Cheap lenses… I’m all about them. I bought a set of cheap old Pentax lenses that I used to shoot Play Her Song. But as you’ll see from the test below, sometimes a good price comes at the cost of quality… (watch it in 720p, the standard quality is terrible)
Shot in Monument Colorado, 40 or so miles south of Denver, just far enough away from the city to see some of the stars. It was about 15 degrees, so I rushed through without checking the focus on the camera. The issue? The cheap plastic focus ring on the 50mm f/1.8 plastic mount Canon Lens.
When locked into autofocus mode, the focusing ring is rigid, controlled by the inner motor. But when switched to manual focus, the ring becomes loose. VERY loose. When shooting up towards the sky, I didn’t notice the small changes in focus from the vibration of the shutter (and gravity).
The lens is $99 new, so I can’t be critical of it. The quality of image out of such a cheap piece of glass is pretty astounding. But I now know not to entrust my “star-lapse” work with it, lesson learned.
One last note, the plastic mount on my lens feels like it will break soon. The metal mount Canon 50mm f/1.4 is well worth consideration for the $350 price tag!
James Drake Films, Denver Video Production