Cheaper lens solution

A while ago I posted about the gear that I have right now. In that post I talked about the Canon AE-1 that I picked up at an estate sale this summer. Well I got a couple FD lenses for a very low price. 

This is a great find for a starting dslr filmmaker since you can get decent glass with easy manual capabilities. The main lens that I use is the 24-55 mm zoom lens. 

The construction of this lens is really solid since it was made back when stuff had to last. The focus ring is very smooth and quiet. The zoom is slightly sticky and wouldn't make me want to do a zoom while filming. The clarity of the lens is alright. It has a very shallow depth of field when wide open on the appetuer so focus adjustment and little movement when shooting this wide is key. Although if you want movement you can just close down the iris more. Overall I think that the canon FD lens is a great lens for the price. If I section out what everything I bought as a bundle cost me it was about $20 for the lens. 

The only thing is that you will have to buy an adapter to use this lens with your camera. I shoot with the canon 70D and bought the Fotodiox FD-EF adapter ring. This was $36 on amazon. There are other options out there but after watching a guy's review on YouTube about this particular one, I decided to go with it. 

This adapter has glass in the middle of it which allows for the lens to stay within the same focal length. Since when you add the ring onto the lens you cause the distance to change from sensor to the lens this is a good thing to have. I have a Minolta lens that I bought an adapter ring for without the lens and it cause the lens to act like a macro. It can no longer focus on anything more than about a meter away from it. 

Also this lens allows you to change the appetuer of the lens through the adapter ring. 

Recent Filming

A film-rific Monday to all of you. I can't believe that my summer is quickly coming to an end before I have to go back to school. Not to worry. I will still be posting weekly updates, reviews and film tips and tricks.

This last week I worked on my entry for the Basic Filmmaker Konova Contest. I made a muppet style talent for this 30 second comedy sketch of the show, which, can be found here: Konova contest entry

If you are interested in how I made my muppet, I followed the instructions in this video here: Muppet Head Tutorial. The body I had to pretty much improvise with and old shirt and some more of the green foam.

Also, an update on the NASA School project. I found that I definitely bit off more than i could chew with the time that I had and so it won't be finished by the time I leave for school. It's not because I couldn't have some type of short film done, it's that I want this to be at a quality where I could enter it into some film festivals and have a nice finished product.

So that is what's going on this last week. Click the button to follow my blog and comment if you'd like. This Wednesday I'll be talking about more glass for filmmaking; specifically cheap glass that I got at an estate sale and used on my latest project.

LUCY and Guardians of the Galaxy Film Review

So last week I said that I was going to go see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and then see Lucy. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Planet of the Apes since my friend had to study for a summer class that he is taking so we just went to Lucy.

I will say that it was well worth it. I thought that it was an entertaining and fun movie although there were points in the movie where you questioned why Scarlet Johansen's character didn't kill the bad guys with the power she had. But overall it's a worth while film and I would recommend it to anyone.

Next, Yesterday I went and saw the much anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy. By much anticipated I mean I've never read the comics and had no idea that this comic existed until I saw the trailer for the movie. Which after watching I would totally start reading the comic.

Anyways I loved this movie. It was definitely better than Lucy and it also had tons of comedy that kept me laughing throughout the whole thing and made my sister geek out about it for the next two hours when we got home. And, this movie was packed with action and great actors; like: Cruella Deville from the live action 101 Dalmatians, Amy Pond from doctor who (trust me its her), and Uhura from the new Star Treks.

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT:
I didn't know this but guardians of the galaxy is in the same universe as all the avengers. Which became evident when you find out that the real evil villain behind it all is Thanos.

So if you are looking to go see a movie check one of these two out. I know that you won't be disappointed with these blockbusters.