ThomHaig Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Hi everyone, long time reader of the forums here, thought I'd post and see if anyone can help with my specific situation, please! Ultimately I'm looking for a lightweight-wide angle lens+camera combo to fly on a pistol grip-style 3 axis gimbal (probably nebula 4000 lite) for smooth, stable shots. At present I own a Panasonic G7, and the 12-35mm f2.8 panasonic lens. Nothing else in terms of accessories / lenses. However, with all this chat about the sony a6300, I'm considering selling up the above and jumping on that bandwagon. So I'm exploring lightweight wide lens options for either camera. I got thinking an old FD or Nikkor 17mm in combination with a focal reducer on the a6300 might work well, and should be nice and light. However the older manual lenses won't have anythingin terms of stabalisation. Would this be important for gimbal use? The other options I can think of right now are: stick with the G7 and get the 7-14mm panasonic lens: Problem being it's very expensive for a lens that slow. Has Image stabilisation though, and is nice and light. Alternatively mount a more modern canon wide onto the a6300 via a commlite or similar adapter with electronic control. Possibly the 10-18mm EF-S. That lens is cheap and light, and has IS, but would it being EF-S (not just EF) be a problem when adapting? As an aside, I already own the Tokina 11-16mm ultrawide lens for Canon mount. It's great, but it's weight would throw it over the limit on a lot of the smaller gimbals I'm looking at. It also doesn't have stabilisation. As I'm sure many of us regular feel here, I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by the options out there. Would really appreciate any advice on what might be the best solution for me. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 The Panny 7-14mm f/4 lens does not have OIS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomHaig Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 oh damn... you're right. Must have confused myself trawling through specs! Well, I guess that one's out of the question if IS is a must. Thanks for pointing that out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_one Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 It isn't a MUST if you are experienced with shooting with gimbals, electronic or not (though know the difference!). It helps to have IS in most cases, but I've even found myself turning off lens/sensor IS for certain steadicam motions due to jitters or complete jumps in motion. Something to consider. A well balanced camera+lens with moderate weight within the steadicam system (and a tiny bit of digital stabilization if needed for some troublesome clips) can go a long way, so don't be afraid of lenses without IS if you're finding yourself in a corner with options! 1tkman and Xavier Plagaro Mussard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Daniel Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I use the 5-axis IBIS with the A7SII on the Ronin-M, and it works absolutely brilliantly if your movements are smooth. It completely erases vertical bounce. If your movements are aggressive though, then I'd turn IS off completely. It does jump otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Plagaro Mussard Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 On 3/17/2016 at 11:02 AM, ThomHaig said: Ultimately I'm looking for a lightweight-wide angle lens+camera combo to fly on a pistol grip-style 3 axis gimbal (probably nebula 4000 lite) for smooth, stable shots. At present I own a Panasonic G7, and the 12-35mm f2.8 panasonic lens. In Italy they say don't bandage your head if you didn't break it!!! Buy your gimbal, test it with your system, if it works great. If not, change something. IS normally helps with microjitter, but you have to test. Sometimes it can disturb the image. You can't know before you try it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomHaig Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 On 17/03/2016 at 9:25 PM, j_one said: It isn't a MUST if you are experienced with shooting with gimbals, electronic or not (though know the difference!). It helps to have IS in most cases, but I've even found myself turning off lens/sensor IS for certain steadicam motions due to jitters or complete jumps in motion. Something to consider. A well balanced camera+lens with moderate weight within the steadicam system (and a tiny bit of digital stabilization if needed for some troublesome clips) can go a long way, so don't be afraid of lenses without IS if you're finding yourself in a corner with options! Cool, good to know it's not a must, thanks. Yeah, I could image sometimes lens IS might fight against what the gimbal is doing / natural movement. 11 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said: I use the 5-axis IBIS with the A7SII on the Ronin-M, and it works absolutely brilliantly if your movements are smooth. It completely erases vertical bounce. If your movements are aggressive though, then I'd turn IS off completely. It does jump otherwise. Sounds like a pretty rock-sold set up! I can imagine the IBIS could help a lot... Now if only I could have an a7sII *sigh* 2 hours ago, Xavier Plágaro Mussard said: In Italy they say don't bandage your head if you didn't break it!!! Buy your gimbal, test it with your system, if it works great. If not, change something. IS normally helps with microjitter, but you have to test. Sometimes it can disturb the image. You can't know before you try it... Yeah, I think there's a lot of sense in this. Think I've been a bit swept away on the a6300 hype. I'm only just getting back into filming, and g7 seems great (plus it's nice and light for gimbals use), and that 12-35 lens is giving great results for photos and video so far, so as you say, probably not worth a complete rethinking my gear set up completely. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paniko Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 I'd buy a used LX100 and use it on the Nebula4000. I have both and they work great together. If you want to stick with the G7, take the Olympus 9-18 in consideration also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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