Hurlblog - the Blog for Shane Hurlbut, ASC

Lenses are one of the most critical choices when you are mounting the Canon 5D Mark II to a lens. Do not treat this camera like it is a film body. Remember to mount the camera to the lens, not the opposite.

Zeiss Lens

Zeiss lenses produce a colder, contrasty feel. They are incredibly sharp which is an important feature in HD capture.
When an image looks a little soft, you loose your depth and snap. A 32 pitch focus gear mounted to the lens makes it easier for your focus puller to deal with the after market focus rings.

Be sure to use more fill light when using these lenses and also control your highlights. Increased contrast means that certain detail is lost such as the subtle features of a set, face or location will be lost in the highlights and the blacks.

What excites you about the Zeiss lenses? I would love to hear your experiences on the set.

When choosing a lens for the Canon 5D Mark II camera you have to consider the look and feel that you are trying to create for the final visual product. My team and I have tested and played with these lenses quite a bit and here is what we have learned.

Canon Lens

Canon lenses produce wonderful skin tones, have medium contrast and give you a wonderful gradation into the blacks. They are not stark and feel soft in comparison to Nikon or Zeiss. Canon lenses seem more colorful than all the other lenses available in the SLR format.

The  focus pullers on your crew need to be aware of managing focus with this lens system due to the endless focus ring. That said, the image stabilization function on the 300mm, 600mm, 70-200mm zoom and the 100-400mm zoom is awesome. I have handheld 300mm shots with the image stabilizer beautifully. Do not use IS II because it moves the image in a way that does not feel organic and softens the image.

What is your experience with the Canon lenses? I would love to hear your comments and feedback from your shoot.