Any "Affordable" Primes With Minimal Focus Breathing?

[Mark Romero 2]

So are there any sleeper lenses out there for under a couple of hundred bucks that have minimal focus breathing? Preferably something around an f/2 35mm or 50mm?

(Don't exactly have to be f/2, don't exactly have to be 35mm and 50mm. Just be in the ballpark.)

Doesn't have to be super sharp. 

Nice(ish) bokeh is appreciated.

The bokeh on my Minolta MD 50mm f/2 is nice wide open, but if you stop down a little bit it (f/2.8) you get distinct hexagons. And it breathes more than I want.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Emanuel]

Samyang/Rokinon fit(s) me, no idea how it is for you, though : -)

Here's some sample, you can evaluate by yourself:

Hope this helps! : -)

[rawshooter]

It depends on the lens mount and sensor size of the camera you use, but Meike's Cine primes (unofficial successors to the Veydra primes) best fit your criteria.

[Mark Romero 2]

2 hours ago, Emanuel said:

Samyang/Rokinon fit(s) me, no idea how it is for you, though : -)

Here's some sample, you can evaluate by yourself:

Hope this helps! : -)

Thanks. It looks pretty good.

42 minutes ago, rawshooter said:

It depends on the lens mount and sensor size of the camera you use, but Meike's Cine primes (unofficial successors to the Veydra primes) best fit your criteria.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Full frame, probably EF mount. Looks like the Meike Cine primes are for M43 and mirrorless though, right?

 

[IronFilm]

What cameras are you shooting with currently? 

[Mark Romero 2]

8 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

What cameras are you shooting with currently? 

Well, right now just got a Panasonic S1 with the Sigma MC-21 adapter, so basically full frame with Canon EF glass.

The Lumix 24-105 f/4 lens the camera came with is nice except it is big and slow (f/4). It has minimal focus breathing (some say no focus breathing), and it has an automatic punch in when using manual focus with that lens, but it is kind of big and heavy, and is only f/4.

Plus it might be a little too sharp / clinical for what I have in mind.

EDIT: Most older manual focus full frame lenses can be adapted to the S1 with a simple mechanical adapter. 

[rawshooter]

2 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Looks like the Meike Cine primes are for M43 and mirrorless though, right?

 

Yes, only mirrorless mounts, MFT and APS-C e-mount.

For EF, there are no affordable lenses with minimized focus breathing. The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses.

The closest is probably Tokina's new cine prime series, but whether it's affordable depends on your budget and definition...

[Cinegain]

Hum, never really paid attention to focus breathing with my Leica Summicron-R 35 & 50mm f/2 E55 primes. They don't get much attention these days I feel like, but like the Contax Yashica Zeiss lenses, these were quite popular to have a set of for cinema shooters. You can get the old school Leitz ones at a steal (well, for being a Leica). Maybe something to look into. First thing that came to mind when you mentioned you'd ideally have 35/50mm f/2.

[kye]

3 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Plus it might be a little too sharp / clinical for what I have in mind.

I've had success matching softer lenses with sharper lenses (or matching a softer wide-open image with a sharper stopped-down image from the same lens).

I'd recommend taking a blurred copy of the image and adding it on top with a small opacity, there will be tweaks to get it perfect but that should get you into the ballpark.

[Emanuel]

5 hours ago, rawshooter said:

It depends on the lens mount and sensor size of the camera you use, but Meike's Cine primes (unofficial successors to the Veydra primes) best fit your criteria.

Yeah, I myself reminded them, just didn't mention it because Samyang/Rokinon is wider range, lens mount compatibility related AFAIK. And I have no personal experience with that cheaper route, actually. I will but not so far : ) Your entry is 100% valid, I'd dare to second that anyway. It is worthy to give it a try if it feeds your mount needs, Mark @Mark Romero 2 IMO (E : -)

2 hours ago, rawshooter said:

For EF, there are no affordable lenses with minimized focus breathing. The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses.

Have you taken a look on that sample up there?

[Super8]

8 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

Yeah, I myself reminded them, just didn't mention it because Samyang/Rokinon is wider range, lens mount compatibility related AFAIK. And I have no personal experience with that cheaper route, actually. I will but not so far : ) Your entry is 100% valid, I'd dare to second that anyway. It is worthy to give it a try if it feeds your mount needs, Mark @Mark Romero 2 IMO (E : -)

Have you taken a look on that sample up there?

"The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses."

2 hours ago, rawshooter said:

Yes, only mirrorless mounts, MFT and APS-C e-mount.

For EF, there are no affordable lenses with minimized focus breathing. The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses.

The closest is probably Tokina's new cine prime series, but whether it's affordable depends on your budget and definition...

What entry level EF Cine Lens would you recommend?

[Emanuel]

40 minutes ago, Super8 said:

"The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses."

I read, just wondering why not WTH?! : ) Where's any little to no breathing present there is unacceptable?? You have there only one situation where it is a bit visible... Let alone it is the traditional open wider FOV to match the traveling effect shot if any or minimal. People spend money on dollies for that! : D

Oh gosh, I am in the film industry for decades and something I can assure you all, certain FUD I read over online boards at times is absolutely nonsense or mere BS : P I wonder how many people here are used to watch movies, without mention classics... LOL : -)

[Mark Romero 2]

1 hour ago, kye said:

I've had success matching softer lenses with sharper lenses (or matching a softer wide-open image with a sharper stopped-down image from the same lens).

I'd recommend taking a blurred copy of the image and adding it on top with a small opacity, there will be tweaks to get it perfect but that should get you into the ballpark.

Thanks, that's an interesting though. I could probably also use something like a pro mist or netting or something??? (Thinking out loud.)

30 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

Have you taken a look on that sample up there?

Not trying to answer for @rawshooter but I liked the example that you posted. I will certainly look in to them.

Guess I was just hoping there would be some secret lens made in Outer Mongolia in the 1960's that only a few people know about and it sells on ebay for $6... with free shipping

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, rawshooter said:

Yes, only mirrorless mounts, MFT and APS-C e-mount.

For EF, there are no affordable lenses with minimized focus breathing. The Samyangs don't fit the bill because they are just rehoused manual focus DSLR lenses.

The closest is probably Tokina's new cine prime series, but whether it's affordable depends on your budget and definition...

There are folks who think of Zeiss CP.2 primes as "affordable"! (& I wouldn't strongly disagree with them)
And  you can get those in EF mount

 

[Emanuel]

LMAO For some reason a mediocre scene opens with the establishing shot, modern cinema decided to invert the place ; ) Go with Meike ones, they won't break your bank account! :- D

[IronFilm]

15 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Guess I was just hoping there would be some secret lens made in Outer Mongolia in the 1960's that only a few people know about and it sells on ebay for $6... with free shipping

But if we told you then it wouldn't be a secret ?
More seriously, the days of dirt dirt cheap but excellent manual lenses you could pick up for pennies are largely long gone, once the rise of mirrorless happened (which we're many years into now) then the good ones got swooped up. 

Plus more generally, the rise of digital cinema has put many vintage lenses back into fashion. Vintage cinema lens sets which a couple of decades ago could be got for "cheap" are now selling instead for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

[Emanuel]

Thanks God for that! : -)

1 minute ago, IronFilm said:

More seriously, the days of dirt dirt cheap but excellent manual lenses you could pick up for pennies are largely long gone, once the rise of mirrorless happened (which we're many years into now) then the good ones got swooped up. 

Plus more generally, the rise of digital cinema has put many vintage lenses back into fashion. Vintage cinema lens sets which a couple of decades ago could be got for "cheap" are now selling instead for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

 

[kye]

11 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Thanks, that's an interesting though. I could probably also use something like a pro mist or netting or something??? (Thinking out loud.)

You can, but adjusting it would be difficult and it's a subtle effect, so you'd have to do lots of tests and dial things in.

I'd suggest just doing it in post.  That way you can adjust it shot-to-shot if you need to.  Most lenses are softer wide open and sharpen up, so having an adjustable approach (especially in post where you're already setup to evaluate and match shots) shouldn't add that much to a workflow.  

Although, the counter-argument to that is to go with a Pro Mist or equivalent, and you'll find that any effect you deliberately add will make the footage much more uniform and differences will be much harder to spot.  But you can't adjust the effect, so buy wisely  

[DanielVranic]

I picked up a Zeiss Distagon 25f2 T* and it does not have very much focus breathing at all - added some gears and im happy.