Tamron 17-50 VC vs Nikon 24-120 for Video

[aaron_yeo]

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I'm working on this project tomorrow for a building tour, and I kind of want to try using the new 24-120 f4 for video, on a D7000. The project is supposed to look very amateurish, which means lots of panning and zooming (think Battlestar Galactica space shots).</p>

<p>I was planning on using my 17-50 2.8, thanks to amazing vibration compensation, and a nice wide range, but I was also planning on maybe renting the 24-120 for a day. The 24-120 will give me much more reach than the 17-50, but not as wide, obviously—one concern of mine is the DoF/bokeh of 50 f2.8 versus 120 f4,. More focal length, but tighter aperture—anyone have any idea how much better/worse it'll be on the 24-120? And this actually also applies to the wide end; I want to get some wide-but-bokehlicious shots. Will the longer 24 still look good at f4, versus 17 at 2.8? I will focus as close as possible to cut my DoF, but what do I have to work with in each of these cases?<br>

Also, how does Tamron's VC compare to Nikon's (assumably) best VR?</p>

<p>I know I want to rent it just because it looks like a sweet lens and I want to try it for fun, but I'm wondering if it's really practical for the purposes of the video.</p>

<p>Anticipated questions:<br>

Will I need to go wider than 24 (on DX)? Possibly, but if need be I can pull out the 17-50 for those.<br>

Will I need the reach of 120? Probably not, but it would be nice.<br>

Can I deal with a stop less of light? Yes, it will be very bright, but see above for DoF at both tele and wide.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for the help!</p>

[mariosforsos]

<p>Whether you'll need to go wider that 36mm (the 24 equivalent on your camera) is something ONLY you would know.</p>

<p>Movie-making is a much more complicated affair than people think. Normally, you would measure the various distances from your camera to your subject(s) at various framing stages (which means you have to storyboard your movie first!) and then, once you've done that, you can estimate the focal lengths you'll need. Since you haven't done this (if you had you'd know which focal lengths you'll need), get as many lenses as you can. Bear in mind, that f/2.8 at 50mm will give you pretty much the same bokeh as f/4 at 120mm.</p>

<p>While D7000 is a relatively fast camera in focusing on video, you should be VERY careful with all those "panning" shots. They will need to be slower and MUCH MORE controlled than you think if they are to be visible in ANY way afterwards. With such panning requirements, going wide is usually better (since narrow field of vision is infinitely more demanding to the eyes).</p>

<p>furthermore, you need to plan in accordance to your post-processing setup. Therefore, if your software and hardware and expertise in post allows you to shoot wide and then crop (and repurpose) in post, then go with the wide. Remember, most movie makers have a selection of fixed lenses they change as they film (see my point about measuring distances, above), so having more lenses can never be a bad idea.</p>