20 Questions Film » Lenses

The Future of Lenses (According To Science)

Mads Black — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 02:02:28 +0000

So, personally I enjoy hunting for vintage lenses on eBay and playing around with them – via various adapters – on my 4K camera. But that’s not the way of the future, according to science. Get ready for meta-lenses.

Instead of shaping, coating and polishing glass to perfection, science will (some time in the future) be turning to titanium dioxide for optimal light and color reflection. And it comes in a tiny package. As in nano-tiny. Which means that, while it sometimes feels good to hold a heavy lens, it will be possible to package powerful lenses in ultra-compact camera bodies. Not hard to imagine what this might do for phone and action cameras, but I’m sure it will also make high-end equipment a lot more agile and versatile.

Hopefully that means that – at some point – even those of us working with zero $ budgets will get access to lenses providing million-$ picture quality.

Check it out, science geeks.

$150 Lenses vs $15,000 Lenses – Is There A Difference?

Mads Black — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 19:50:54 +0000

The points this video are making ring so true with me right now. I just purchased a small handful of old Canon FD lenses, which, via a Zhongyi Lens Turbo adapter, attaches to my mirrorless MFT camera for some pretty sexy images. And they’re super cheap. As in $50 for an f1.4 50mm cheap. But if they’re put to the test, can they deliver when they’re up against some stellar cinema lenses worth thousands of dollars?

RocketJump Film School did a field test and, I gotta say, I like the results. I completely acknowledge that there are many uses where the cheap lenses would tank, but for a filmmaker on a budget, with little more than a prosumer 4K camera and a creative urge, the cheap lenses can mean the difference between getting a great shot – and staying on your couch, drooling over equipment you can’t afford.

Can you tell the difference?

WATCH: How To Film A Conversation Like The Coen Brothers

Mads Black — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 18:49:34 +0000

There is no doubt that the Coen brothers are masterful filmmakers. They get the laughs, they get the tears, the empathy, the discomfort, the heart and soul of the characters – due in large part to the way they shoot conversations. Here’s a brilliant little video essay by Every Frame A Painting that’ll show you how the Coen brothers manage to do what they do.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Every Frame A Painting on YouTube – and check out our list of other channels to follow.