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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Illumina Test - Red One-Mx, Arri Alexa

Indeed, the US distributor used to claim them as sharp as Ultra-Primes...

Did no-one test them on chart before? This is the first thing I do with a new lens... hmm, I feel bad for everyone involved.
 
Adam's test, his horrible experience, as well as Mark's passing the story on are enormously instructive. Thanks to you both!
 
I have a set of Illumina's Generation 3.
When I first got them I put them up on a lens projector at Panavision and compared them to Zeiss Super Speeds, Cooke S4 and Red Pro Primes.

They were brighter than all. Sharper than Super Speeds and displayed similar edge softening to S4's (the Cooke Look). They matched the closes to S4 on the projector. Red Pro Primes were the sharpest but I already knew that.

The build quality is fantastic. They are solid lenses and much more manageable size wise to the S4's and RPP's. I actually had a set of RPP's which I sold to purchase these Illumina's as I found the Red's to be too bulky and I wanted smaller lenses to work with EPIC.

My Epic's have just arrived and I'll be out shooting and will be happy to report back how these perform.
For me the T1.3 was the selling point as the combo with the high sensitivity of EPIC would mean brighter images using less powerful lights.
 
Rory,i would be very interested to see your results.
Historically there has always been a problem finding a decent set of illuminas for 16mm, many of us had the 8mm Illumina to compliment our super speed set for 16mm, i still have my 8mm. When we found a decent one though they were fine and easy to service, there was never any problem matching them in with the zeiss. Some DP's even reported at the time that they preferred them over the Zeiss glass. The problem we are seeing here could easily be history repeating itself, maybe buying the S35 illuminas is all about finding a "good" set.
I do remember clearly seeing on the FJS website a statement saying "as sharp as ultra primes", not sure if that statement is still on there. If there were a set available here the UK i would be quite happy to hire them for the day and throw them up for projection, or if anyone here has a set they are willing to loan for the day?
 
But then if you were unlucky enough to get not such a good set you would have to put up with what Adam had to put up with. So even assuming that Adam somehow ended up with a poor set and that there are good sets out there, how would you find out? You would need to have to personally test the very set you wished to purchase so that you did not go through consumer hell. The quality of a product is only part of the equation - are the sellers decent to deal with? Are they straight with you when you ask questions? Are they trustworthy generally? How long does it take to actually get the goods once ordered? How will they respond if there is a problem? In a minor way I am going through this right now with a particular seller and I can tell you it is not a pleasant experience.
 
I have had no trouble with Fred or Gregory from Luma Tech. They have been professional and very responsive.
I placed a deposit on my set when I saw some tests on RedUser (can't remember who did them but they were between the Illumina's and the iPanchros)
The speed made me go for them as the iPanchros are just too slow for Prime lenses.

Gregory helped me get my lenses fast as I had a feature shoot which was very good off him, he actually helped me get a cheaper rental to hold me over.

When I saw these latest tests I through a lens on my EPIC and all I can say is I'm glad I have Illumina's.
I like the build, glass and speed. Perhaps I have a great set, who knows... all I know is I'm stoked on my purchase and I like dealing with the company.
 
That's good to hear Rory. I have to say i was on the cusp of buying a set and did enquire. The problem for me was that there is not a UK or European dealer where i could see a set, neither have there been any over here at any of the expos'. I think it would help if there was a dealer over here, there's a big market in europe. Pulling glass from the factory in Russia out to USA and then back to europe again seems a bit long winded. I think it would help sales over here as vat registered companies wouldn't have all the hassle of customs and duties within europe. If i could see a set and test each lens myself before purchase i would certainly consider buying. It's a shame about this bit of bad press recently as it's a small business and it will be difficult for hire houses to buy and rent them out as who would want to take the risk?. Lumatech need to get more good sets out there and build up some more confidence in the market.
 
Just putting in my 2 cents as I bought a set and returned them after testing. I will say first and foremost that although I didn't care for the lenses, Charles at Serious Gear was always incredibly straight forward and extremely honest at all times and gave me my full money back like he promised if I said they didn't work for me. So I can give Charles and Serious Gear big Kudos. NOW, the lenses:

I had the same results as Adam. I set up a comparison at a cam shop down the street in Venice. We compared to Ultra Primes and Super Speeds. But after putting the first lens up (50), I realized this was going to be pointless as the edge spearing was so bad on the image. It didn't clean up into an acceptable range until you stop way down close to 5.6. And saying "clean-up" is being generous. I won't go into much detail only that we compared them to the other lenses and on 2 cameras to rule out it being a back focus issue. But suffice to say, I would say my results were identical to Adam's test.

That being said, they certainly have a "look". Like a weird vintagy - from the 20's - out of register optics kind of look. Almost like a broken anamorphic lens as the bokeh is round in the center of the image then gets smeary and misshapen at the edges. SO, it may appeal to someone looking for something with a mild tilt-shift vibe and halos anywhere more open than a 4 stop. But they should be sold at a far cheaper price-point me thinks. They are priced as if they are a clean, all purpose lens and I don't believe that is the case IMO.

But again, Serious Gear gave me 3 days to try them out for a refund and honored that with no problems when they weren't right for me. Charles wasn't trying to push them on me, only offered them as an option which I appreciate as I was curious to try them. Oh well.

Conclusion:

Serious Gear: Big thumbs up
Illuminas: Not big thumbs up.
 
its strange hearing these reports. When I received my Illumina's I went to Panavision and put them on the lens projector. I did this even before I put them on a camera.
I have a set of Super Speeds, RRP's and Cooke S4's and was very impressed with how the Illumina's looked very similar to something between the S4's and Super Speeds.

I'm super happy with my Illumina's and just don't get it when I read posts saying how awful they are, its like we have totally different lenses or something.
 
Seems to be all about the QC?
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Seems to be all about the QC?
Click to expand...

Gregory has two sets of Illuminas that just arrived that were matched at the factory for 3D. Customer that ordered is having trouble gathering funds.

It would be great for someone as a matched pair but if stereo sale doesn't come through in the next week or so will be sold separately.

Gregory lives about a mile from me here in Weston and I talk to him regularly because I am having him work on a 14mm for underwater use. These "reviews" are all over the place and being a video and SLR guy I don't feel qualified to give a serious recommendation. I do know that these latest sets are having the mechanical parts made with more modern CNC equipment than the previous sets so maybe a bit better QC. My suggestion is that if you are serious that you arrange a demo and fly to Florida with a cashier's check or ability to arrange a wire transfer online, check them out and if they work for you, take them home - probably not much more expensive than shipping costs and there won't be any questions.

As some of you may know Gregory still has a pretty strong Russian accent, which can be a little difficult to follow on the phone. So if you would like me to facilitate this just give me a call.

If you fly in and buy, I'll talk Gregory into taking the cost of a flight off of your sales price. If you don't you can go spend an evening on South Beach and it won't be a total loss. :-)
 
I took a look at the latest version a couple of weeks ago. Image looked really nice but i did not shoot any chart tests. Maybe I can get the latest set to have tested or Nathaniel has a set. They also came out with a 135mm.
 

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I wonder if there is also the issue of the culture of customer service as it is (or isn't) in Russia. QC problems can happen to anybody, depending on the price, the commitment of the company to high standards and luck. Red has issues from time to time, but they show themselves to bend over backwards in the customer service attitude department and most people take things in the larger balance. Russia, like most post Soviet places, has a deep history in which the customer is always wrong and it is not easy to erase that completely. But I am a little uncomfortable with this kind of completely negative review being brought forward (and so amplified) by another party, when it is only one example of an unhappy customer. Of course he might be entirely correct in this too, but I think there are more things working here than one guy's experience. Just my 2 cents.
 
Adam Howden said:
Thanks for posts people,

I really would urger caution with dealing with this company. The lenses did not perform optically, but mechanically they just felt poorly made. They're painted not anodised, the 50mm focus movement just chocked and got very tight for most of the turn. Finally, to top it off the Iris movement on two of the lenses were gritty and grabbed....
Click to expand...

I thought the MK II Illuminas had anodized barrels. Can anybody confirm? Sorry to learn about your experience Adam. I hope Lumatech makes it right for you.
 
I've had nothing but good dealings with Luma Tech. I love my Illumina's although I have heard of a few bad eggs I'm lucky to have an amazing set of lenses.

Contact me off list if you like... rory"at"minefilms"dot"com
 
The video was removed in part as a result of a full refund being issued to the owner. See the following thread: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=55496 We are also interested in a set and are lucky enough to have a dealer about 3 hours away. I hope to be able to do some testing later this month and will gladly post some results. I have seen several good reviews and they certainly look reasonable in the Portland test. And there is no doubt that Nathaniel Kramer is shooting plenty of beautiful content with them. But, there seem to be several negative reviews (some legit and other mere speculation)... enough to make us a bit nervous. Though they seem to be a reasonable deal, it is still a hefty five figure number and for that one should expect some consistency. I will post some footage as soon as I am able. Cheers....
 
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