- Hey guys my name is Matt Johnson.
And today I want to share with you my favorite camera lenses
for wedding filmmaking,
that I bring with me to every single wedding that I film.
And I'm sure some of you are thinking,
"Matt you shoot on Sony, what if I don't shoot on Sony,
will I still be able to use these lenses?
Here's the good news.
None of my favorite lenses are exclusively Sony.
And regardless of whether you use Panasonic, Canon, Nikon,
Blackmagic, basically anything,
you will be able to either use an adapter
or buy a very similar lens with a different lens mount.
Also, spoiler alert.
If you want to check out any of these lenses
they are all linked down in the video description.
All right let's start with wide angles and then go tight.
My favorite wide-angle lens for wedding
filmmaking by far is the Sigma 24mm f/1.4.
This lens is wide, which makes it perfect
to put on a gimbal, but it isn't too wide.
There's very little distortion on the sides
which keeps the people in your shot looking great.
Look at the size of this thing it's quite compact,
but it still shoots at f/1.4.
Yes this lens lets in a ton of light,
which is perfect for darker wedding receptions.
There's more good news too.
Because this lens is so wide,
it doesn't have a super shallow depth of field.
So when I film wedding exits on my gimbal,
even with this lens set at f/1.4 it's still easy to keep
things in focus.
If you wanna pick up this lens?
I use the Nikon mount version so I have full manual control
of the aperture using this adapter.
But if you want auto focus, Sigma now offers this lens
for all the major full-frame camera manufacturers.
So if you shoot on the Canon 1DX II,
Nikon DSLRs the Panasonic S1, there is a native
lens mount option for pretty much everything.
Otherwise there are adapters available for basically
all other camera manufacturers,
and then you can manual focus like me.
At around $850 there's really no excuse
to not have this lens in your bag.
Now let's zoom in a bit to my favorite lens,
and the lens that is on my camera
the majority of the wedding day.
This focal length is so versatile.
It's great for wider shots,
it's greater for tighter shots, I absolutely love it.
You should also be aware that by my even telling you about
this lens it may drive up its costs.
My favorite lens, basically ever, is this little guy,
the Contax ZEISS Planar 50mm f1.4.
Are you serious Matt this little baby lens is your favorite?
Is it even full-frame?
You could hide like 10 of these
behind your beard.
Well, lock and load your online shopping
trigger fingers here buddy, and let me tell you
why this lens is incredible?
To answer that first question, yes, this lens is full-frame
even at this size.
I wasn't lying.
It's also f1.4.
Let's get crazier though.
This lens is made for the Contax lens mount,
which you might not have heard of because
it was started way back in 1975.
Yes, this lens may be from the 70s.
What an antique.
Why should you care about the Contax lens mount?
Because you can adapt this mount to virtually
any modern DSLR or mirrorless camera.
Slap it on anything full-frame, 50mm f/1.4,
lightweight adapts to any cameras.
What else can it do Matt?
Hard focus stops.
You know you're at infinity, because you hit it,
we haven't even talked about the image quality of this lens
which is the main reason that I'm gushing over here.
First of all, this thing flares beautifully.
Modern lenses have so many coatings on them
to minimize flare that we're actually seeing companies
make uncoated lenses to bring flares back.
I say why do that when you can buy one of these lenses.
Image quality is more than just flares though.
This lens possesses two buzz words,
you will oftentimes see when you begin reading forum posts
about older lenses, character, and an organic look.
What does that mean?
This lens isn't as digitally sharp as modern lenses.
It has a more traditional filmic look.
To be clear, this doesn't mean it's soft,
this lens is quite sharp,
but it makes skin tones look better.
The out-of-focus things look prettier.
The videos you record with it will have more personality.
Look, now I'm just throwing buzz words at you.
It's hard to convey the feelings that I get
from using this lens.
You really have to try it for yourself.
So why don't you try one for yourself?
That brings us to talking about the price of this lens.
Here's the real shocker, I only paid $300
for my favorite lens ever.
And you may be able to get it for even cheaper than that.
Do I have your attention?
Remember, this lens is old, you have to buy it used.
And in my experience, the best place that I've found
to buy one of these lenses is on eBay.
I've included a link down in the video description
to an eBay search results page,
where you can see the current options that you have
available to buy this lens.
In my experience $300, is about the sweet
spot to spin on this lens.
You may be able to get one for 250 or less,
but make sure you read the listing
and it says that the lens works and it doesn't have any haze
or fungus growing inside it.
I thought I found one for a steal once for $200,
but turns out it was broken.
You get what you pay for.
On the other side you may see this lens selling
for upwards of $500.
I wouldn't buy that one either.
Those are people selling versions, which I'm sure are very
good quality, but I don't think you're gonna see
a difference between a $300 version of this lens
and a $500 dollar version.
I've been very happy with my three hundred dollar lens.
I should mention this too
because I know some of you will ask?
I'm sorry, but no,
this lens, from 1975, does not support autofocus.
Let's move on ever tighter.
Next we need to talk about my favorite 85mm lens.
And this lens is perfect for filming closeup dancing shots
of people at a wedding reception.
Can you guess what it is?
Of course, it's the Contax ZEISS
Planar 85mm f/1.4.
Yes, it has all the same benefits of the ZEISS 50mm
in terms of image quality and the ability to be used with
virtually any modern camera with an adapter.
But it is definitely heavier.
Look at this glass, it is definitely a chunky boy,
but I am so happy to have it
in my lens bag.
Oh, and the price?
You may have been thinking,
"Well 50mm is a very common focal length,
"so of course the 50mm was probably cheaper,
"85mm this much glass this thing has got to be
"crazy expensive right Matt?"
Yet, again, go to eBay.
Yet, again, there is a link to this specific lens,
down in the video description.
And there you will find this lens for $100 more
than the 50mm.
Yes, for approximately $400
this puppy could be yours.
Just like the 50mm, be wary of lenses that are cheaper.
Be wary of lenses that cost significantly more?
But, for that price of $400
this lens is absolutely worth having in your bag.
Also sorry, yet, again, there is no autofocus,
just wanted to clarify that.
Last but not least let's go as tight as I prefer
on a wedding day.
My tightest, favorite lens is this.
The Sony ZEISS 135mm f/1.8 in a mount.
My wife, Rachel is on this lens the majority
of the wedding day.
It's easily her favorite.
This lens is just so dang good
for closeups of a couple.
First thing you should know.
This lens is easily the sharpest lens that I've ever used.
Like, so sharp you don't even need to punch in
to check your focus because you can see the focus line
so clearly on your camera sharp.
But, thankfully because this lens is paired
with such a shallow f1.8 aperture,
it is still extremely flattering for filming people,
especially brides up close.
Just be aware that wide open,
you may have someone's eyelash and focus,
but not their pupil.
Yes, it has that shallow of a depth of field.
Next, look at the size of this thing.
It's not small by any means,
but compare it to say a 70 to 200 f/2.8.
It's not bad.
Now, here's the Cana of this lens.
Because it is a Sony A-mount lens made for older Sony DSLRs,
you will have to get an official adapter from Sony
to make it compatible with Sony's E-mount cameras.
This adapter will set you back around $200,
and you are not going to get autofocus either.
This baby's purely manual.
With all that said, the price for this lens is interesting.
With many of them selling used,
for anywhere from $900 to a $1,000.
Throw in the cost of the lens adapter,
and you're looking at $1,200 bucks,
Which, while not cheap, is still significantly lower
than the cost of Sony's newest E-mount 135mm
which is over $2,000.
Here's my recommendation for you.
If you don't mind manual focus,
and you can find one of these used for a good price?
I think it's a great buy.
I wouldn't put it in this video if i didn't.
But, if you don't shoot Sony, or you want autofocus?
In that case I would buy the Sigma 135mm f/1.8,
which is pretty comparable.
At $1,400, the Sigma's going to be slightly more expensive.
But, you can get it in any of the major lens
mounts, you get autofocus for video,
and you don't have to go completely broke buying it.
With that, thank you so much for watching.
I hope this video helps you with purchasing a new lens.
All of these lenses are linked
down in the video description.
It'd also be a huge help to me, like bigger
than the 70 to 200 here sized help, if you would consider
liking this video and subscribing, if you wanna see more
videos like this in the future.
I also host a monthly wedding film review livestream,
where I review wedding films submitted by people like you.
So if you would like to be notified,
whenever I'm hosting the next
wedding film review livestream,
please check the link down in the video description,
and I will send you an e-mail whenever I go live.
Thank you so much for watching and have a great day.