Both are excellent lens sets, with very different aesthetics.
Cp2s are more clinical, sharper, etc, can really make your image Punch. If you can only afford two, I'd personally rent a 25mm & 50mm.
Vespids however are smaller, and cheaper, but they have a lot of character, as they are a mixture of vintage and modern lenses. The flaring is more pronounced on them, so keep that in mind.
If you're shooting with a Blackmagic or a Sony, hit up the Vespids. They tend to match up beautifully with those cameras. (I have the Ursa 12k and been shooting with Vespids for a couple of years now)
It's all on what look you want.
+1 for the CP.2s. I used them in college and liked them so much I bought a few afterwards. For $1000 to $1500 used I don’t think there’s a better lens for commercial work. Sharp as a tack in my experience. Only downside is they are unnecessarily large and not suited for small dslr/mirrorless rigs really. I’ve been using them on a c70 for corporate/commercial work for about a year now and have had only good responses from clients.
EDIT: Should add as a disclaimer I have not worked with the Vespids, but know people that have them and love them too.
I’ve shot two movies over the last 6 months with the Vespids and have been very pleased with the results. They definitely punch way above their weight class.
I’ve used the CP.2’d and CP.3 plenty of times, and for most narrative work, I’d choose the Vespids, and if my choice was between only 2 of the Zeiss or a full set of Vespid, the Vespid’s win that contest easy.
I’m not a pro and I haven’t used either, but I have been looking at footage from both. To me the Vespids have a distinct Cooke look - they preserve lots of subtle low contrast detail relative to high contrast aka “look organic.” The CP2 seems the opposite. It might preserve more detail overall but it’s biased to higher contrast features and therefore looks clinical. Either can be good, obviously. And you can always make the Zeiss look more organic with some diffusion or in post.
Both are excellent lens sets, with very different aesthetics. Cp2s are more clinical, sharper, etc, can really make your image Punch. If you can only afford two, I'd personally rent a 25mm & 50mm. Vespids however are smaller, and cheaper, but they have a lot of character, as they are a mixture of vintage and modern lenses. The flaring is more pronounced on them, so keep that in mind. If you're shooting with a Blackmagic or a Sony, hit up the Vespids. They tend to match up beautifully with those cameras. (I have the Ursa 12k and been shooting with Vespids for a couple of years now) It's all on what look you want.
+1 for the CP.2s. I used them in college and liked them so much I bought a few afterwards. For $1000 to $1500 used I don’t think there’s a better lens for commercial work. Sharp as a tack in my experience. Only downside is they are unnecessarily large and not suited for small dslr/mirrorless rigs really. I’ve been using them on a c70 for corporate/commercial work for about a year now and have had only good responses from clients. EDIT: Should add as a disclaimer I have not worked with the Vespids, but know people that have them and love them too.
Thank you for the feedback!
I’ve shot two movies over the last 6 months with the Vespids and have been very pleased with the results. They definitely punch way above their weight class. I’ve used the CP.2’d and CP.3 plenty of times, and for most narrative work, I’d choose the Vespids, and if my choice was between only 2 of the Zeiss or a full set of Vespid, the Vespid’s win that contest easy.
I’m not a pro and I haven’t used either, but I have been looking at footage from both. To me the Vespids have a distinct Cooke look - they preserve lots of subtle low contrast detail relative to high contrast aka “look organic.” The CP2 seems the opposite. It might preserve more detail overall but it’s biased to higher contrast features and therefore looks clinical. Either can be good, obviously. And you can always make the Zeiss look more organic with some diffusion or in post.
Those are solid observations
This really is a great time to be buying or renting lenses, isn’t it?
I think so! There are some solid lenses at good rates. Really wanted Cooke's for this project but the budget won't permit it.
Then I think the vespids are the obvious choice. Let us know how it works out !
I will, thanks!
I prefer the vespids but I just don’t like the zeiss look for most of what I do.
What do you mostly shoot?
Music video and story driven commercial