"Hurt Locker" lens Canon 8-64mm T2.4 PL zoom - perfect companion for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera?

[Andrew Reid]

Usually most Super 16mm cinema glass won't cover the larger sensor in the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. The sensor is closer in size to the Panasonic GH3. However Shane Hurlbut has had a rather useful discovery, in shooting with the Canon 8-64mm F2.4 on the BMCC he found it covers the sensor just fine without vignetting.

Canon 8-64mm F2.4 PL / Arri on eBay US

[FilmMan]

Could this lens satisfy most shots?

 

Here's the Ebay link I posted yesterday. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canon-Zoom-Lens-8-to-64mm-Super-16-T2-4-with-PL-Mount-from-AbelCine-Price-CUT-/261146575086?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item3ccd8c80ee

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

About 12 years ago I rented a S16 camera with I believe this lens from the DP for Slacker and Dazed and Confused. I was very impressed with the optics. Before with the same camera and the same Vision stock,I had used some Zeiss primes and I actually preferred this zoom to those primes. I thought the Zeiss' had too much contrast. The Canon imaged seemed more pleasing. Better colors. Better skin tones. And being a zoom it had great coverage. I didn't expect this to be the case before using this lens but afterwards I was sold.

[tristan]

It looks like Shane just replied to @Kholi and says the lens vignettes to about a 12mm, just FYI.

https://twitter.com/hurlbutvisuals/status/289863888579747843

[Cfreak]

and I just got finished reading this

http://blog.abelcine.com/2013/01/04/why-you-cant-use-super-16-lenses-with-the-blackmagic-camera/

 

an hour ago, then saw Andrew's post.  Hmmmmm... only time will tell.

[andy lee]

American Cinematography article on Hurtlocker:

To achieve this kind of realism, Bigelow turned to Ken Loach’s longtime cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, BSC.

 

Canon zooms were employed here and throughout the film: either a wide 8–64mm T2.4 or an 11–165mm T2.5. “It’s a good, huge range,” says Ackroyd. “So we’d have three to four cameras, and you’d say to one of the guys, ‘Try to find a rooftop.’ There’s lots of these lovely 45º angles down. Using an 11–165mm zoom, you could pick off a head-and-shoulders shot of someone across the street or have a wide-angle shot. We used a lot of zooms within the film, just to give it that little edge.”

[Andrew Reid]

It looks like Shane just replied to @Kholi and says the lens vignettes to about a 12mm, just FYI.

https://twitter.com/hurlbutvisuals/status/289863888579747843

 

How is that 'perfectly' covers. Bloody hell.

[Bruno]

Many 16mm lenses would lose about 2mm focal length on the wide side when converted to Super 16mm.
The Zeiss 10-100mm for instance, originally made for 16mm, became a 12-120mm when modded for Super 16mm. Maybe something similar can be made to go from super16 to the BMCC sensor size, allowing good 16mm cine lenses to be used with the BMCC.

[yusufwings]

I had posted on ME Blackmagic Facebook in November when we first got our camera, below is a picture of the 25-250 Angenieux with canon adapter mounted on the BMD camera. It works very well with the BMD camera with a 2.3 crop factor.

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=474424539286461&set=a.474424535953128.116329.395169903878592&type=1&theater

 

 

Yusuf Thakur

[Daniel Lowe]

If we're talking about which zooms will and won't cover the BMCC sensor, how safe is it to think that c-mount primes would probably do the trick?

 

Another zoom:  There's a ton of Sony f/2 16-64mm lenses out there, for example, this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SONY-C-MOUNT-MOUNT-SONY-TV-16-64mm-f-2-ZOOM-LENS-/261004066485

I've also had my eye on some 8mm, 9.5mm, and 10mm primes.. an Angenieux 10mm F1.8 can be had for around $200 on ebay.

 

Thoughts about these options?  There's so many c-mount lenses out in the wild.. now, if I could only get my *&^%&* Black Magic camera to test some of these ideas.. been waiting since last August! 
 

[mzo]

If anyone is interested in using this lens on their Blackmagic Cinema Camera, I own its "sister" the CANON 11.5-138 T2.5 ZOOM SUPER16 PL, which I'm now looking to sell... 

 

This lens should not have the vignette problem as the 8-64 one at 8mm, since its minimal focal length is 11.5mm.

 

It's listed on BB List at http://www.bblist.co.uk/item.php?item=34974

 

Have a look!