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Rokinon 35mm1.4 cine vs normal

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MaxBerkowitz
Posts: 440 - Karma: 2,611
I'm going to be getting this lens either in the Cine or normal version. I'd really love to get the declicked aperture, but it seems silly to get a lens made for follow focus when I have no intention of buying or using a follow focus system at all. I'm also worried about a longer range on the focus ring making it harder to do one motion hand focus pulls. Anyone with any experience?
I'd love to know the difference in smoothness between the two.
Dec 25 2012 7:03AM
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MaxBerkowitz
Posts: 440 - Karma: 2,611
buuummmmp.
someones got to have experience with one of these?
Dec 27 2012 5:37PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
You really don't need the cine one, at all. declicked aperture is cool but its whatever really. I think the focus throw is longer? might be wrong but with a 35 again meh. if you dont need the geared focus then fuck it, just get the normal version.
Dec 27 2012 5:50PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
I can't see why anybody would want de clicked aperture unless you need way too precise adjustment of aperture(I presume that's what it does).
Dec 27 2012 6:41PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
Some cine people are super specific with their exposure. They want 1/48 shutter and I so whatever and so they adjust their aperture to dial in perfect exposure vs adjusting iso around etc.
Dec 27 2012 7:22PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Because it's easier to have an aperture without hard stops than it is to manually readjust every light in the scene. If you aren't meticulously lighting your scene in a professional way, declicked apertures are nothing more than a luxury. I'd even argue that fader ND's are stupid.
Dec 27 2012 8:41PM
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sweatshirt
Posts: 1357 - Karma: 483
why would you say that a fader nd is stupid?
Dec 28 2012 7:38AM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,943
Wouldn't it be extremely helpful in a select few situations though?

Like this, where it's all one shot but the lighting changes throughout.

Go All Day from Colin Kennedy on Vimeo.

Dec 28 2012 1:02PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
First, the lighting doesn't "change" in that video. Yes, he goes indoors and outdoors, the light is DIFFERENT but the exposure level is relativity the same throughout the whole video. You can see that the shots outside are in the shade and the shots inside are very bight (lots of windows, definitely had some extra lights behind the camera) and they did this so they didn't have to do what you are thinking they did.

That being said, second, changing your aperture/nd fader in the middle of a shot isn't exactly a practiced technique. This is avoided by having proper lighting, which isn't always an option for everyone so yes you could do that while you're shooting. But, thats not why people have de-clicked apertures.
Dec 28 2012 1:14PM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,943
I was wondering because the creator of the video says,

"There were a minimum of 3 crew members traveling with the Steadicam operator at all times. Focus, Iris, 1st AD, etc."

I'm not saying that it's common at all.
Dec 28 2012 1:31PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
I mean, just watching the video you can tell the exposure doesn't change, he walks from the stairs to another hallway the stairs are the same, etc. maybe they changed it a little but not enough for someone to even notice, the sunlit windows are blown as fuck and when he's outside the bright sky/trees are blown too. if they did change the exposure, its was minimal.

The 3 people with the steady cam makes sense though, thats normal for a big production. One person operating, one person focusings, one person monitoring, etc. He did mention iris but that might just have been the job of the focus puller too, who knows.
Dec 28 2012 1:34PM
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1337
Posts: 31061 - Karma: 29,366
or possibly they did a good job adjusting a de-clicked aperture between different lighting environments so well that they fooled you? ;)
Dec 28 2012 4:48PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
I would have thought it better to have fine tuning of the ISO, so you don't fuck with the dof.
Dec 28 2012 6:53PM
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CoachG
Posts: 2546 - Karma: 448
I work as a 1st AC (a.k.a Focus Puller) on Bigger Budget Jobs. De-Clicked aperture is meant to be "racked" just as you would adjust focus. I guarantee that in that video above with interiors/exteriors that there were aperture pulls. You don't notice the change in aperture because the iris puller is good at what he does, that's why he was hired solely to do that. I mean, if you're watching anything tv, movies, etc, you don't even notice a good focus pull if you're not looking for it.

I do at lot of focus pulling for steadicam operators, and when there is an occasion for an iris pull, we most certainly have someone designated to do just that. A focus puller should never have to worry about pulling focus and racking iris. I know there's not always the high level of production and budget to hire people to do each job, but when there is, it most certainly applies. I just worked on a Music Video which is on MTV currently where we were outside wide open at a T/1.9 and had to have someone rack iris as we tracked our subject into a hallway where exposure fell around a 2.8/4.5 split.
Dec 28 2012 9:14PM
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CoachG
Posts: 2546 - Karma: 448
didn't see this before i posted, but exactly.
Dec 28 2012 9:19PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
Word that's tight sounds like a challenging and exciting job I'm jealous
Dec 28 2012 9:27PM
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BolderPro
Posts: 767 - Karma: 426
haha this is gonna sound dumb but this whole 3 person crew on a steadicam operator has me thinking... how do they do it? Im imagining a cluster f**k of people trying to have there hands all in the same spot and walking backwards and all tangled... is one person wearing a stabilization suit and the other 2 walking to the side or what...?
Dec 28 2012 10:20PM
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eheath
Posts: 61708 - Karma: 124,237
They have remotes lol but I know they'll often be quite close
Dec 28 2012 11:57PM
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Official_Recap
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 525
Behind the scenes of the Nike piece: http://theberrics.com/gen-ops/behind-the-scenes-go-all-day.html
Dec 29 2012 1:18AM
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Official_Recap
Posts: 1075 - Karma: 525
whoops, I meant Gatorade, not Nike.
Dec 29 2012 1:19AM
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sweatshirt
Posts: 1357 - Karma: 483
that's sick man, what music video is it?
Dec 29 2012 6:13AM
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MaxBerkowitz
Posts: 440 - Karma: 2,611
Thanks guys still unsure, but I'm leaning towards the normal version slightly.
Dec 29 2012 11:53AM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,403
being able to count stops when the camera is held up to your eye is useful, I say go normal
Dec 29 2012 11:58AM
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CoachG
Posts: 2546 - Karma: 448
There is a Steadicam operator, who wears a vest with an arm. The arm attaches to  a "sled" which holds the camera, and batteries, which also serve as counter-weights. He focuses solely on the operation of the camera. Then the 1st AC/Focus Puller walks along side of him and judges focus by eye. In any Steadicam situation, the 1st AC has a wireless remote follow focus. So it's a dial that he holds in his hand. On the rig itself is a motor which powers a gear that is clamped to the rails and attached to the lens.
Dec 29 2012 12:54PM
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CoachG
Posts: 2546 - Karma: 448
I forgot to mention, if there were both a 1st/AC and an Iris Puller, you would have that motor on the camera powering 2 gears. So one gear would be on the lenses geared focus ring, and one motor would be on the lenses "declicked aperture" gearing. Both gears could run off of one motor, but the wireless transmissions would be on separate channels, just like walkie talkies.

This is the Music Video I Pulled Focus on that is on MTV right now:


Dec 29 2012 12:57PM
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MaxBerkowitz
Posts: 440 - Karma: 2,611
super 8 = get all the ladies
Dec 29 2012 1:18PM
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pjbackwoods
Posts: 1396 - Karma: 421
What is de-clicked apeture if i could ask?
Dec 29 2012 5:21PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
With manual aperture lenses you turn it and it snaps into place at predetermined "clicks" e.g f4,2.8,2,1.4 and so you couldn't have say f1.5, but with a declicked one it becomes analogue, like your focus ring, so you can choose any you like.
Dec 29 2012 5:25PM
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MaxBerkowitz
Posts: 440 - Karma: 2,611
Instead of aperture with firm stops, it glides through like a focus ring.
Dec 29 2012 5:25PM
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pjbackwoods
Posts: 1396 - Karma: 421
Im guessing that is better for having the perfect exposure?
Dec 29 2012 7:37PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
I used to have a lens with a declicked aperture and I hated it. While it technically granted me more precise control over my aperture, that level of precision was unneeded. It was more likely to get bumped, therefore leading to inconsistencies when shooting a scene. It was also more difficult to revert back to previous settings because there were no hard stops, forcing me to eye it all over again, which is sloppy as best.

It seems declicked apertures are only nice when you have complete control over your scene and specifically need to pull the aperture due to a change in lighting. For the other 98%, it's completely unnecessary.
Dec 29 2012 11:44PM
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