very easy to transfer to a computer, just plug it into a HDMI input port. It also has the best audio support and an option for on-board Two channel Mic/Line inputs for excellent sync’d audio recording.

Hope this helps
Cheers

are you sure Denny?
from the blackmagic page says this:

HDMI Video Standards:
SD Video Standards

525i59.94 NTSC, 625i50 PAL
HD Video Standards

720p50, 720p59.94
1080p23.98, 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p29.97, 1080p30, 1080p50, 1080p59.94, 1080p60
1080i50, 1080i59.94, 1080i60
Ultra HD Video Standards

2160p23.98, 2160p24, 2160p25, 2160p29.97, 2160p30
HDMI Color Precision

10-bit

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/produc ... /W-VASS-02

Sorry, you are correct, Marco. I didn’t see the UHD resolution settings, on the next column
But the PixE still goes all the way to 4KDSC, while the VA is only to UHD.

What was that famous quotation from history? I think it was “Give me DCI 4K or give me death!”




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[snip] very easy to transfer to a computer, just plug it into a HDMI input port.

This sounds a bit confusing. You mean USB input port, right?

Thanks Bunk, yes, a USB port, my fingers messed up once again!
Cheers

I went with the Video Devices PixE, 5-inch model, not much bigger than the VA 5-inch model, it does HD and up to 4KDCI, has SDI and HDMI inputs (will do 4K on HDMI), and records to a small eSata drive, housed in a USB key drive type enclosure, very easy to transfer to a computer, just plug it into a USB input. It also has the best audio support and an option for on-board Two channel Mic/Line inputs for excellent sync’d audio recording.

If I needed an external monitor, that would be my choice as well. I used an Atomos Shogun for a while, and honestly didn't end up liking it much; it was a great monitor and very useful exposure and focus tools, but abysmal battery life and mediocre audio.

The Pix-E series has the best audio (if you add the inexpensive XLR module) of any field monitor out there, and it has actual physical buttons for common functions, which is a big plus.

And proper faders for audio, rather than virtual sliders... virtual sliders are terrible. I couldn't stand them on my Shogun, can't stand them now on my Epic. (So I use a Sound Devices recorder for audio. )

Sorry, you are correct, Marco. I didn’t see the UHD resolution settings, on the next column
But the PixE still goes all the way to 4KDSC, while the VA is only to UHD.

Correct, but the camera I jot goes to 4K UHD.

Is the PixE then only 5 inch 4K recorder? The others are all 7 inch?

One question on the Pix E: the "supported cameras" list only mentions two Blackmagic models, the Ursa EF and the Micro Studio camera. Is that really true or would it work with most of the others (e.g., BMPCC, Micro Cinema)? https://www.videodevices.com/products/p ... ed-cameras

From the top of the page:
PIX-E Series monitors support any camera that outputs HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, and HDMI.

From the top of the page:
PIX-E Series monitors support any camera that outputs HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, 6G-SDI, and HDMI.

Nice, thanks!

Yes, and the PixE comes in 5 and 7-inch models. The biggie for me, is the PixE has PCIe interface thst takes EVO cards, so you get more storage capacity for less $. It also has the best in class audio support.
And yes, it works with the Micro Cinema camera and should work with the new Pocket 4K, but UHD and 4K DCI is limited to 30fps at this time.
Cheers

thank you