BMPCC 4k lens suggestions? Low budget (+/- $300)

Hello, everybody.

I'm planning on picking up the Pocket 4k, but am brain-frazzled at the myriad lens options I have to choose from. I hope to get a relatively inexpensive one just to allow me to start shooting right away, while I save up for a better (more expensive) lens.

I'm looking at cine lenses with MFT mounts, though I realize I can use adapters for other types of mounts. Any suggestions for someone who can spend around 300 bucks (or less!)?

Here are a few I have my eye on:

Sigma 19mm f/2.8 DN for Micro Four Thirds Cameras (~$170)

Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine ED AS IF UMC for Micro Four Thirds Mount (~$300)

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (~$200)

Any comments, thoughts and/or prayers are welcome.

Thanks,
Toby

Are you aware that none of these are serious cine lenses?
OK, the Rokinon is a still lens in cine style housing and might be OK for a start.

My feeling is that if you want just one lens to start shooting on while you save up for a cine lens, why not get a zoom so you have more flexibility? It won't be a cine lens, but as Uli pointed out neither are the ones you listed.

A good zoom can be expensive, but it'll give you one lens you can use for to meet all your needs for as long as it takes while you save up for a good prime lens or two.

The Panasonic 12-35 has been a standard recommendation for the original Pocket; I have one of these and it's very good. There are others from Panasonic and Olympus that you could check out as well. There are other threads here about lenses for the new Pocket and you should read them to see people's recommendations.

Don't forget to budget for a UV/IR filter and a neutral density filter. The new Pocket 4K has a larger sensor than the old one so is probably less sensitive to diffraction at small apertures, but you'll still want the ND filter.

The Panasonic 12-35 has been a standard recommendation for the original Pocket...

Not as good as the 12-35 Brad is recommending but still usable and in the price range you mentioned:

The Panasonic 14-45
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... io_14.html

$300 at B&H and cheaper for used copies on eBay. You can probably find a decent one for $150-ish.

The OIS also has been confirmed to work well on the original BMPCC.


Steve

Thanks for the info, folks. I figured the different sensor for 4k might have different ideal lens needs, and I'm concerned about vignetting that I read about in some of the descriptions.

That Panasonic at 300 bucks might just do the trick until I can get a better one.

Thanks!

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Hello, everybody.

I'm planning on picking up the Pocket 4k, but am brain-frazzled at the myriad lens options I have to choose from. I hope to get a relatively inexpensive one just to allow me to start shooting right away, while I save up for a better (more expensive) lens.

Any comments, thoughts and/or prayers are welcome.

Thanks,
Toby

Toby
Depending on what you will be shooting.
I have the BMPCC and decided to go with a manual lens, the Sigma 18-35 mm with Nikon mount.
However having had a chance to have the Pocket 4K in my hands my thinking has changed.
The finger wheel control is something to take into consideration.

I would recommend getting a lens that works with the electronics of the camera.
The form factor of the camera lends itself to using the finger wheel to use the native function of the electronic lens.
All the functions on the grip are accessible to finger and thumb.
I have had the Pocket 4K in my hands on 2 separate occasions and I am convinced that getting a good quality zoom MFT lens is the way to go.

I have had the Pocket 4K in my hands on 2 separate occasions and I am convinced that getting a good quality zoom MFT lens is the way to go.

Would the Panasonic linked to above in Steve's post fit that Bill?

Also, thanks for the replies everybody. I made an earlier post that didn't show up.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J327A using Tapatalk

Hello, everybody.

I'm planning on picking up the Pocket 4k, but am brain-frazzled at the myriad lens options I have to choose from. I hope to get a relatively inexpensive one just to allow me to start shooting right away, while I save up for a better (more expensive) lens.

I'm looking at cine lenses with MFT mounts, though I realize I can use adapters for other types of mounts. Any suggestions for someone who can spend around 300 bucks (or less!)?

Here are a few I have my eye on:

Sigma 19mm f/2.8 DN for Micro Four Thirds Cameras (~$170)

Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine ED AS IF UMC for Micro Four Thirds Mount (~$300)

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (~$200)

Any comments, thoughts and/or prayers are welcome.

Thanks,
Toby

To start off for under $300, I would go with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ Lens for $199 and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R Lens for $124. I have the 40-150mm. It's very good for the price. The best lens is a Panasonic 12-35mm 2.8 but that's out of your budget. I advice you to sell something on ebay and get you a 12-35mm. That should be your starter lens.

Hello, everybody.
Sigma 19mm f/2.8 DN for Micro Four Thirds Cameras (~$170)

This is an optically excellent lens, but with focus-by-wire and no aperture ring.
An even cheaper alternative is the Panasonic 25mm/1.7, a standard focal length lens on MFT, more than one stop brighter than the Sigma, but also with focus-by-wire and no aperture ring.

Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine ED AS IF UMC for Micro Four Thirds Mount (~$300)

Not recommended, since this lens is originally made for full frame cameras. It is too heavy and offers too little resolution on MFT.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (~$200)

Not recommended, since an adapter for this lens will be more expensive than the lens itself. Plus, this lens won't resolve 4K in the MFT crop.

A real budget lens to consider is the 7artisans 25mm/1.8, a full manual lens (with aperture + focus ring) for about $100. It's a lens with "character" though; I would look at some test footage/images first before buying it. If you buy this lens, you'd still have enough budget left for a standard MFT zoom such as the Panasonic MFT 14-42mm or 12-32mm. (Both are stabilized, but rely on software distortion correction. They're therefore optically not the best for the BM Pocket, but still okay as everyday lenses.)

I have had the Pocket 4K in my hands on 2 separate occasions and I am convinced that getting a good quality zoom MFT lens is the way to go.

Would the Panasonic linked to above in Steve's post fit that Bill?

Also, thanks for the replies everybody. I made an earlier post that didn't show up.


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I do not have any experience with that lens but it being MFT would fit part of the bill.

AS for quality, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". That is your decision.

Until the camera is in the wild and we hear war stories everything is up in the air.

When the BMPCC first came out , there was so much negative energy directed at it, but as time went by and Metabones got involved and brought out the Speedbooster ,the firmware got updated and talented people used it, the BMPCC became the little camera that could.
The same will happen with the Pocket 4K.
I understand the idea of being ready to hit the ground running, but I would advise against it.
If you are going to throw money at it from scratch, rather wait and see what develops.

That was the story of pairing the BMPCC with the Sigma 18-35mm Art lens and the Speedbooster.

Thanks for all the replies, everybody! I'm carefully considering all the lenses mentioned, but more than likely I'll be leaning towards the Panasonic 14-45.

And also:

I understand the idea of being ready to hit the ground running, but I would advise against it.
If you are going to throw money at it from scratch, rather wait and see what develops.

...I will more than likely be following this advice, as well.

Cheers,
Toby

I’d wholeheartedly second the Panasonic 12-35mm. It’ll give you OIS too, I don’t think the Olympus ones do. Regarding vignetting: no MFT lens will, but most cine lenses made for S-16 will, with few exceptions among the longer focal lengths.

Any kind of old vintage manual glass for reflex cameras only and a corresponding Chinese noname speedbooster. It would cost you about US$100 and all other sum could be saved for the times when you shoot more and better understand what exactly you need. Possibly - any kind of MFT lenses with builtin OIS.

Specific don'ts:

Don't try anything with C-mount except possibly fish-eyes and lenses specifically approved for MFT - it would vignette. It could be OK for original BMPCC but not for 4K.

Don't try anything rangefinder. It could protrude too deep into the camera.

Disclaimer: It's a theory only, I own BMPCC, not BMPCC4K.

I can confirm from experience, I had both a GH2 (soon sold) and the BMPCC for a while. Even on the BMPCC some C-mount ones were vignetting, only the longer ones from about 20mm were OK.

There used to be quite a lot of discussion when the GH2 was popular about which vintage lenses to use on it, google for 16mm or C-mount and GH2. Some of those lenses cost peanuts, but don't go for 2/3", only 1" versions may cover.

Plus, I second the idea of getting some vintage lenses and a cheap Chinese adapter. Many of those old manual lenses are better 'cine' lenses than the whole fly-by-wire stuff. But no real wides for MFT for low budget.