Lenny Manfred
Well-known member
there is one gigantic disadvantage of the master primes: they are very, VERY sensitive. they need to be constantly maintained, and can easily go out of alignment, and to fix them you have to send them to germany.
i rented a couple of them from a local rental house for a one day shoot, to try them out, and i loved the look, but, a few days after i returned them, i got a call from the rental house that apparently one of the lenses had been dropped. I knew that was not true, because the lenses never left my side, and the whole day i shot in one place, with the camera on a dolly, so i asked them to let me examine the lens, and, there was not a single mark on it anywhere. i questioned them further, and talked to another rental house, and i learned that, apparently, just normal transport in a foam case, can shake one of the master primes out of alignment, apparently even crushing some bushings or something inside, that will end up costing the renter (me) around $1,700 in repair. i also learned that Zeiss recommends these lenses not be transported in a foam case, but rather suspended, and not facing down, but rather sideways. (the rental house later agreed to settle for $1,000, but still...)
now, you have to understand, i owned a full set of digi-primes for a couple of years, and sold them (to this rental house) and they where in perfect shape, so i know how to take care of things. so this damage must have happened in the case given to us, during normal transport in my equipment van, because that is the only possible time that this could have happened, and i tell you, i never dropped the case either. apparently the ultra primes can take a lot more use.
i like these lenses, they look great, and reminded me of my old digi-primes, but i suggest you treat them very carefully, unless you live near or in Germany, and when you rent them, get plenty of insurance, and a low deductible, because you very well might need it.
on a separate note, the producer that hired me for this job refused to cover the damage because, as he put it, "we did nothing wrong", and, because i did them the favor of picking them up, and somehow it came under my name (even though they booked them and gave them their insurance info), somehow this ended being my responsibility, and i got stuck with the bill. never again.
i rented a couple of them from a local rental house for a one day shoot, to try them out, and i loved the look, but, a few days after i returned them, i got a call from the rental house that apparently one of the lenses had been dropped. I knew that was not true, because the lenses never left my side, and the whole day i shot in one place, with the camera on a dolly, so i asked them to let me examine the lens, and, there was not a single mark on it anywhere. i questioned them further, and talked to another rental house, and i learned that, apparently, just normal transport in a foam case, can shake one of the master primes out of alignment, apparently even crushing some bushings or something inside, that will end up costing the renter (me) around $1,700 in repair. i also learned that Zeiss recommends these lenses not be transported in a foam case, but rather suspended, and not facing down, but rather sideways. (the rental house later agreed to settle for $1,000, but still...)
now, you have to understand, i owned a full set of digi-primes for a couple of years, and sold them (to this rental house) and they where in perfect shape, so i know how to take care of things. so this damage must have happened in the case given to us, during normal transport in my equipment van, because that is the only possible time that this could have happened, and i tell you, i never dropped the case either. apparently the ultra primes can take a lot more use.
i like these lenses, they look great, and reminded me of my old digi-primes, but i suggest you treat them very carefully, unless you live near or in Germany, and when you rent them, get plenty of insurance, and a low deductible, because you very well might need it.
on a separate note, the producer that hired me for this job refused to cover the damage because, as he put it, "we did nothing wrong", and, because i did them the favor of picking them up, and somehow it came under my name (even though they booked them and gave them their insurance info), somehow this ended being my responsibility, and i got stuck with the bill. never again.
