Ethereal ( Panasonic Lumix GH4 / Rokinon 14mm 35mm 85mm )

[@MySheepIsStaring]

Now that was impressive! Fantastic grading as well! I do not think I have ever been more relaxed!

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Dan Winters Great glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much.

[@mattjavanshir]

These are absolutely wonderful, beautiful shots. I really enjoyed watching this. Thanks for sharing the video as well as the details on what you filmed this with!

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Matt Javanshir Thanks for watching!

[@DevilUpComedy]

Absolutely hypnotic. Great work! Needs more views!

[@LawtonMeyer]

+DevilUpComedy Thanks! Means alot, share it around :)

[@thenerdherdforum]

Great job!

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks!

[@RaphaelWerner]

Beautiful videos there! Really inspiring!!!

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks so much! Glad you're inspired!

[@CambodianAmerican]

Hi. I'm curious. I've been using the item above for awhile now. I got it off of ebay. My question for you is, is it normal for a 35mm lens to become a 50mm lens, when using thiis adapter? I have a Pan. GH4, and I'm mounting the Andoer lens adapter to my GH4. I know the Metabones speedbooster reduces the focal length. Why do I get the opposite? I got more focal length!!!

[@LawtonMeyer]

My guess is that it's just an adapter not a speedbooster and doesn't have any other effects on the lens. All you're doing with that is being able to mount the lens to the camera, rather than preserving the focal length. I'm not certain but that's my assumption.

[@CambodianAmerican]

I think that is also my guess. Thanks for a quick reply! :))

[@35mfilms56]

I'm just waiting for Bilbo Baggins to pop up in a minute now or maybe Gandalf the Grey. Great video. Cheers

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Video98 As those are my favorite movies ever, I declare this to be the best comment I've ever gotten. Lol thanks.

[@35mfilms56]

Nice one. Many thanks for a quick reply. All the best.

[@LawtonMeyer]

Video98 No problem, thanks.

[@elaineli5524]

Great video!!! I'm in need of advice, I see that a mft mount versionis available for the 85mm amd I have a GH4 and no other camera. I also however have a metabones speedbooster so I can either get the mft version or the canon version, pair it with the speedbooster, and get better aperture. Any advice?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks! So there's a few differences. If you get the mft version the 85mm focal length will be cropped so the field of view will nearly double. If you get the ef version and pair it with the speed booster you'll have a much closer field of view to actual 85mm. And yes it adds an extra stop brighter to your aperture. I believe it also increases the depth of field as a result, so making it closer to a full frame look. Although, this is more apparent on the gh5 more so than the gh4. If you want a suggestion I would go with the ef mount and speed booster combo. Especially since it sounds like you already have the speed booster anyway? Am I understanding that correctly? Well anyway, you can't really go wrong with rokinon either way. Happy shooting!

[@vidatuvida]

love your work! do you preffer Cine D or V-log? A lot of videographers say shooting V-log internally without a recorder is not good? but in some of your videos you seem to shoot v-log internally. Does it work good for you?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Ah, that is an excellent question! I've been dying to talk about this haha. So they both have their own ups and downs. I'll say right away that I prefer V-Log, and yes I do shoot it internally. The down side to V-Log is that I always seem to pick up some sort of artifacting, or noise patterns. Even if everything is perfectly exposed, and it's very important to use the histogram display on the gh4 and keep that little mountain in the middle, maybe even slightly more towards being over exposed because v-log looks very dull until it's graded. I've also noticed occasionally I'll get this kinda weird magenta streak in a highlight or something. So you kinda never really know when your footage will be clean or not which can be frustrating. BUT the upsides to using V-Log are super worth it. You can achieve soooo much more range it's actually quite surprising, considering I think it's only 2 extra stops of dynamic range or something like that. It's much easier to work with an image in most cases, to really push the contrast and colors. With Cine D there's always this ridiculous orange to everything, for no reason, and very rough transitions from highlights to shadow. And it also has a very difficult to work with color science. Everything is orange, and everything is kinda plastic looking. And to an extent what you see in camera is pretty much what you're going to get once graded, you can boost the contrast, and change the colors a bit but there's not much flexibility. And I almost always end up losing highlight and shadow detail. With V-Log you can really forge a new image, if need be. And with this video, v-log hadn't come out yet so I was still shooting Cine D, and while yes I finally got most of the shots to a place where they look decent, let me tell you, it was a battle. Every single shot took a lot of tinkering and it was very frustrating, there was a few I sorta gave up on. I can only imagine how this would have looked if I was able to shoot V-Log. I also think that part of the issues might be that the gh4 only has 10 bit color, which is good, but you're still going to run into issues with the highlight to shadow transitions. The Black Magic camera for example has 12 bit color, the red I think goes up to 16. And I didn't understand any of that bit stuff till a friend explained it. But anyway, yeah they both have their pros and cons but V-Log is definitely the way to go in my opinion. But really just experiment and find what works best for you. Sorry for writing a book lol.

[@vidatuvida]

Thank for you good reply! Going to experiment more with my vlog now. Also getting some more Luts. Greetings

[@RobischHolsonProd]

So you used metabones EF to 4/3 for the rokinon lenses?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+RobischHolsonProd Yes.

[@waverecordsmusic]

hi, could i use this fim for a neoclassical music video? i add credits

[@LawtonMeyer]

Please send all business inquiries to my email - [e-mail] Thanks

[@ShootAndThrill]

Glidecam work is TOP!

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks!

[@ShootAndThrill]

Are you using the cine lenses? I'm looking to get the 35mm to add to my g7+xl speedbooster and wanted to make sure the big weight was doable on the with the 35mm on that speedbooster

[@LawtonMeyer]

Yep, my 35mm and 85mm are both cine, the 14mm is the photography version. The 35mm is definitely the heaviest though. But these lenses are made for smaller cameras like dslrs and the like so it should be fine.

[@nicholasgirimonte4877]

Im looking into getting a speedbooster for my gh4 to mount rokinon lenses, what speedbooster do you use?

[@masonprice1522]

Metabones Speed Booster!

[@LawtonMeyer]

I use a meta bones ef to 4/3 I want to say ultra but I'm not 100% sure on the specific one.

[@kenjigathecha]

Pretty Awesome. How did you pull of the opening shoot. It looks like a pan but at the same time the angle of view changes??

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Kenji Gathecha Just getting creative with the Glide Gear 5050 :)

[@9zeroMama]

+Lawton Meyer With 96 FPS?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Nope! All at 60fps. 96 you start losing image quality.

[@vzatreacherous]

Awesome! What kind of apertures were you using mostly?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Rubiini Honestly I don't remember! For anything during the day I usually have to close them to around 11-16 or so. And if I'm shooting vfr I put the shutter speed to 125. Although I recently got some ND filters so now I'm able to keep them more open.

[@transitionfilms4045]

Do you have to get a speed booster even if you buy the lens specifically for the GH4? Sorry I'm new to mirror less cameras.

[@LawtonMeyer]

+RVKFilms No of course not! The reason I got one was because I already had canon lenses, so I got the speedbooster instead of new lenses. For me it just acts as an adapter.

[@transitionfilms4045]

+Lawton Meyer Oh, okay thanks for the feedback it really helped! I love this video by the way!

[@lddevo88]

Beautiful visual storytelling with the movement and composition, and that COLOUR! Everything looks so lush and green, how did you film and colour grade this?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+lddevo88 Thanks! Well I always shoot as flat as I can, at the time of this video that was cineD. Then I do all my grading in adobe premiere. Also I start out with osiris luts, then add a bunch of curves and adjustments till I get the desired look.

[@TheHughyg]

Lawton Meyer which lut is it from the pack? I have it but haven't been impressed, but this has changed my mind!

[@agustawicaksono]

What a great video... well done sir. Among those Samyang lenses, which one do you like the most? And which one do you think is the sharpest.

[@LawtonMeyer]

Agusta Wicaksono I would say I use the 35mm the most and my favorite is the 85mm. As for the sharpest I have absolutely no idea.

[@agustawicaksono]

did you use polarize filter? some of your footage have no reflection especially “the river”

[@LawtonMeyer]

Nah this was like 3 years ago, I had basically no equipment back then lol.

[@RoemelFranchise]

Hey i bought the Lumix GH4 recently and currently using the Rokinon 14mm.. but im not sure which speedbooster im supposed to buy ? what speedbooster did you buy for your camera setup ?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Roemel Franchise I can't remember the exact title of it, but it would be 4/3 to whatever your rokinon is. So you want the micro four thirds to attach to the gh4 then you want the other end to be whatever the lens is, so if you got a canon ef rokinon that's the speedbooster you want. Or if you got nikon, sony, etc.

[@xRoocki]

+Lawton Meyer I´m also a owner of the gh4. i`m thinking of getting the 35mm lense. if i select it as a micro four thirds lense do i also need the speedbooster? or why is the speedbooster necessary? So confused right now...

[@LawtonMeyer]

***** Ahh ok, no you don't need the speed booster if you get the 4/3 lens. The reason I got it was because I already had canon lens from my old camera and when I got the gh4 I didn't want to get all new lens, so I just got the speedbooster instead. However what the speedbooster does do is reduce the crop factor and brighten the image about a whole f stop.

[@thebeertrale]

+Lawton Meyer I am looking to match my GH4 with a speed booster and rokinon 35mm prime cine lens. Do you find it significantly better shooting in variable/lower light situations? Great video by the way!

[@xRoocki]

i decided to get the speedbooster with the sigma 18-35 and it was worth it! great low light, nice wide picture and an amazing sharpness from the lens itself

[@pete49327]

Really nice, thanks for posting your video. I'm thinking seriously of getting the gh4 to use with my decades old prime Nikon lenses with the Metabones. Question: Did you record on camera in 4k then scale down to 1080 in post on Adobe, or did you shoot 1080 originally? Reason I ask is that I have read reviews and samples where the cinematographer states that it's best to shoot in 4k on the gh4 even when you know you'll publish and export for 1080 viewing. The reason being that 1080 scaled down from 4k has better resolution, color, than if shot originally at 1080. TIA.

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks for your comment. First of all I would say wait a few more months and buy the gh5 if you're planning on getting a new camera since that comes out soon. As far as 4k goes, it is true that 4k is nicer even when scaled down, because I believe it has 10bit color instead of 8bit. However when I shot this I had my laptop to edit on and it couldn't handle 4k video. So this video is shot 100% in 1080. Now I generally do shoot 4k and scale down, and if you have the computer that can edit 4k then I would certainly recommend that.

[@pete49327]

Excellent reply, thanks for tip on gh5!

[@noahnobelrieper]

But is the gh5 not gonna be so expensive?

[@LawtonMeyer]

I don't think it's confirmed yet but hopefully it's around the same price as the gh4.

[@pete49327]

Lawton Meyer I think the gh4 has already come down several hundred dollars to about an average retail price of $1,400, so I imagine the gh5 will cost close to $1,800. Who knows.

[@EricStrobel09]

how did you get that first shot with the glide gear? did you digitally zoom or just step slowly?

[@LawtonMeyer]

I was walking slow, there was actually a dry area of sand and rock in the middle of the stream I managed to get to and just walked along that. Started low, tilted up, paned, then walked forward when it levels out. Plus I shot slow motion, at 60 frames which helps a bit.

[@EricStrobel09]

+Lawton Meyer thanks for the quick response. the motion reminded me of the revenant. excellent stuff

[@LawtonMeyer]

eric strobel Thanks very much! I love that film, and Chivo is a real master.

[@kurnazmustafa]

Wau very nice Look, I find very beautiful;)

[@suryo_utomo]

awsome

[@9zeroMama]

Color grading is amazing here.! Very Good, what did you use? 1:02 looks amazing! Please make screenshot from proporties fo color grading :) Amazing Job!!

[@LawtonMeyer]

+9zeroMama I do all my grading in premiere and use osiris luts as a base, then add lots of adjustment curves and effects.

[@9zeroMama]

+Lawton Meyer Yep I know about OSIRIS lut's as base but the power of this look is about this curves and effects what you use :) I am curious how do you use it :)

[@LawtonMeyer]

Hmmm, well I typically use luma curve, three way color corrector, rgb curves, tint, and sharpen. And just play around with it till I like how it looks, or till I get a specific look I'm trying for.

[@joshuabowers6328]

Great video, you should of put the at the bottom in text which lens was used

[@LawtonMeyer]

Joshua Bowers But it's not a lens test video, it's a landscape film.

[@joshuabowers6328]

You're right, it's a beautiful landscape film.

[@symptoms113]

i have a GH4 and i want the samyang 35mm t1.5 cine lens, will it work better with the speed booster? also if so, what speed booster and samyang 35mm t1.5 cine lens will i purchase to make them fit the GH4? thank you

[@LawtonMeyer]

The primary reason I bought the speedbooster was to adapt my old lenses to my new camera (gh4). I'm not sure it will necessarily work better, but what it does is negate alot of the crop you might get from the 4/3 sensor, and also gives you about an extra stop of brightness. The speedbooster you want should have a 4/3 end to mount to the gh4 then the other side needs to be compatible with samyang.

[@symptoms113]

gentleman thank you

[@JDDperi]

Great job lawton everything came out great I'm digging the soundtrack did you make that? What programs did you use?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks. For video editing I use Adobe Premiere CC and for music I use Audacity to edit recordings.

[@JDDperi]

what virtual instruments programs did you use for this track? I need some good recommendations lol I like that way it sounds

[@LawtonMeyer]

I don't use virtual instruments, but I hear logic pro or pro tools is probably the way to go if you can afford it. For my stuff I just record some chords and stuff on my keyboard(piano) with my video mic on the camera, then edit it audacity, because audacity is free and does what I need it to. I'm not really much of a music editor or mixer or anything so I can't be of much help there, sorry.

[@JDDperi]

great job it sounds a lot more expensive and produced haha Awesome color/audio/video overall you should have more subscribers

[@LawtonMeyer]

Haha I agree! No but seriously I really appreciate that thanks.

[@mordeinalas7393]

What are the best overall lenses for both video and photography on Gh4?

[@LawtonMeyer]

First of all awesome profile picture lol. As far as lenses, it really depends on you. I use prime lenses because it suits me. But if you want just one or two lenses total you might be better off with zoom lenses. Think about what you'll be shooting and go for what is going to be needed. I know it's a bit of a vague answer, but really the brand is not so important you can get a good image no matter what you use. Personally I like rokinon and I know lots of people like sigma as well, maybe start there?

[@Isajaymes]

that 35mm rokinon is def a solidddd entry level lens, i used it forever

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

can the lumix gh4 use a samyang lens wihtout an adapter? the speedbone is sooo expensive!

[@mushamusha3939]

can you tell me which shots you were using the 14mm on?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Dobiyo Gaming The first and last.

[@Gafferd8186]

your shots are so crisp! do you use the speedbooster on most shots?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+holynickskates Thanks man, yeah I use it on every shot because when I got the gh4 all my lens were for canon so I got the speedbooster to use as an adapter basically, instead of getting all new lenses.

[@Gafferd8186]

+Lawton Meyer ahhh that's smart, killing two birds with one stone. which canon did you have before and was the switch worth it? those ocean shots are so epic

[@LawtonMeyer]

holynickskates Oh most certainly worth it. My canon was the t4i and I wouldn't really consider that a pro camera, good for starters, but with the gh4 I can do client work and stuff.

[@1LYFE]

When you shoot? do you notice alot of grain/noise in the raw image?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Sometimes, but if it isn't really heavy noise I usually don't see it until I'm editing. And I've noticed since I started using V-Log there's alot more artifacts (on this vid I used Cinelike D). The GH4 is more prone to noise because of the M 4/3 sensor, so it needs lots of light.

[@1LYFE]

+Lawton Meyer ok cause I notice some artifacts in some shots I take, so I'm contemplating if I should get the metabones

[@LawtonMeyer]

J Bxrnz I think it's more because of the sensor than anything else. I could be wrong though, but sometimes I'll shoot in broad daylight, perfectly exposed on the histogram and artifacts will turn up, so I suspect it's the sensor and just how the GH4 is. I would also say to make sure all the settings are at 0 or lower, master pedestal, contrast, etc. Because I noticed when you push this camera the images start to fall apart. Hope that helps.

[@1LYFE]

Lawton Meyer ok sounds good, appreciate it.

[@watchdawgs781]

Amazing work man, what lens did you use the most?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Eclectic Vibration Entertainment Hmmmm, probably the 85mm that's my favorite. Although I use the 14mm for pretty much anything with movement. Hard to say, but probably the 85.

[@watchdawgs781]

+Lawton Meyer really?? i would have thought most of this was shot with a 35mm. I just bought a GH4, i trying to figure out what lens i should go with as a first lens.

[@LawtonMeyer]

Yeah I only used the 35mm for maybe 1 or 2 shots. What lens you get largely depends on what you are trying to do. If you plan on mostly tripod shots then a longer focal length might suit your needs. If you plan to do alot of moving shots get something wider. Also something to check out that I think is really cool is the telephoto conversion option on the gh4. It's in the video option menu, honestly I'm not entirely sure how it works but it gives your lens a longer focal length, and I can't see that it degrades the quality too much. The shot that's in the thumbnail was using the tele convert. So with that in mind maybe start out with a wide or medium lens since you also have the option to do that? It's up to you, my first serious lens was the 14mm, with longer focal lengths you need to be a bit more precise, just something to keep in mind. Hope that helps.

[@watchdawgs781]

+Lawton Meyer i appreciate the info bro.

[@LawtonMeyer]

Eclectic Vibration Entertainment Sure thing.

[@jacobvidios]

Are you using the 0.64 Xl speedbooster or the 0.71?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+jacobvidios To be perfectly honest I have no idea :p sorry. All I know is it lets me use my ef lenses on it.

[@jacobvidios]

+Lawton Meyer lol nbd. video looks great anyway!

[@LawtonMeyer]

Haha thanks.

[@olliegray6429]

Amazing!!! How did you achieve such slow movement in and out? Such an effective way of intensifying your image!

[@LawtonMeyer]

Thanks! Which part are you referring to specifically?

[@olliegray6429]

2:48 onward for about 30 seconds

[@olliegray6429]

Very subtle!

[@olliegray6429]

And thank you for replying on such an old video ;)

[@LawtonMeyer]

Ah ok. So a lot went into that section actually. Right before that I was building up the sound and in a tight macro style close up with the sound reaching it's peak. Then I cut the sound and go to those wide shots on the mountain top. I was trying to create space, allow the viewer a breath. Its not like a tense moment then calm, it's more subtle because the music isn't necessarily stressful, it's atmospheric and is getting louder, then all of a sudden you're in the open. Now to be more specific with what you're asking about the shots of the mountains came out a mess at first, they were shaky, white balance was off, took forever to color grade, etc. I believe I actually have a before and after video on my channel somewhere. So now we're seeing these wide shots and the sorta crescendo has come down, but I'm slowly starting to bring that sound back up. Then when the waves come in it's the same idea as before, it's basically serving as a transition but instead of being a sudden openness, a breath, it's a little more jarring before settling into the next location. Technically it's just me trying to re frame with this cheap travel tripod I had and then adding in little zooms where I felt they were needed. I hope I answered your question, it's not often that I get to talk about my actual direction. I imagine most people here are looking to pixel peep at the gh/rokinon combination. So it's nice to share the process. This was actually one of the first videos where I started discovering my style so to speak. If I were to change anything I feel those mountain shots go on for just a little too long. To sum it all up sound dynamics is really the big factor here. Don't just slap a track on some video, you have to work it and shape it to create emotion.

[@luzcreativaproducciones5879]

Wich adaptor did you use?

[@LawtonMeyer]

+Luz Creativa Producciones Metabones speedbooster. 4/3 to ef.

[@chainepersode]

whats was your osiris luts ?

[@LawtonMeyer]

For this I most likely used M31

[@chio5026]

I have gh4 and lumix 12 to 35 the videos are good in camera but wen tranfer to iMovie or fcpx look horrible lots of noise not hd can some one tel me what am doing wrong thanks .

[@LawtonMeyer]

Well it's hard to see how your image looks on the little lcd screen of the camera, once you have it in an editing program the image is much bigger so you'll see more of that detail. It's not really that you're doing anything wrong with the camera, just that you're under exposing it sounds like. If you are using vlog you want to over expose by a stop or two, because the flat footage makes it hard to judge. Sometimes I'll set it to cinelike v or standard just to set exposure. And to make sure your exposure is right use the histogram display on the camera. Also make sure you are shooting in proper lighting conditions, if indoors use lights, even cheap hardware store lights are better than nothing. Not enough light = poor image.

[@chio5026]

Lawton Meyer thanks you so much for the advice ...

[@RespecttheScreenplay]

what kind of speedbooster did you use?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Metabones 4/3 to EF mount.

[@RespecttheScreenplay]

+Lawton Meyer thanks

[@RespecttheScreenplay]

+Lawton Meyer does this take really good photos or is this just for film

[@LawtonMeyer]

IronicaNomura Hope I would say it does take good photos, I think it's a little more focused on video though.

[@BarZen]

The color looks a little off. Has a green bluish tint to it. Am I the only one seeing this?

[@LawtonMeyer]

Eye Lyght If you hadn't noticed this is a stylized piece. There's no skin tones to work with.

[@lehuamedia1235]

Beautiful visuals! We're looking to showcase the best travel filmmakers from around the globe for a chance to win a grand prize of a DJI MAVIC PRO and be featured on our page! Check out our community and enter your KZbin or Vimeo video at www.LehuaMediaCo.com !

[@REALIONESS]

What lens did you use at the 2.14 mark?

[@LawtonMeyer]

it's the rokinon 85mm but I used the digital zoom option on the camera. not sure what the equivalent would be. 100mm-200mm I imagine.

[@REALIONESS]

Thank you for your fast reply! I am doing my research as I am looking into buying a few Rokinon lenses primarily for documentary cinema. although I am a director (currently a film student) I would like to own my own equipment and then choose my cinematographers accordingly. I am looking at the 135mm, the 12mm and the 50mm. I would be shooting a lot of landscapes/ tropical scenery as well as interviews. Do you think the three I have chosen are versatile? Or would you recommend a different combination of rokinon cine lenses?

[@LawtonMeyer]

85mm is a classic interview lens and I love it for portraits. but with a 14 or 24 you can get nice and personal, in other words the camera will be closer to the subject which may make them more comfortable and also gives an interesting look. plus wides like the 14mm and 24mm will also be great for landscapes. Get the 50mm if you like but personally I find it a very boring lens, I know it's fairly versatile but everyone uses it, and the spherical version makes a very square image, this is my opinion of course but meh lol. 50 is great as an anamorphic tho because it's much wider, but as a spherical lens it looks so bland. That's just my opinion though. Another good choice may be the 100mm macro. with macro you can get super close focus distances which can be useful especially for doc going into a place unplanned you don't know what kind of room you'll have. Everyone everywhere uses 135mm for close ups and 50mm for everything else. Super uninteresting and unoriginal. I would suggest some combination of: 14mm, 24mm, 35mm, 85mm, and 100mm macro. That should cover most situations and give you some diversity. Good luck with the doc stuff, that's actually what I started out doing :)

[@REALIONESS]

Thank you for your recommendations. I do agree with the 50mm being boring, it is pretty standard. I was also looking at their macro lens it does look great but I am wondering how much of a difference it would make overall, there are other ways to achieve a similar look I suppose. Rokinon makes a few wide angle lenses, any particular reason why you chose the 14? Yeah hopefully the doc goes well. I am interested in shooting a documentary about gender based violence. I plan on starting with a mini series first to get the hang of it. Your videos look great though by the way. It is nice to know what I can achieve with these lenses. I've been looking at reviews but a lot of people have terrible looking lens tests.

[@LawtonMeyer]

In my experience these are great lenses for the price. Instead of spending $20,000 on a nice set of lenses you can get a few for several hundred a piece. I think there is a certain level of quality you want to meet as a minimum, but really it's how you use it. As for why I chose the 14mm, partly personal taste partly it was the first one I found way back when that met my budget and my needs and I didn't really know as much about lenses 5 years ago as I do now, so I just went for it! lol. It made sense to get though, I wanted something wide that would be good for 1- movement and 2- landscape. Wider than a 14 seems more than I would need, and wider lenses create distortion close up, which can be a cool effect, if you know Chivo's work (the revenant, birdman, children of men, gravity, tree of life, etc) He uses wide angle close ups to great effect. It's just much different than if you were using a long lens. Each focal length has a different feel so you want to be mindful of when to use what. Anyway, the 14mm is nice and compact, whereas the 24mm is a bit bigger, and I love the wideness of the 14mm, without it being too wide (again, personal taste). I actually used the 14mm to shoot a doc style interview with the Ambassador of Rwanda a few weeks ago and I think it just gives a very cool vibe, very personal. Rather than a longer lens where they'd just be a talking head floating in a blurry background (don't get me wrong though, that looks cool as well, experiment and find what you like). There's no one way to do things, and there's a different situation for every look. The reason I suggest a macro is because with most longer lenses you need to be at least 3 or so feet away to get a focus, which can cause trouble if you're interviewing someone in their back closet or who knows where lol. With the macro all you need is to be like 3 inches away to pull a focus so there's more flexibility. You can also capture shots with it you wouldn't be able to with a standard focus distance lens. So for the sake of variety it might be good to think about. Ok, sorry for rambling lol. I think the series is a good idea, and an important topic. Really the best way to learn and get good is to do. I could sit here all day telling you what I think of this lens or that, and everyone else will want to tell you their way is right as well. But really you just need to try out some different things and find your own voice so to speak. So I hope that all helps. Feel free to ask questions anytime, and I'd love to see how the series turns out.