How to get Sharp video with 5dii

[matteusclement]

I have been using a 5dii with old takumar lenses and adapters. I have a 28mm, 55mm and 135mm. I also have canon's 40mm f2.8 pancake lens.

I use the technicolor profile too. (I sharpen 60points in premiere)

My issue seems to be around sharpness lately.

Are ALL lenses soft at their lowest F stops?

On my 28mm it's f3.5, the 55mm is f1.8 and the 135 has f3.5.

What lenses have you found produce the sharpest videos?

 

[gdeusthewhizkid]

hey i have a 5d mark 2. I use a 50mm 1.4. 50mm is standard and has great video. google phillip blooms 5d mark 2 settings and you can set up your video great..

 

[arjen92]

Mmm, as far as I know zoom lenses suffer more from softness at their lowest f-stops while primes don't suffer as much.

You also set sharpness on your canon as low as possible?

I'm not familiair with takumar lenses, but perhaps you could rent a canon prime and see how that compares.

 

[matteusclement]

I have used my canon 40mm and it's okay at f4 but in low light, that sucks.

 

[nateo200]

Generally speaking lenses when wide open are not going to be as sharp as stopped down, unless you are using some insane end Zeiss lenses but even then stopping down is ALWAYS sharper...its just how it is there is no "fix" unless you want to create artificial sharpness in post. Zoom lenses usually are not as sharp as primes but its not a substantial think unless your a pixel nazi. So yes all lenses are soft wide open. This is basic knowledge. Your sharpness issue could be either aperture related or any number of issues like an adapter your using to use other styles of glass. Hard to tell without a better explanation. As for low light "sucking" at f4 just remember there is allot more to film/video than just a camera and the subject...proper light is imperative, with proper lighting you can get the best of all worlds and stop down...in fact one movie (Citizen Kane) stopped down so much they had to use so much lighting it ran the power grid down! It was for a specific look though. Point is there is allot to this stuff!