David this was an exceptional knowledge base for the SLR magic lenses. You really covered most of the bases. Thank you for taking the time to explore the details of these lenses for other filmmakers. The one thing that could have made this review better, would have been subtitles during the short film with the lens description. The running usage and comparison in a real life application would have been insightful. One other thing, decking the build quality of the lenses themselves would have rounded out your assessment. Thanks again, David. You have definitely helped my buying decision. 👍🙏
Thank you for making this video, and the accompanying short film. Great to see so much effort and care put into a project like this. The passion comes through for sure!
thank you so much for this video! This was an absolutely magical and helpful review! exactly what I was looking for, while im looking into this lens set! Keep up the great work!
Really good vibe my friend. Above and beyond what I expected and I appreciate the time you took to deliver the and the short film was a great way to present the slr magic magic lenses to us.
So thankful for your comment and your perspective Samein! There’s too many reviews on TH-cam’s that don’t offer real world experience which for working pros is exactly what we need 🙏
David another tremendous insight from you. I have the 35mm T1.3 of this series and love it for the almost romanticised look it creates without the addition of any softened finish filters. For me as a newbie and the storytelling I am investigating and exploring of old places in ruin and those that were touched by these places, it's a perfect lens in finishing quality to use for that purpose. I was really glad to be able to check out the whole kit in the one place for their individual qualities and to see if there was continuity amongst them, which I'm glad to see that there is! Thanks for the stellar effort put in to help us out here that are researching these lenses and for putting together the short film with them in action. Once again, you present a truthful portrayal of some more tech for us to mull over, and that is refreshing to experience. Huge thanks again from Downunder.
Thumbs up. Just purchased two batt handles good to see someone using them in action. The ppl who make them are from my hometown. Very informative. I like these lenses and have been on the fence on and off to pickup these. This helped.
Brilliant review mate thank you sooo much! Very insightful & I reckon this has encouraged me to pull the trigger on these bad boys. Thanks for shooting FF too, most reviews use s35 sensors and don't even show the full coverage / character of the lenses. Really appreciate this in depth review!
I have been looking at ziess contaxx and Canon FD for my Sony A7SIII and A7iii. I tried these slr magic at NAB and liked them. One point you made hit home and that's the consistency through lens set. Video was great showing what they look like in real world shoot. Thanks I might reconsider these
I also have some Canon FDs for when I want to use my anamorphic adapter but it’s rare I use anamorphic. The Contax Zeiss lenses are great too, great contrast and very sharp but you end up having to spend the extra money to get them all cine modded. Definitely take another look at the Microprimes Manny 🙌
If you’re going vintage, go with the Contax Zeiss. There’s a good comparison video on TH-cam on FD vs Contax Zeiss. (Someone who shot side-by-side in the desert. Forgot the name). And let’s just say I’m glad I went with Zeiss after watching that.
the 50mm and the 18mm have the best character for me - today I own only this lenses - watch my cooking series on my channel - filmed with 50mm micro prime
I’ve seen some reviews saying they have poor quality control but haven’t seen anyone complain about the optics. I’m looking forward to trying the anamorphic adapter
@@atdavidlee I'm gonna pick up at least one. I'm not sure I understand the difference between the emounts, and the cine primes at their website. Both emounts. T vs F? Is the difference simply that one set are for full frame while the others are crop sensor?
The APO Microprime come in EF or PL with an EF adapter and are a completely different design with different optics than the Microprime for Sony E Mount
I know this video is a couple of years old but if you or anyone in the comments could help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it. I love the cinematography of Junichiro Hayashi. He was the cinematographer of ringu, pulse, dark water and many more. I can't seem to find any information on what type of lenses he used, just that he filmed on 35mm. I'm sorry if this sounds dumb but if I could get close to how pulse was shot with a couple of lens sizes, I would be eternally grateful. I have a Sony alpha a6000.
Great video! Thanks for putting it together. I’m thinking about these lenses. I appreciate the video. I feel that the lens punch up that gold feel to the image. Is that fair? Or is the look more a post colour thing. Again, great video. Thanks
@atdavidlee I am torn. Switch from bmpcc4k to A7iii for a future ecosystem. I want a good manual lens but i am reading really bad reviews about vignette on the 15 and 18. So i am thinking the 25 now or maybe 35. Any advice? I mainly shoot weddings and real estate but hopefully expand into short film and social media work.
Yeah the 15mm definitely vignettes only if you use screw on NDs, the 18mm is okay though. I love my Laowa 12mm for ultra wides, I’d look into that but for the microprimes I would go with the 25, 50, 75 if budget is a concern otherwise get the 35 as well
I actually liked the breathing. It was at least consistently in one direction, and fit with the current style of having static shots with a little push or pull motion. I have been using ENG style cameras for my documentary films fo far (e.g. Sony PMW-X180). Am about to move into a more cinematic environment with FS5/7 or the upcoming FX6, but was fearful of the cost of prime lenses adding up. You have show me that I can start off with budget primes and get a very acceptable image, before I might consider upgrading lenses in the future (if the SLR Magic are found wanting for my cliients). Thank again for you helping my decision.
What is that handle on the back of your rig at 25.00 ? It is mounted on dual rods. I find it very nice to counter balance the weight of your camera when working solo. Thank you
Very interesting. These lenses weren't on my radar at all. They definitely look appealing for the price point. I've got a set of Sigma Art lenses that are great for the clinical corporate style look, but these definitely have some character. I've got a set of Rokinons too, but waiting for the Dummy EF to E mount adapter to see what they do for me on the FX9. I've only used em on the Pocket 4k. These definitely seen heavy on the Chromatic Aberration wide open (not shocking or disappointing though for the crazy T stops you're getting). Does that clear up when you stop down to f2.8 or f4? Also I was curious if you added some film grain in post, or if the FS7 was struggling with a lot of noise in the image during some of the pool shots?
The sigmas are great all purpose for a lot of applications. I’ve used the 24, 50 and 85 on several shoots, they’re extremely sharp which is good and bad haha. The Rokinons are also very versatile but the CA is a pain at times. If you’re not shooting into your key too much then by stopping down to a 2.8 you’ll have less CA and flaring, and I added a lot of grain to the image for taste (around 90% or so with red giant renoiser)
I wouldn’t say they’re better, they’re different. I’m not a huge fan of the Rokinons (I’ve used them plenty of times) and Meike from what I’ve seen they’re just a budget lens, nothing that really stands out
Hey there, Thanks for the video and Liked it a lot. I do however have a question, Was all the grain in the video added and for a "creative" choice? I found it quite distracting in many shots. Sorry to sound critical but it was so noticeable I had to ask if you added it on purpose. Thanks for the review, great lighting and loved the clip you did, just found the grain overly done and distracting in many shots. I watched it on Video in 4K. Thank you and hope you do not take it in a bad way.
I did add a lot of grain as the FS7 is a pretty sharp sensor and needed something to bring the footage to life outside of lighting. I guess it depends on everyone as I grew up watching 16mm and 35mm film and a lot of my favorite movies all had grain to them but every project is different 👍👍
Subbed to you! Incredible short film! I really enjoyed it! I’m a Fuji user and looking to pick up one of these lenses for my XT3 to shoot short films & wedding videography. Would you recommend the 25mm or 35mm? Which is more versatile & better to start with?
Thx for watching Josh, it means a lot! I believe the XT3 is APS-C, if I’d have to pick one to start I’d go with the 25 and then get the 35 as soon possible to help cover the longer end of your work especially with weddings 👍
Thank you for the full review David. Have you tried the lenses at night in the city? Would love to know what the bokeh looks like with different light sources in the dark.
What's going bro. Great overall piece. I have a few suggestion if I may provide. Overall those lenses are soft from my research. Which is not a bad thing. It appears you tried to shoot them wide open in the pool scene. Is that correct? if you did then I'm wondering did you notice the softness in the close ups? Where you looking to achieve this? It could make since as the narrative seems to have a reflection agenda during this portion. The slow motion shot distracted from the narrative. I think that actually a success of rapid cuts breaking 180 would have added to the frustration the talent was trying to display. Just for that section. The scene in the interior has promise. I think that the pan to start it timing could have been different. What could of worked better would been a static shot of the destination and the talent moving into frame as you did. Then the cut to the call. With the call have you considered actually having the person she is speaking to voice heard. It would have made for flow. While she did her thing there. Those small empty gaps where distracting to the overall story. The framing was nice through this section. The car scene dope. A back of the head, through the front windshield would have help to establish the location as she pulled up. At this point, I'm focused on trying to figure where she is at then following the narrative. The next shot is dope. I am a big fan of natural soft light. The frame with in a frame from the railing was dope. That same 180 technique is what i was talking about for the swimming section. Image how that would had add to the feeling of being frustrated. Now I have some narrative questions. Why did you choose to have that inner exposition during this climatic moment. I would have been better served with a catalytic event set up during the swimming. Just off the top of my head she missed several phone call by mistake in the pool. she calls back to the caller in the home. In the park she gets another phone call from Ted, but this time she sends it to voice mail. That would complete your Chekhov gun, which is really the act of the missed phone call. Overall good piece. And thank you for allowing me analysis it. For real it is steel sharpening steel. Hopefully when I upload a piece soon, you could do the same.
Softness is an interesting thing, if you have critical focus but what’s in focus isn’t snapping then I feel the lens is soft. The microprimes aren’t soft at all when wide open and much of the film I didn’t want everything shot at a 2.8 or higher in fact the most I stopped down on any lens that was a 1.2/1.3/1.5 was a T2 to keep within her “world” if that makes sense. And thx for the analysis 🙌
Thank you for the short film. Most videos are always at 60 fps. Everything looks good at that frame rate. Seeing it at 24 fps and how it performed was a life saver. I am debating this set, Rokinon set, or Meike set? I am really bumping my head against the wall. Any additional advice from anyone would be a life saver. Thanks for the video. Keep doing your thing.
The Rokinons flare a lot unless you stop way down and they suffer from chromatic aberration, very cheap lenses to buy I’d rather spend the extra money for the SLR Magic Microprimes. I’m not impressed from the quality of Meike over SLR Magic from the footage I’ve seen
Yes they can! They cover full frame although the 12mm and 15mm will vignette if you’re using a screw on ND filter, you’ll be okay if you’re using the internal NDs.
Thanks for this! Can't decide if I want this kit or the 50mm apo version? Similar in price. Have you tried the apo versions?? Also wondering if you would consider making a video about your red giant denoiser workflow???
Great questions! I do own the 50mm APO along with the 25 and 85, you get more controlled flaring with the APOs along with more in contrast, there’s a certain “bite” to the image of the APOs I love. I don’t own denoiser but I do own renoiser. At the time I purchased everything I already owned a license for Neat Video lol
That was a visual choice to add more grain in post. The FS7 produces a really clean image but I didn’t want the film to look perfect, the world isn’t perfect much like our characters world so choices like adding grain achieve those visual goals
BREATHING is bad. It is not subjective. In fact, lenses that dont breath are very costy, and there is a reason for that. If you rack focus, you dont want the audience to perceive a change (not even a slighty one) on the frame. Imagine your picture being showcased on the silver screen ! That tiny unsignificant breath...becomes a big of an issue on theater ! My two cents contribution to your wonderful test. Thank you to you.
I disagree because then the same can be said for anamorphic lenses (unless you have the cash for Arri Master Anamorphics) as they have lots of distortion and the flares all take you out of the experience and draw attention. You could say Anamorphic is “bad” then but is it???
@@atdavidlee I am not refering to flares nor chromatic aberration (that can be subjective from one perception to another after all). I just know for a fact (for having worked at a rental house in North Hollywood -the camera house-), that breathing is an issue for the big budget production. Part of that reason, high end prime lenses cost so much (although, most production company rent those lenses). Trust me on this, breathing is not tolerated if you talk to any veteran DP.
I agree with that BUT let’s face it, no one is going to be using a $2000 set of lenses on budgets where you’re probably using $20,000 set of lenses. That still doesn’t mean breathing is bad, there are downsides to it in terms of losing the edges of a frame etc. I think if you’re choosing lenses for a project where you’re rack focusing from close to infinity down to say 3ft or something then yes you could say it’s bad in that you don’t want that but audience perception is really for cinematographers to nit pick stuff and create fun conversations, general audience wouldn’t even tell lol
@@atdavidlee I had never heard of SLR MAGIC. I found their website and check the specs of those primes. Some of them have up to 13 blades ! No wonder you end up having those round shaped bokkeh ! Very sweet. Thank you for sharing your vid.
They’re a little company with very affordable options for different mounts, lots of character and very fast! I wish they did more marketing because given you’ve never heard of them probably a lot of people don’t know they exist either lol. The bokeh is quite lovely I agree ☺️
I'm looking for a set of affordable cine primes, this video was very helpfull. The chromatic aberration on the 25mm and 75mm was a bit to much for me in these conditions. I'm owning 2 contax zeiss lenses, And I'm still doubting to expand to a bigger contax zeiss set or going with these micro primes. Thanks a lot for the review!!
If you’re willing to Cine mod the contax zeiss set that’s definitely an option, the microprimes have the great benefit of being all consistent with 85mm fronts, 82mm filter thread size and focus gears and aperture rings. Since you already have two I’d get the rest of the zeiss set unless you need the faster speed of the Microrprimes 👍
Thanks for the extensive review of these budget lenses. Did you use, or can they use, the FS7 auto focus? Why did you have ND in a mat box for the flare test, when the FS7 has it built in?
They are all 💯 manual focus lenses so no AF, the additional ND is because I was recording in SLOG2, the base ISO on the FS7 is ISO 2000 in SLOG2/3 hence the need for a lot of ND
They’re different, character is very similar but flare resistance is “better” with the microprimes, CA and spherical aberration are different between them you get less of it with the microprimes
They are prime lenses so if you plan on doing moving based shots you’ll have to pull focus manually as you go through 👍. And thank you! Hope you find the content valuable for you!
I don’t mind the breathing on these actually, because it slightly zooms in when focussing closer, so that creates a wanted dramatic effect. I don’t like the bokeh balls though, I think I prefer my Contax Zeiss set for that. I do like these are built well and they have the housing, gears and full frame coverage.
Wide open they all seem (in my tests) to have CA against really harsh sources which is expected and honestly I have no complaints with that especially at the price point 👍👍
I'm so glad I found your channel! I know this post is a few years old but it's timely for me!
David this was an exceptional knowledge base for the SLR magic lenses. You really covered most of the bases. Thank you for taking the time to explore the details of these lenses for other filmmakers. The one thing that could have made this review better, would have been subtitles during the short film with the lens description. The running usage and comparison in a real life application would have been insightful. One other thing, decking the build quality of the lenses themselves would have rounded out your assessment.
Thanks again, David. You have definitely helped my buying decision. 👍🙏
Dude, your Vibe if positively off the Charts. Within minutes I felt at home and trusted. Subscribed.
That means so much Dylan! I’m glad I can provide a genuine space for you and I’m grateful for the sub!
Thank you for making this video, and the accompanying short film. Great to see so much effort and care put into a project like this. The passion comes through for sure!
thank you so much for this video! This was an absolutely magical and helpful review! exactly what I was looking for, while im looking into this lens set! Keep up the great work!
Really good vibe my friend. Above and beyond what I expected and I appreciate the time you took to deliver the and the short film was a great way to present the slr magic magic lenses to us.
So thankful for your comment and your perspective Samein! There’s too many reviews on TH-cam’s that don’t offer real world experience which for working pros is exactly what we need 🙏
David another tremendous insight from you. I have the 35mm T1.3 of this series and love it for the almost romanticised look it creates without the addition of any softened finish filters. For me as a newbie and the storytelling I am investigating and exploring of old places in ruin and those that were touched by these places, it's a perfect lens in finishing quality to use for that purpose. I was really glad to be able to check out the whole kit in the one place for their individual qualities and to see if there was continuity amongst them, which I'm glad to see that there is! Thanks for the stellar effort put in to help us out here that are researching these lenses and for putting together the short film with them in action. Once again, you present a truthful portrayal of some more tech for us to mull over, and that is refreshing to experience. Huge thanks again from Downunder.
Glad it helped out with your research Alex! It’s hard to know what any set of lenses will do unless you see them in action 🙏❤️
Perfect review for what I was looking for in taking that next step into some cinema glass. Images were gorgeous. Great review, man. Thank you.
Thumbs up. Just purchased two batt handles good to see someone using them in action. The ppl who make them are from my hometown. Very informative. I like these lenses and have been on the fence on and off to pickup these. This helped.
Glad the video helped and 💯 the batt handle is such a neat accessory to have!
Brilliant review mate thank you sooo much! Very insightful & I reckon this has encouraged me to pull the trigger on these bad boys. Thanks for shooting FF too, most reviews use s35 sensors and don't even show the full coverage / character of the lenses. Really appreciate this in depth review!
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙌🙌🙌
Nice short film. Really liked it.
I have been looking at ziess contaxx and Canon FD for my Sony A7SIII and A7iii. I tried these slr magic at NAB and liked them. One point you made hit home and that's the consistency through lens set. Video was great showing what they look like in real world shoot. Thanks I might reconsider these
I also have some Canon FDs for when I want to use my anamorphic adapter but it’s rare I use anamorphic. The Contax Zeiss lenses are great too, great contrast and very sharp but you end up having to spend the extra money to get them all cine modded. Definitely take another look at the Microprimes Manny 🙌
@@atdavidlee yeah definitely gotta be modded. I will for sure check out the microprimes again 🙏
If you’re going vintage, go with the Contax Zeiss.
There’s a good comparison video on TH-cam on FD vs Contax Zeiss. (Someone who shot side-by-side in the desert. Forgot the name). And let’s just say I’m glad I went with Zeiss after watching that.
@@bananasandbass yeah thank you I already got my first lens the 50 1.4 contaxx
Thank you, very intuitive information you gave out and well made samples too.
Glad the video helped out and could bring some value your way!
What an excellent video thank you well done the movie as well very interesting just bought my first 50mm cine, excited to see what lays ahead TY .
Really beautiful piece
the 50mm and the 18mm have the best character for me - today I own only this lenses - watch my cooking series on my channel - filmed with 50mm micro prime
I’ve seen some reviews saying they have poor quality control but haven’t seen anyone complain about the optics. I’m looking forward to trying the anamorphic adapter
Awesome video! Thx for sharing with us your tests
Thank you for watching! I hope the video brought value to you 🙌🙏
@@atdavidlee indeed! it did! 😉 🎉
Great info and work. Thank you. I've been really interested in these and the 7artisans lenses for my a6400. Pretty cool that these optiins exist.
They’re extremely affordable and still offer great character which is a plus!
@@atdavidlee I'm gonna pick up at least one. I'm not sure I understand the difference between the emounts, and the cine primes at their website. Both emounts. T vs F? Is the difference simply that one set are for full frame while the others are crop sensor?
The APO Microprime come in EF or PL with an EF adapter and are a completely different design with different optics than the Microprime for Sony E Mount
@@atdavidlee hmm... I'll have to do more research then. Thank you
What did you use to record audio? The telephone call part sounds really nice.
That was a RODE NTG2 into a Zoom H4N Pro 👍👍
I know this video is a couple of years old but if you or anyone in the comments could help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it. I love the cinematography of Junichiro Hayashi. He was the cinematographer of ringu, pulse, dark water and many more. I can't seem to find any information on what type of lenses he used, just that he filmed on 35mm. I'm sorry if this sounds dumb but if I could get close to how pulse was shot with a couple of lens sizes, I would be eternally grateful. I have a Sony alpha a6000.
Great video! Thanks for putting it together. I’m thinking about these lenses.
I appreciate the video. I feel that the lens punch up that gold feel to the image. Is that fair? Or is the look more a post colour thing.
Again, great video. Thanks
I'm thinking of getting the 50mm and the 35mm. What t-stop does their chromatic aberration and sharpness get drastically better?
great work
I love your sound. Impressive.
@atdavidlee I am torn. Switch from bmpcc4k to A7iii for a future ecosystem. I want a good manual lens but i am reading really bad reviews about vignette on the 15 and 18. So i am thinking the 25 now or maybe 35. Any advice? I mainly shoot weddings and real estate but hopefully expand into short film and social media work.
Yeah the 15mm definitely vignettes only if you use screw on NDs, the 18mm is okay though. I love my Laowa 12mm for ultra wides, I’d look into that but for the microprimes I would go with the 25, 50, 75 if budget is a concern otherwise get the 35 as well
@@atdavidlee I ordered the 25mm with the variable ND combo!
Nice choice!!! I also have their vari ND as well!
I actually liked the breathing. It was at least consistently in one direction, and fit with the current style of having static shots with a little push or pull motion.
I have been using ENG style cameras for my documentary films fo far (e.g. Sony PMW-X180). Am about to move into a more cinematic environment with FS5/7 or the upcoming FX6, but was fearful of the cost of prime lenses adding up. You have show me that I can start off with budget primes and get a very acceptable image, before I might consider upgrading lenses in the future (if the SLR Magic are found wanting for my cliients). Thank again for you helping my decision.
Glad I could bring some value your way Raymond!
Have you used any filters on top for that vimeo video?
Hi thanks for the review. What ISO were you shooting Tread Softly on?
Didn’t see the type of stabilizing vest in the listing of your gear. Thanks
It’s the Easyrig Minimax 👍👍, I have all my gear linked via my Kit.co link 🙏
What is that handle on the back of your rig at 25.00 ? It is mounted on dual rods. I find it very nice to counter balance the weight of your camera when working solo. Thank you
It’s from a company called The Batt Handle, you can check them out on Instagram!
@@atdavidlee Thanks. I am not into social network but hopefully, they have a web site online. Cheers.
Very interesting. These lenses weren't on my radar at all. They definitely look appealing for the price point. I've got a set of Sigma Art lenses that are great for the clinical corporate style look, but these definitely have some character. I've got a set of Rokinons too, but waiting for the Dummy EF to E mount adapter to see what they do for me on the FX9. I've only used em on the Pocket 4k. These definitely seen heavy on the Chromatic Aberration wide open (not shocking or disappointing though for the crazy T stops you're getting). Does that clear up when you stop down to f2.8 or f4? Also I was curious if you added some film grain in post, or if the FS7 was struggling with a lot of noise in the image during some of the pool shots?
The sigmas are great all purpose for a lot of applications. I’ve used the 24, 50 and 85 on several shoots, they’re extremely sharp which is good and bad haha. The Rokinons are also very versatile but the CA is a pain at times. If you’re not shooting into your key too much then by stopping down to a 2.8 you’ll have less CA and flaring, and I added a lot of grain to the image for taste (around 90% or so with red giant renoiser)
@@atdavidlee thanks so much for the detailed reply! I definitely need to look into the SLR magics.
@@atdavidlee new movie lenses from Meike. What do you think ? Is rokinon or Meike better ?
I wouldn’t say they’re better, they’re different. I’m not a huge fan of the Rokinons (I’ve used them plenty of times) and Meike from what
I’ve seen they’re just a budget lens, nothing that really stands out
Thanks for sharing. What was the lens you used inside the car? Very impressive
I believe that was the 25mm
Hey there, Thanks for the video and Liked it a lot. I do however have a question, Was all the grain in the video added and for a "creative" choice? I found it quite distracting in many shots. Sorry to sound critical but it was so noticeable I had to ask if you added it on purpose. Thanks for the review, great lighting and loved the clip you did, just found the grain overly done and distracting in many shots. I watched it on Video in 4K. Thank you and hope you do not take it in a bad way.
I did add a lot of grain as the FS7 is a pretty sharp sensor and needed something to bring the footage to life outside of lighting. I guess it depends on everyone as I grew up watching 16mm and 35mm film and a lot of my favorite movies all had grain to them but every project is different 👍👍
Subbed to you! Incredible short film! I really enjoyed it! I’m a Fuji user and looking to pick up one of these lenses for my XT3 to shoot short films & wedding videography. Would you recommend the 25mm or 35mm? Which is more versatile & better to start with?
Thx for watching Josh, it means a lot! I believe the XT3 is APS-C, if I’d have to pick one to start I’d go with the 25 and then get the 35 as soon possible to help cover the longer end of your work especially with weddings 👍
@@atdavidlee thank you sir! Keep up the good work!
Will do Josh! 🙌
Absolutely beautiful closeups. Well done
Thank you friend! Appreciate the feedback so much!
Thank you for the full review David. Have you tried the lenses at night in the city? Would love to know what the bokeh looks like with different light sources in the dark.
I haven’t but the slr magic Facebook group might have someone who has 👍
@@atdavidlee thank you for the tip David. I'll check it out.
What's going bro. Great overall piece. I have a few suggestion if I may provide. Overall those lenses are soft from my research. Which is not a bad thing. It appears you tried to shoot them wide open in the pool scene. Is that correct? if you did then I'm wondering did you notice the softness in the close ups? Where you looking to achieve this? It could make since as the narrative seems to have a reflection agenda during this portion. The slow motion shot distracted from the narrative. I think that actually a success of rapid cuts breaking 180 would have added to the frustration the talent was trying to display. Just for that section. The scene in the interior has promise. I think that the pan to start it timing could have been different. What could of worked better would been a static shot of the destination and the talent moving into frame as you did. Then the cut to the call. With the call have you considered actually having the person she is speaking to voice heard. It would have made for flow. While she did her thing there. Those small empty gaps where distracting to the overall story. The framing was nice through this section. The car scene dope. A back of the head, through the front windshield would have help to establish the location as she pulled up. At this point, I'm focused on trying to figure where she is at then following the narrative. The next shot is dope. I am a big fan of natural soft light. The frame with in a frame from the railing was dope. That same 180 technique is what i was talking about for the swimming section. Image how that would had add to the feeling of being frustrated. Now I have some narrative questions. Why did you choose to have that inner exposition during this climatic moment. I would have been better served with a catalytic event set up during the swimming. Just off the top of my head she missed several phone call by mistake in the pool. she calls back to the caller in the home. In the park she gets another phone call from Ted, but this time she sends it to voice mail. That would complete your Chekhov gun, which is really the act of the missed phone call.
Overall good piece. And thank you for allowing me analysis it. For real it is steel sharpening steel. Hopefully when I upload a piece soon, you could do the same.
Softness is an interesting thing, if you have critical focus but what’s in focus isn’t snapping then I feel the lens is soft. The microprimes aren’t soft at all when wide open and much of the film I didn’t want everything shot at a 2.8 or higher in fact the most I stopped down on any lens that was a 1.2/1.3/1.5 was a T2 to keep within her “world” if that makes sense. And thx for the analysis 🙌
I have a set on BMCC4K and they does not lock solidly in the mount. The follow focus motor jiggles the lens in the mount.
thanks for the review. how do they compare to meiki cine lenses?
Thank you for the short film. Most videos are always at 60 fps. Everything looks good at that frame rate. Seeing it at 24 fps and how it performed was a life saver. I am debating this set, Rokinon set, or Meike set? I am really bumping my head against the wall. Any additional advice from anyone would be a life saver. Thanks for the video. Keep doing your thing.
The Rokinons flare a lot unless you stop way down and they suffer from chromatic aberration, very cheap lenses to buy I’d rather spend the extra money for the SLR Magic Microprimes. I’m not impressed from the quality of Meike over SLR Magic from the footage I’ve seen
Great video still bro
Can this lenes be used for the very new sony fx 6 ?
Yes they can! They cover full frame although the 12mm and 15mm will vignette if you’re using a screw on ND filter, you’ll be okay if you’re using the internal NDs.
Has any one used a hood lens for the slr magic 35mm? Can’t seem to find one any where.
Thanks for this! Can't decide if I want this kit or the 50mm apo version? Similar in price. Have you tried the apo versions?? Also wondering if you would consider making a video about your red giant denoiser workflow???
Great questions! I do own the 50mm APO along with the 25 and 85, you get more controlled flaring with the APOs along with more in contrast, there’s a certain “bite” to the image of the APOs I love.
I don’t own denoiser but I do own renoiser. At the time I purchased everything I already owned a license for Neat Video lol
Hey David,
I just grabbed a A7S II
Will these be Full Frame ... ?
I heard from 25mm and up
Can anyone confirm
I'm also looking at the 7artisans
Great work man! Which lens you used in phone call scene?
Thanks for watching Marcos! I used the 25mm for the phone call scene and left it wide open at T1.5
nice short! I noticed a lot of noise though..why do you think it happened?
That was a visual choice to add more grain in post. The FS7 produces a really clean image but I didn’t want the film to look perfect, the world isn’t perfect much like our characters world so choices like adding grain achieve those visual goals
BREATHING is bad. It is not subjective. In fact, lenses that dont breath are very costy, and there is a reason for that. If you rack focus, you dont want the audience to perceive a change (not even a slighty one) on the frame. Imagine your picture being showcased on the silver screen ! That tiny unsignificant breath...becomes a big of an issue on theater ! My two cents contribution to your wonderful test. Thank you to you.
I disagree because then the same can be said for anamorphic lenses (unless you have the cash for Arri Master Anamorphics) as they have lots of distortion and the flares all take you out of the experience and draw attention. You could say Anamorphic is “bad” then but is it???
@@atdavidlee I am not refering to flares nor chromatic aberration (that can be subjective from one perception to another after all). I just know for a fact (for having worked at a rental house in North Hollywood -the camera house-), that breathing is an issue for the big budget production. Part of that reason, high end prime lenses cost so much (although, most production company rent those lenses). Trust me on this, breathing is not tolerated if you talk to any veteran DP.
I agree with that BUT let’s face it, no one is going to be using a $2000 set of lenses on budgets where you’re probably using $20,000 set of lenses. That still doesn’t mean breathing is bad, there are downsides to it in terms of losing the edges of a frame etc. I think if you’re choosing lenses for a project where you’re rack focusing from close to infinity down to say 3ft or something then yes you could say it’s bad in that you don’t want that but audience perception is really for cinematographers to nit pick stuff and create fun conversations, general audience wouldn’t even tell lol
@@atdavidlee I had never heard of SLR MAGIC. I found their website and check the specs of those primes. Some of them have up to 13 blades ! No wonder you end up having those round shaped bokkeh ! Very sweet. Thank you for sharing your vid.
They’re a little company with very affordable options for different mounts, lots of character and very fast! I wish they did more marketing because given you’ve never heard of them probably a lot of people don’t know they exist either lol. The bokeh is quite lovely I agree ☺️
Great video, mate!
Thank you so much! 🙏
I'm looking for a set of affordable cine primes, this video was very helpfull. The chromatic aberration on the 25mm and 75mm was a bit to much for me in these conditions.
I'm owning 2 contax zeiss lenses, And I'm still doubting to expand to a bigger contax zeiss set or going with these micro primes. Thanks a lot for the review!!
If you’re willing to Cine mod the contax zeiss set that’s definitely an option, the microprimes have the great benefit of being all consistent with 85mm fronts, 82mm filter thread size and focus gears and aperture rings. Since you already have two I’d get the rest of the zeiss set unless you need the faster speed of the Microrprimes 👍
Thanks for the extensive review of these budget lenses. Did you use, or can they use, the FS7 auto focus? Why did you have ND in a mat box for the flare test, when the FS7 has it built in?
They are all 💯 manual focus lenses so no AF, the additional ND is because I was recording in SLOG2, the base ISO on the FS7 is ISO 2000 in SLOG2/3 hence the need for a lot of ND
Could you tell me what monitor size you use for focusing? 5” or 7”?
I use a SmallHD Indie 7
@@atdavidlee Thank you for help.
No problem!
Can u please review viltrox 3 kit cine lens t1.4 23 33 56 apsc
Does the hyperprime cine has the same internals of this microprime?
They’re different, character is very similar but flare resistance is “better” with the microprimes, CA and spherical aberration are different between them you get less of it with the microprimes
So they should work with the ronin 4d, that's cool
Are they parfocal? (Im bingewatching this channel, lol)
They are prime lenses so if you plan on doing moving based shots you’ll have to pull focus manually as you go through 👍. And thank you! Hope you find the content valuable for you!
wow perfect video
I don’t know about perfect but I definitely did my best haha 😂
Thanks for the hint on using the flag. I’m afraid my comments are fragmented, because TH-cam won’t let me comment while watching.
Flags are super helpful and sometimes a necessary thing
Good job!
Thank you! 🙏
I don’t mind the breathing on these actually, because it slightly zooms in when focussing closer, so that creates a wanted dramatic effect.
I don’t like the bokeh balls though, I think I prefer my Contax Zeiss set for that.
I do like these are built well and they have the housing, gears and full frame coverage.
Much love
75mm has too much chromatic aberration for me. Everything else is so perfect!
Wide open they all seem (in my tests) to have CA against really harsh sources which is expected and honestly I have no complaints with that especially at the price point 👍👍
It's so tiny it can be used in streetphotography
Another great option right there!
trini