Cine lenses

In this lesson we’ll take a look at cine primes and zooms. For information on the Sony 28-135mm cine zoom, please refer to the lesson on Sony lenses. If you need help in deciding on a cine lens as opposed to a still camera lens, read what is a cine lens and how is it … Read more

Third-party zoom lenses

In this lesson we’ll specifically look at third-party zoom lenses. For Sony lenses or cine zooms, please refer to the other lessons. For the sake of simplicity we can classify zoom ranges into the following: Everything, like a 24-240mm or something. Super wide, like the 14-24mm f/2.8, etc. Wide, like the 16-35mm f/4, etc. Standard … Read more

Third-party prime lenses

Why would anyone use still primes for video? Here are some good reasons: They are (or were) designed to resolve great detail, so 4K is a piece of cake. They are cheap! They are easy to buy and maintain. They are light. They can be declicked (some easily, others by a technician) They give you … Read more

Sony and Zeiss lenses – making sense of all the options

In this lesson we’ll take a look at the options available by Sony and Zeiss, specifically for the Sony E-mount. First of all, for a complete list of all Sony-branded lenses specifically made for the E-mount, and compatibility with the a7R II and a7S II, click here. The link tells you which features are supported … Read more

How I chose my lenses

I made this video for the Sony a7S, on how I originally chose my Nikon primes: Download Video Note: I say ‘multiply’ when talking about the bokeh factor, but I really meant ‘add’. Bokeh Factor = Aperture + Crop factor  E.g., here are how my lenses stack up (All of this is approximate, but it’s … Read more

Thumb Grips

In this quick video I’ll go over a cheap thumb grip I bought, and some thoughts: Download Video Purchase links: Thumb grip I bought (not recommended) CamDesign thumb grip (better option) Advantages: Supposedly gives you a better grip, a place to rest your thumb. Disadvantages: Not really necessary with the a7R II, a7S II and … Read more

ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom for Video

In this lesson we’ll go over the ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom options, and whether they are a viable option for video. What is ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom? Under menu B3 > Zoom Setting, you have the following options: Optical Zoom ClearImage Zoom Digital Zoom Optical zoom restricts your zoom to the lens you’re … Read more

ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom for Video

In this lesson we’ll go over the ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom options, and whether they are a viable option for video. What is ClearImage Zoom and Digital Zoom? Under menu B3 > Zoom Setting, you have the following options: Optical Zoom ClearImage Zoom Digital Zoom Optical zoom restricts your zoom to the lens you’re … Read more

How to mitigate rolling shutter in the Sony a7S II

There isn’t much you can do to get rid of rolling shutter artifacts, but there are a few tricks that can help ease the pain. Here’s the video: Download Video Takeaways Remember, rolling shutter is not bad, it’s the slow sensor readout that causes the skew or artifact. Follow these steps to mitigate rolling shutter … Read more