GEAR BUYERS’ GUIDE
ULTIMATE KIT FOR... MIRRORLESS CAMERAS We look at the best accessories to turn your mirrorless camera into a real moviemakingmachine WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH
1. LENSES: FUJIFILM MKX ZOOMS £7960/$7798 fujifilm.eu
The HD video-equipped DSLR may have started the craze, but it was mirrorless cameras that transformed stills cameras into fully-fledged filmmaking machines. And with many of them developed specifically for filmmaking prowess – such as the Panasonic Lumix GH5S, Sony A7S Mark II and Fujifilm X-H1 – they have had a huge impact on the world of independent filmmakers. With full-frame offerings from Canon, Nikon and Panasonic alongside Sony and Leica, plus APS-C and MFT versions from Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic, mirrorless cameras continue to boom. But, unlike cinema cameras designed solely for making movies, mirrorless cameras can be vastly improved for shooting moving images by rigging them up with various useful accessories. Some kit improves the handling or adds much- needed audio functionality. Others are accessories everyone needs, but work well with mirrorless cameras’ smaller size and different form factor. So, we take a look at some of the must-buy accessories you should consider to transform your mirrorless cameras into a far more capable moviemaking machine.
If you are a user of Fujifilm X Series cameras and want a pair of proper manually geared cinema zooms with a fast aperture, light weight and a price that won’t give your accountant too much of a heart attack, you are in luck. The MKX18-55mm and 50-135mm zooms have a fast T2.9 maximum aperture and, on a crop-sensor camera like a X-H1 or X-T3, this pair offers a wide range of focal lengths fromwide angle to telephoto –more than enough to cover virtually all needs apart from wildlife or sport. Fast cine lenses are a great choice to achieve a shallow depth-of-field and beautiful bokeh, but can be very big and pricey. At £7960/$7798 for both lenses, the Fujinons aren’t cheap, but you do get a lot for your money and they are ideal for the small size and low weight of the X-series. There is virtually no focus breathing or change of focus as you zoom, they have matched gears for follow focus and other remote controls and the shorter lens even has a macro switch to allow you to get very close to your subject. Both have a nine-bladed clickless iris, an 85mm front diameter and are colour matched to all of Fujifilm’s cinema lens range. There is even built-in adjustment so you can alter the flange distance to perfectly match your camera. Nothing comes close at this price.
2. LENSES: SIGMA 18-35MM T2 ZOOM £3899/$3999 sigma-imaging-uk.com With a constant fast T2 aperture throughout the zoom range, and outstanding optical performance, the Sigma 18-35mm is not only good enough for HD and 4K now, but is ready for high-resolution shooting in 6K-8K productions. Yet it’s still available at a price that’s way below what cinema zooms would once have cost. It’s a price point that’s been achieved by leveraging high- precision, high-efficiency mass production technologies that Sigma has developed for its popular still camera lenses, and the end result is a combination of performance and compact design at the highest level. It has a clickless nine-bladed iris, but only covers Super35 sensors rather than full-frame. It comes in Canon, Sony and PL mounts.
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PRO MOVIEMAKER AUTUMN 2019
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