As we all know, photo lenses can be fraught with imperfections (focus breathing, distracting lens flare, etc), but we use them on smaller projects when we don't have the budget for a set of Arri Master Primes.
And while we can't make a $2,000 photo lens look like a $40,000 cinema lens, we can at least make the look of our project more consistent by using a color chart to correct lens color shift.
If you think it's not a big deal, take a look at these two stills:
Both were shot with the same camera, the same white balance, and the same lighting. The same base grade was applied to both files.
Despite the Canon lens' intense blue shift, you might say—with some grading, no big deal, no one will notice.
But imagine if you were using these two lenses for a documentary. You'd be cutting back and forth between the wide and close up for the entire project. You'd have to do an intense amount of finessing to match these shots for every single interview or else the audience would be distracted by a color shift on every cut.
It only takes a few seconds to put a color chart in front of a camera, but it will save you hours in the editing room.
