Originally posted by davidt So far my favority lens for shooting K-7 video is the DA* 16-50mm. Good focal length coverage, big zoom and focus ring, great IQ and works very well with the SR in video mode. But there are some things I'm missing:
- A very smooth zoom to experiment with zooming techniques. The 16-50mm jumps a bit / is a bit tight when you turn the ring - sometimes it's going faster and sometimers harder to zoom.
- A wider aperture. With F2.8 it's great for day-light scenes but for low light/night scenes I guess one would need a F1.4. Most of my LL recordings are dark and noisy (I haven't worked with exposure lock yet).
But most lenses with F1.4 are around 50mm. I found myself more in the 16mm to 30mm range when playing with video (freehand/monopod). The only one I found in that space is the Kiron 24mm F2 but hard to get I think and it's a prime.
Do you think Pentax could even release a dedicated video lens as the GH1 is offered with? Whould love to hear your thoughts - what's your favourite, versatile video lens for the K-7 by now?
If you want faster than f/2.8, you're definitely looking at a prime lens. (Okay, there's an old Tokina 28-70 that goes out to f/2.6 on the wide end, but that's about it!) The lens for the GH1 starts at f/4, and is just over a stop slower at the long end, so f/2.8 for a zoom is pretty good! Panasonic doesn't have in-body stabilization, so they needed a stabilized quiet focusing lens. If AF worked, you'd already have that in the 16-50!
The Sigma lenses mentioned here might work, but I've never been a fan of their bokeh. The FA*24 f/2 is expensive and hard to find, but that might be a great video lens for you--fast and wide!
If you do want a zoom, some of the older push-pull models might be good for video, where you pull out the barrel to zoom, and rotate to focus. Manual focus is the only option right now for video, so you may as well take advantage of the old cheap glass!