Choosing a lens for video and vlogging

Video asks different things of a lens than stills do. The specifications that matter are the ones that show up over a continuous take rather than in a single frame.

Why 35mm equivalent or wider

If you are in your own shot at arm’s length, anything longer than about 35mm equivalent crops your head. Wider still — 24mm or 20mm — gives room for a second person or some background. For handheld walking shots, wide is also more forgiving of movement.

Why under 600g

You will be holding this at arm’s length, on a gimbal, or both. A gimbal’s payload is a hard limit, and arm fatigue is a real one. This is the filter people ignore and then regret.

Autofocus behaviour, not autofocus speed

For stills, autofocus needs to be fast. For video it needs to be smooth and silent — a lens that snaps into focus looks wrong on video, and one with an audible motor will be on your audio track if you are using the camera’s microphone.

Focus breathing is the specification nobody publishes

Focus breathing is the frame changing size as focus shifts. It is very visible in a rack focus and appears in no specification table. Panasonic’s video-oriented lenses and Sony’s newer G Master designs suppress it deliberately; older stills lenses often do not. Check a review before committing.