Best Lenses for Content Creators
Photo by Anna Auza on Unsplash
Guess what content creators are great at? Selling stuff. Selling a way of life, a creative vision, a story...you name it.
Part of being able to sell that vision means having the right gear, and no gear is more important than the lenses used to create videos.
The focal length of the lens can have a tremendous impact on the way the video sequences you shoot are framed, and framing is one of the most important aspects of composition and telling a visual story.
There are so many lenses for content creation available in 2020. How do you figure out which ones are the best lenses for video?
Well, you break them down into more manageable categories, which is exactly what we have done below!
Wide-Angle
This 24mm T/1.5 Cine Lens for Canon is the perfect wide-angle lens for content creators. At $500 at Samy's Camera, it provides content creators with the capability to capture all of the action during a wide-angle scene while looking dramatic, but it also allows you to shoot tight shots when you get in close to the subject.
Wide-angle lenses are one of the best lenses for video because they can be used singularly if you don’t have any other types of lenses on hand. That makes this an ideal option for the budget-conscious content creator.
The only downside to shooting all of your video with a wide-angle is that your tight shots will be a little bit distorted.
In the video above, Think Media outlines exactly why a wide-angle lens can be the best lens for you.
Learn More:
Standard
Sony’s FE 50mm f/1.8 is a great example of one of the best lenses for video: the standard lens.
For those concerned about the best focal length for video, a 50mm lens will provide you with the depth you need while maintaining focus on what’s important.
Additionally, basic standard lenses are typically a lot cheaper than say a telephoto lens, which means standard lenses area great choice for shooting video when you’re on a budget.
I really respect Samantha Ebreo’s videography YouTube because she essentially shows you her journey as a videographer.
In the video above, she explains why 50mm lenses are the best lenses for video and she also explains how to use them effectively.
Portrait
Nikon’s AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G serves as the picture perfect portrait lens. It’s also a great video lens...
Portrait lenses usually have a focal length somewhere between 70mm and 135mm, they should be able to perform in low-light circumstances, and they should have a shallow depth of field (after all, you should be the focus as a content creator).
These features make these lenses a top choice for getting moody, creative video sequences in low light and in which the subject is nicely separated from the background.
One of my favorite portrait lenses for content creators is Canon’s 85mm 1.4L, which is featured above and is also sold on Samy's Camera.
Of course, this lens is not for a content creator that is just starting out because of its nearly $1.5K price tag, but the video test above still gives you a pretty good idea of what an 85mm can do.
Learn More:
You Need High-Quality Lighting, Too
Just like with still photography, you need to invest in a good light for video production.
But you don't want to lug around something big, heavy, and bulky, nor do you want to spend a ton of money, either.
That's where the Litra Torch LitraPro comes in...
I reviewed this awesome little light a while back, and as you can read here, I was totally impressed with it at the time. I'm still totally impressed!
Despite being just 2.75 x 2 x 1.2 inches in size and weighing a scant 6 ounces, this light puts out 1200 lumens of light.
All that clean, beautiful light is thanks to 60 LEDs that Litra has crammed into this thing...
This light is also adjustable from 3000-6000K, so you can fine-tune the color temperature to meet your specific needs.
This bi-color light provides you with clean, crisp, flicker-free light and is waterproof, too. If you have any video shoots to do this winter, this light will go with you and give you durable performance each and every time!
