What a wonderful lens! Many times a year the client springs for the Canon CN-E 17-120 F2.8 and they never regret it. When shooting live content and with large sensor cameras, it’s always tricky keeping up with focus. It gets especially tricky if the jib is swinging around aggressively. Cine servo lenses such as the Canon CN-Es or Fuji Cabrios help solve this issue as they are fully parfocal servo zoom lenses. They blend the functionality of a 2/3” broadcast zoom lens with the super35 world. The CN-E 17-120 is a lens I particularly like to use….I know who doesn’t like a $25k+ lens?! The servo motor is extremely clean and accurate. I can start jib moves and at any point sneak into a super subtle push. You should expect this kind of quality from high end ENG lenses, but I haven’t quite experienced a lens that was THIS accurate with its servo. A good measure of quality is how easily you can start and stop a zoom from it’s beginning and end points. With lesser quality ENG lenses or simply beat up ones, I find the starts/stops aren’t perfect. When completely wide, you sometimes get that dreaded zoom bump when starting a push. I work around this by tapping on the zoom control to get the lens slightly off the starting point. It does not give any noticeable amount of push, but it allows me to comfortably sneak into a push without having to think about it. On the 17-120 this is never a worry!
Jibs Vs Drones Part 1: AUDIO
It’s a common question DPs often have for me and unfortunately the answer isn’t always clear cut. Big swooping wide shots are very important tools for editors as they transition scenes together and connect you into a larger space. But what is better when you need to consider audio?
Jibs make very little noise and often the fans on larger sensor cameras are far louder than anything electronic on a Jimmy Jib. This means all of the swoops and establishing shots can be accomplished capturing live audio! Drones are very loud and even the smallest and quietest ones will sound like a landscaper is out to drive your field recordist crazy. If audio capture is important, then jib is the way to go.
There is a gray area here though. What if it’s an outdoor wedding and you’d like some big shots? The drone flying 400’ off the ground may not interfere with audio if it’s a small unit, but you lose a lot of perspective and intimacy of the shots. That being said, maybe you want a few of those big shots to show off the surrounding? However, if you are flying low enough so the subjects don’t look like ants, you are probably ruining the audio a well as making all of the guest listen to a drone! A large format jib such as an 18-30’ Jimmy Jib Triangle, paired with a wide angle lens, will get an impressive height perspective and also allow you to zoom close up to the subjects without disturbing audio capture or the event itself!
