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Elite Optica Super 35 MKIII lenses

Joe Walker

Joe Walker

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Would Elite Optica Super 35 MKIII lenses work well with this camera? I like their price point and quality. I have used a set of them before on a 35mm shoot. They had very good quality on film, but would they suffice for this camera or should I be looking at Cooke, Zeiss, Nikon, and (god forbid) Panavision?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Here is the Elite Optica website:
http://www.optica-elite.com/Price-List-2007.html

-Joe Walker
 
They will work just fine.

The other point to consider when investing in lenses is what will the resale value be 3-5 years from now. You cant go wrong with Arri/Zeiss or even Cooke in this regard, history has proven that they hold their value very well if maintained. I don't know how strong the resale value would be on Elites in the U.S. Looking at the prices, they are not far off from Ultra Prime pricing...you can typically find very nice used or even new Ultra Primes in the $8-9k each range.

Otherwise they are fine lenses.
 
I contacted abelcine a while back to ask about the prices of those Elites (they were the only disributor I could find) -- and they were about 20% cheaper than the Cookes that I was planning to go for. Having only shot with Zeiss, Cooke and Primos in the past, I was wondering if those of you who've used them in the past could tell me what you think. I'm not sold just yet, since I do some SFX cinematography on occasion and I like the idea of the /i box helping me log shot info quickly... I just don't know if it's worth it. Where do the Elites stand?

(Just to clarify, i'm talking comparison from an optics standpoint only, ignoring the various bells and whistles)
 
digitalfx said:
They will work just fine.

The other point to consider when investing in lenses is what will the resale value be 3-5 years from now. You cant go wrong with Arri/Zeiss or even Cooke in this regard, history has proven that they hold their value very well if maintained. I don't know how strong the resale value would be on Elites in the U.S. Looking at the prices, they are not far off from Ultra Prime pricing...you can typically find very nice used or even new Ultra Primes in the $8-9k each range.

Otherwise they are fine lenses.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Thank you. I'm not so concerned about the re-sale (although I probably should be)....what I like is that, for the price, I can buy more lenses and really "flesh out" a good set well rounded set. In the meantime, thanks for the advice.
 
Joe Walker said:
Would Elite Optica Super 35 MKIII lenses work well with this camera? I like their price point and quality. I have used a set of them before on a 35mm shoot. They had very good quality on film, but would they suffice for this camera or should I be looking at Cooke, Zeiss, Nikon, and (god forbid) Panavision?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Here is the Elite Optica website:
http://www.optica-elite.com/Price-List-2007.html

-Joe Walker
Click to expand...

I don't think you could use Panavision lenses unless someone makes a special mount, which Panavision might do some day, Panavise a Red One, who knows?

Cheers,
Damien
 
Joe Walker said:
Excellent. Thank you. I'm not so concerned about the re-sale (although I probably should be)....what I like is that, for the price, I can buy more lenses and really "flesh out" a good set well rounded set. In the meantime, thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...

Joe,

It's not just the re-sale you need to think about. If you have plans to make your camera available to other crew or even in your own promotional material, the Cooke and Zeiss name will win you work. If the price difference is 20% I would get the best Cooke set you could with the same budget that you had for the Elites. Drop a lens from the Cooke set that you would use the least and see if it can be hired in if you need to add it to the set.

Name brand glass will win you work and will give you a significant advantage over your competitors.
 
Ahhhhhhh.....gotcha.
 
Joe,
Can you please tell us more about the qualiti of the Elites? How do they compare to Zeiss and Cookes - the character of the glass- is it more similar to one or the other, housing e.t.c. ? Not many seem to have experience with them so it would be nice to hear your opinion. And have you tried theyr 25-80 zoom?
Thanks, Olafur
 
Hi Olafur,

I own a OPF-29-1 which is the orig. version of the 25-80 that Elite rehouses and market as theirs, The lens is tiny 8 inches long and about a 1.5 pounds. ,. It's quite sharp, has decent contrast however there is a bit of distortion, barrel at the wide and pincushion at the long. It breathes quite alot. Minimum focus is 3.5 ft. I use it for steadicam shots and handheld for exteriors. Front element spins when you focus - kind of a pain. I think on some of the rehoused versions this may be solved. The lens is a F3 and T3.4 -

Matt Uhry
www.fuzby.com
 
OliRogg said:
Joe,
Can you please tell us more about the qualiti of the Elites? How do they compare to Zeiss and Cookes - the character of the glass- is it more similar to one or the other, housing e.t.c. ? Not many seem to have experience with them so it would be nice to hear your opinion. And have you tried theyr 25-80 zoom?
Thanks, Olafur
Click to expand...

Olafur,

The one time I used them they easily compared (in terms of final photographed product) to Zeiss MK III Superspeed Primes. I never used the 25-80 zoom, although, Matt's assessment seems to be the universal one that I hear from all those who have used the zoom. They were exceptionally sharp, although at T1.9, the 14mm seemed to go just a t-a-d soft. Not exceptionally so, but enough for me to see it. Now that I think about it, it was only on that one shot too. Interior, practical lighting, three lamps in a room, each with bulbs at 200W, shooting on Fuji 125T. I'm still inclined to use them again. I haven't shot 35mm since that shoot, but I walked away with a very positive attitude towards Elite lenses. I've heard alot of good buzz about their anamorphic lenses. But in response to your original question, the Elite MKIII's have a color scheme of Cooke S-4's, the weight and feel of Zeiss lenses, and the picture that the set I used produced was easily comparable to Zeiss Superspeed Primes. It's sort of what has got me thinking about trying them out on the Red camera, they're a little bit cheaper than Cookes, Zeiss, etc. But the quality is still very comparable, IMHO.
 
earthling said:
I don't think you could use Panavision lenses unless someone makes a special mount, which Panavision might do some day, Panavise a Red One, who knows?

Cheers,
Damien
Click to expand...

Hi Damien,

For sure Panavision will 'Panavise' a Red. Anyone who want's a Panavision mount made by a machine shop should expect to pay about $1000 for a one off.

Stephen
 
Thank you for the info Matt and Joe.

Elite is also coming out with a new line of Digital 35 primes - same features as the 35 primes. I have learned from the Russians that these will have the same glass but smaller housing. Front is now 110mm but will be 85mm and the weight will be ca. 30% less. Price is 10% lower.
The strange thing is that there is a huge price difference between the US and the Russian price lists. If you pick the Russian one the price of a new Elite is ca. 1/3 of a new Cooke!
They are also making the zoom a little better with 24-80mm T3.0
Olafur
 
OliRogg said:
Thank you for the info Matt and Joe.

Elite is also coming out with a new line of Digital 35 primes - same features as the 35 primes. I have learned from the Russians that these will have the same glass but smaller housing. Front is now 110mm but will be 85mm and the weight will be ca. 30% less. Price is 10% lower.
The strange thing is that there is a huge price difference between the US and the Russian price lists. If you pick the Russian one the price of a new Elite is ca. 1/3 of a new Cooke!
They are also making the zoom a little better with 24-80mm T3.0
Olafur
Click to expand...

when you say digital primes, does that mean they are for the 3 chip cams? And you're right, if you can find a reliable euro reseller you can save some money.
 
They call them Digital 35 lenses. They cover super 35 just like the MKIII's They are identical except for the size of the housing and made for digital cameras with 35 mm sized sensors.
Then they also have a series of HD Prime 2/3 lenses.
 
CORRECTION:

I stated before on this thread that the new Elite 35mm digital primes will have the same glass as the MKIII lenses but smaller housing.
This is not correct. The digital primes are all new, designed from scratch - new glass, new housing. Smaller, lighter.

I apologize for this misunderstanding on my behalf - but when an Icelander and a Russian communicate in English - shit happens. I double checked and the answer was:
"as about new designe- it's full new, lenses and mechanics and housing"

jtm said:
So the digital 35s are the ones to for when using the Red? Is there any downside you are aware of? Thanks, J,
Click to expand...

IMHO the downside is not knowing if magic man Jannard will come up with something even better/less expensive than the Russians. Or if we will see a beautiful co-operation between RED and the Russians :) Any pictures of the RED Jannard jet at the St. Petersburg airport?

I haven' t seen ot tried the Elites, just gathered info and this seems to be a very good option for cine lenses for the price and quality - and the only option that is somewhere close to what RED seems to be aiming at.
We will test the digital primes as soon as we can.

"I wonder if we comissioned 100 sets could the price be cut in half ?"
Click to expand...


Matt - are you ready with 100 buyers if I ask my Russian friend this :)

Olafur
 
I'll buy 2 sets

I'll buy 2 sets

If the Elite Digital 35 lenses remain T1.3 (for most common focal lengths) and are smaller in size with new optical design at half the advertised prices (average US$5,000 a piece), I'll buy two sets.
 
Maybe some one could get a great price break by helping them build a decent web site. :)
 
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