noone

A7s was/is my all time favourite. Just using its ungraded internal full HD and that is/was probably overkill for me. That camera is dead now and I can not afford anything decent so I am using an even older baby Nex 3n (point and shoot camera with interchangeable lenses but a still nice APSC sensor)...and I do not even use the largest size in that preferring to use the 1440x1080 straight from the camera. I should say i mainly just record the odd song while shooting stills at pub and club gigs and festivals. Other cameras I have had and liked include the original A7 (video was ok for me though the A7s is much better) and the above mentioned Panasonic GX7 though its video max of ISO 3200 was a bit low for my needs.. Nex 3N mounted to my ancient 300 2.8 Tamron adaptall (with a Nikon adaptall, Nikon to Canon adapter and Canon to Sony E adapter....I hope to try and use it for a song or two today but without a viewfinder might have to keep it to stills.

I look at my photos and video on several different screens and they all look different. Usually, I prefer the colour i get from my cheap little tablet. I have been thinking about colour checking lately though for my NEXT computer....so that would be nice to learn about going forward.

I would try something but the ones I have are not really worth doing all that much. I guess having used some for decades, it is just easier going elsewhere for me. They do have some nice lenses though.

Even with a extra twist they can still be loose for me...I have a pet Pentax Spotmatic film camera with a 28mm 2.8 M42 lens on it and even it can twist off if I am not careful.

The problem for M42 lenses for me is they unscrew so easily (when focusing them and I do not want to). I have a couple but that is one of the main reasons I do not use them (mine are also not as good as other similar lenses I have). The ones I have currently are off brand though i did have a 17 blade Biotar 58 f2 and a 55mm f2 Takumar I liked a bit.

A little Sony DCR-SR45 that I got from a charity shop. I might take it to a steep road that does seem to have a few boy racers but that might be a wile off. I will probably throw it in my bag for a mini festival this Saturday. Thandi Phoenix (among others) She just played at the NRL Grand final and supported One Republic in the last couple of weeks and releases her debut EP tomorrow ..playing on a stage in the park so might pack it alongside my 300 2.8 and give it a try (at least before it gets too dark).

I just got a SD hard disc drive handycam for $5 (Australian) just in case the opportunity arises ...40x optical zoom (not stabilised). It seems that all the reviews when it released 11 or so year ago say Nice little easy to use camera let down by one thing .....its video is not very good (or more like barely useable SD video). Got a nice cheap tripod to use it on so all I need now is a motor race (and track)!

I can not remember it was that long ago....probably was not all that fast since it had the aerodynamics of a brick and besides I was too terrified to notice anyway...early 1980s.

I have been around that place decades ago as a passenger in a VW Kombi....some of the scariest moments of my life (it is a public road when not racing).

Yes, If it was 85mm for instance and the subject was about 10 feet from the camera, even at f8 the DOF would be just over a foot (APSC sized sensor) so anything well behind like in the above SHOULD be blurred.

I am actually happy to leave it since I have much better lenses and it does work ok (ish). I will try the vacuum though and if I can get this little 2.8 cheap enough i think I will. I had a EF 135 f2 L and Sigma 150 2.8 and had to let one go so kept the Sigma as it is more versatile but the L was light years better than the 1.8 Promura so not a high priority. Thanks though.

I have actually used a vacuum on lenses before but not this one. I don't have it with me at the moment but I will try it with this lens. Not sure it will work but might be worth a go anyway (it seems like someone tried to clean it internally and just made things worse) ....I got it long ago at a bricks and mortar store long gone and the seller suggested it was probably down to someone attempting a clean that should not have.

Anyone tried a Promura 135 2.8? I know of one in almost as new condition that should be quite cheap. I need another lens like a new hole in my head but if it is cheap enough, what price would be worth it? I actually have a Promura 135 1.8 but the two are chalk and cheese in appearance (though both very solidly built) mine has a film of some kind inside and while very impressive to look at is so so for image quality (I think someone previously tried to clean it) I have had it for maybe fifteen years though have not used it very much since using 6mp Pentax DSLRs some years ago and film cameras before that. This 2.8 lens has almost no dust inside which for a lens of its age is very rare. Oh and it is FD mount (My 1.8 is m42 screwmount).

My current lens strategy is to try and hang on to the ones I have left! I am a gadget bloke who is now poor so can not afford much now or at least nothing over a couple of hundred dollars (Australian...so about $2 US). Having had some good stuff over the last few years, I am done buying cheap rubbish though for the sake of it. Will be sticking with Sony E mount and Canon EF mount cameras for now and my lenses are pretty well set....with my main lenses being- Canon 17mm F4 L TS-E (both systems, my favourite lens ever...used far more on Sony though).. Canon FD 24 1.4 (for Sony) Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 (for Sony) Sigma 150 2.8 APO macro (both) Tamron adaptall 300 2.8 (both). Canon 20-35 2.8 L (both) I have some others for both and a few lenses for systems I no longer have so can not use. Many of the above are hardly used for video though but will use them depending on the situation. Since poverty will probably keep me at APSC for a while at least, I have to add EF to E and FD to E focal reducers in the coming months.

Do any focal reducers NOT have a blue spot at all shooting into a bright light source? I want EF to E and FD to E focal reducers and preferably as cheap as possible and some of the use will be shooting towards stages that can have bright lights. Any suggestions? Will be getting both in the new year I think.

That 200 1.8 would be a fantastic lens for live music in smallish venues (pub and club low light gigs especially). While I am envious and would love to have one and use it there, I can not help but think a much cheaper EF 300 2.8 AF of the same vintage would do as well if not better at Monza (as well as being lighter though longer).

Thanks, Yeah focal length choice IS personal and I agree about framing to the same size. Just remembered I HAVE had a 35mm prime- I had an old MF Nikon 35 1.4 briefly but it was one I got cheap as it had some issues and I never really got on with it anyway. I usually use a wider lens for environmental portraits. For stills portraits I usually use (on both APSC and FF though without FF for now) 50/55mm, 150mm 2.8 and 300mm 2.8 lenses though I also love 85mm (pretty much any lens 70mm and up) but do not have any of those to use right now (I do have an FD 85 1.2L I love but it still needs repair as the focus throw is very loose due to dissolving bearings and I still have to find somewhere to repair it in Australia and then afford the repair cost). My favourite lens for groups of people is my 17mm tilt shift though I also like using longer lenses from further back when I have the room. 24/55/85/150/300 I will pretty much have the same sort of framing for portraits including both head shots and full body. It is not so easy to carry around and in crowds it makes me a bit self conscious but I do love using my old MF Tamron 300 2.8 for stills portraits outdoors. For VIDEO, I really only use shorter focal lengths unless it is something specific that will be used on a tripod. I have a one day festival next month and will probably take this 24 1.4, my 55 1.8 for an AF lens and the 300 2.8 (plus a little superzoom Canon camera for day time use). Since it seems I am pretty much now going to be stuck with APSC, I should get FD to E and EF to E focal reducers ASAP.

I have never really used 35mm (FF angle of view) lenses very often, not something I every really wanted I guess and my only lenses that covered that are/were zooms. I have never got what many saw in it to the point some use it as their ONLY lens. That said, I have started putting my ancient Canon FD 24 1.4 L on my little APSC (1.5x crop) Sony Nex and I think I am really going to like it. I do like it on FF at 24mm but I think it will get used a lot more now on crop. Way too shallow DOF close in for video for me at 1.4 or even f2 I think but fine for stills and stopped down will have its uses for video. I should have stopped this down a bit I think.

Probably ANY lens that you can find will be OK as long as it is wide enough for what you want and the light is enough for the camera to not go to too high an ISO. This was with 1.5x APSC and was a 17mm lens so about 25mm FF equivalent and about 10 feet from the nearest musicians I think. I guess it also depends on are you shooting full bands or solo artists?

So what temperature SHOULD Canon cameras be used at? Does it void the warranty if used at other temps? I love Canon tilt shift lenses and the 17 is my all time favourite lens but for me, it works much better on Sony E mount than any Canon DSLR camera I have used and I guess the same will be true for other mirrorless cameras for which smart adapters are available.

Not a beach as in surf/ocean beach but there is a lagoon here in Wagga that has its shore covered in trash (comes out of a storm water system). Maybe suggest she pick a spot on the beach of her choice and arrange with the council to BYO trash to film (just promise to clean it up afterwards).

I think the probe lens will be about it unless you can find a VERY small camera. You could also just use as long and fast a lens as you can get and get as close as you can and MAYBE it might work like shooting through a cage or wire fence?

I love using good primes AS zooms! Just got a tiny Sony Nex-3N for less than $120 Australian posted (well under $100 US) and it has a bit of a point and shoot camera about it with a zoom toggle switch around the shutter button just like a P&S and it works great with good primes for Clear Zoom (I have not tried it for regular digital zoom and doubt I will beyond 2x)......a pity it does not work for RAW or video but only Jpeg stills (it is a few years old now). I wish Sony made something like that now and it worked for video. This is from the weekend (International blues music day) using the Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 and quite a bit of clear zoom.

The Sony Zeiss 55 1.8 has spoilt it for me so not looking for 50ish lenses anymore. I agree that age and condition of an individual copy of a lens means you can not really compare two lenses and have that representing ALL copies of those. That said, I have had a LOT of them and from memory would rank them for my liking something like- 1) Canon FD 50 1.2 L best legacy lens by far (though a long way behind the Sony Zeiss). 2) Sony 50 1.8 APSC stabilized AF lens if it was full frame it would be 1 3) Pentax 50 1.2 K second best legacy lens by far (I used it for around 20 years and it fell to bits from overwork and being tossed around my bag a lot even though it was extremely well built) 4) Nikon 50 1.8 AF (non D made in Japan) A lot better than its price. 5) Canon AF nifty fifty (I just never really got to like that much though it was ok). Below that all the rest (and there are a few) are pretty much about the same . Not rating a ancient Biotar 58 f2 I had (tiny, lots of blades, only a single coating and no click stops). Very sharp but very low contrast. I liked it a lot but would not use it for many situations.

They are ALL doomed as far as cameras as we know them right now. MIGHT be a bit more than five years though. In ten to fifteen years, I would not be surprised if the biggest imaging company was one that does not currently exist.