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Luma Tech High Speed Primes at NAB

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SirGear

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We are unable to match the mystery and excitement surrounding the pending introduction of certain new products on adjacent threads. But we would like to share a few ACTUAL FACTS regarding the S35 high speed lenses coming later this year from Luma Tech, Inc.

NAB
-Three prototype lenses will be shown in a "trunk show" format from our Las Vegas Hilton hotel mini-suite. We will be receiving the public during certain hours (morning session, afternoon session)on Monday 4/20, Tuesday 4/21 and possibly one more morning session on Wed. 4/22. These hours will be posted here. Some of you will get email & PM notification.

-Units to be shown:
Early prototype 35mm T1.3, Late prototype 50mm T1.3, Late prototype 85mm T1.3. These will be hand-built prototypes, not production lenses and may have some mechanical revisions already planned, but not yet built.
But they can be projected and will be on hand for preliminary evaluation, hopefully on a RED camera.

The full range of Illumina T1.3 lenses for 2K will also be on display (8, 9.5, 12, 16, 25, 50mm T1.3/PL).
Luma Tech Inc. is the only supplier besides Arriflex with such a complete range of ultra-high speed lenses for both formats.

-Who makes the lenses: LOMO optical design bureau, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. Glass supplied to LOMO specs by Schott, Germany. Design concept and marketing: Luma Tech, Inc. USA

-Features: Super luminous f1.2/T1.3 apertures on all lenses. Uniform format coverage GREATER than 4K size. Will clear reflex mirror-shutters on cameras so-equipped (52mm FFD). Large, clearly marked focus scales with interchangeable feet/meter scales. Large focus helicoid travel, nearly 360 deg. for fine focus pulls. Heavy duty steel/brass/aluminum focus movements designed for decades of hard service. Ease of service and re-build.
Extremely high optical AND mechanical quality.

-Cost: Not yet set, but anticipated to be in the + $ 30K range for all five lenses. In other words, brand new, more advanced lenses than the super speeds folks have been paying up to $ 54K for very recently. With a factory warranty.

More updates soon.

Thank you.
 
Thanks for the info. Can you post pics of the prototypes, and stills/video taken with the lenses for those who can't make it to NAB?
 
Sounds like yet an other bracket. $10k more than Red but faster. Will these make it in for SALT?
When will a wider one be ready? At least a 24mm for it to work as a set. And will it hold t1.3?

Comparative reviews coming up will be l-o-n-g reads...
 
Compensator ring?

Compensator ring?

Have you asked LOMO to add a compensator ring to the lenses so that they can be compensated for the thickness of the sensor cover glass and OLPF filter? This involves floating some of the elements to adjust the negative spherical aberration, if they are just corrected for air then they are not digital lenses, rather film lenses.
 
Super speed at f/1.2 or T1.3 you can find in the same focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm and 85mm at the following FF35 still lenses:

1. Voightleander 35mm f/1.2 Leica-M mount
2. Canon EF 50mm f/1.2
3. Canon EF 85mm f1.2

Also you can find the same lenses in focal lengths of 50mm/85mm

and f/1.2 super-speed at Canon FD and Contax/Yashica as a vintage except for F/L of 35mm.
 
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Questions/Answers

Questions/Answers

We will try to get some captures up on the forums prior to NAB, but timing will be tight as the prototypes arrive very close to "showtime".

Focal lengths in the set are:
18mm f1.2/T1.3
25mm f1.2/T1.3
35mm f1.2/T1.3
50mm f1.2/T1.3
85mm f1.2/T1.3
All with 95mm front diameter, non-rotating front rings.
All units EXCEED coverage of Red's 4K imager format.
All units are T1.3 with sharp, luminous format coverage out to the corners.
All units will have superb contrast characteristics: high flair/veiling glare rejection, with high MTF response even at full aperture.

This product is a "work in progress" at this time. Optical design work is finished for all units, mechanical details still being developed. We are trying to fast-track the 18mm. True cinema quality optics take a great deal of time and effort to build.

We are shooting for limited deliveries by the 3rd quarter this year.

Would love to participate in S.A.L.T., but product must be in sufficient state of readiness. Will know more toward end of April.


A couple of things worth noting:
Working on an answer to the OLPF filter compensation question. I don't want to dismiss the issue, but answer in an informed way. Let's just say we are working to create lenses that will have valid application on CMOS imagers, and on future single chip architectures, as well as on both digital and film camera systems that employ spinning mirror-shutters. More later on this.

Our product does not say RED on it, nor does it say Arriflex or Dalsa or Silicon Images or Sigma/Foveon. But users of present and future systems should look forward to a high degree of performance with the Luma Tech "Illumina S35" lenses.
 
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format Coverage

format Coverage

Derek,
Happy to include you.

The original designs call for the lenses to cover the full film camera aperture
of .980 x .735" inches (24.89 x 18.67mm). This is what was meant by exceeding 4K coverage (24.4 x 13.7mm).

In order to achieve even illumiation of this large frame, the lenses must create an image circle that exceeds it in size by a reasonable margin. If you take into account the reduced height of the 2:1 RED 5K frame (15mm Vs. 18.67mm), then that format is getting extracted from the sweet spot in the center of each lens' image circle. So there is some extra meat in the image area of each lens. That margin makes it easier to cover the 30mm width of 5K. Exactly where the cuttoff is for each lens, I don't know because we haven't seen all the prototypes yet.

As stated before, these are a work in progress, with some features still in development. We will listen to the market and act accordingly, while trying to balance other factors of time and cost.
 
Adjustable compensation for "Plate Effect" and Soft Focus...

Adjustable compensation for "Plate Effect" and Soft Focus...

SirGear said:
Working on an answer to the OLPF filter compensation question. I don't want to dismiss the issue, but answer in an informed way. Let's just say we are working to create lenses that will have valid application on CMOS imagers, and on future single chip architectures, as well as on both digital and film camera systems that employ spinning mirror-shutters. More later on this.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the intelligent and thoughtful reply on this lens issue.

As you know 2/3" cameras will require higher resolution and high frequency MTF than larger sensors, like 120 to 240lp/mm in the center of the image. They will also have an OLPF and sensor cover glass that has a different thickness than larger cameras that need more blur to avoid aliasing.

If you introduce positive spherical aberration like some "TV" lenses to compensate for the negative spherical aberation the "plate effect" introduces then the lenses will not be sharp wide open for film use. Some very high quality microscope lenses that are high speed, like your f/1.2 lenses, have a compensator ring that you can turn to adjust the positive spherical aberration so that you get perfect results on slides with various thickness cover glasses. The high resolution 150mm Printing-Nikkor lens had a compensator ring to adjust the spherical aberation correction for changing the working distance, you need that since the Printing-Nikkor needed to resolve 240lp/mm. Likewise with super resolution Digital Cinema cameras with 6K or higher resolution sensors coming, lenses now need to resolve better than they did for film use since the sensors have better MTF at high frequencies.

If you are able to make a highspeed lens series with a compensator ring to tweek the resolution on any Digital Cinema camera or film camera you will be a step ahead of the other lens makers that have not adjusted to the new digital imaging world with its plates between the back of the lens (rather than just air) and the image plane, especially needed for f/1.2 or faster lenses.

The compensator can also act as an adjustable "soft focus" option if it has some range, better in some ways than a frost filter to shoot older actors and give images a "glow" etc. it gets rid of the over sharp HD look and makes it more soft like film with a roll off of the MTF, when you want that look.

Also correcting for the plate effect will help reduce the shift in the focus marks that can happen when the plate effect makes the lenses develop best focus shift. In filmmaking it is important to have the focus marks right, you do not want to have to remember to focus short or deep as you change the f/ stop. You want to be able to tape out the distance and have the focus exactly the same at all f/ stops.

The SI-2K cameras I think can be used with or without the OLPF, so being able to adjust the compensation could be good for cameras that let you shoot both ways.

We have some Russian lenses by LOMO and others, and some of them are indeed among the finest lenses ever made for Motion Picture use that we have seen. There is no reason that you cannot now make the best lenses for Digital Cinematography as well...
 
SirGear said:
Focal lengths in the set are:
18mm f1.2/T1.3
25mm f1.2/T1.3
35mm f1.2/T1.3
50mm f1.2/T1.3
85mm f1.2/T1.3
All with 95mm front diameter, non-rotating front rings.
All units EXCEED coverage of Red's 4K imager format.
All units are T1.3 with sharp, luminous format coverage out to the corners.
All units will have superb contrast characteristics: high flair/veiling glare rejection, with high MTF response even at full aperture.
Click to expand...

Well I wouldn't say that this set for $30k isn't a big deal. I mean, Red's will be T1.8 and the German lenses will be T1.9... so there should be a market for their rental and for owners that absolutely need all the speed they can get so long as they deliver optically and perform "well" for the more demanding hands.

They are the only new low level pricing 1.3's, right?

SirGear said:
We are shooting for limited deliveries by the 3rd quarter this year.

Would love to participate in S.A.L.T., but product must be in sufficient state of readiness. Will know more toward end of April.


A couple of things worth noting:
Working on an answer to the OLPF filter compensation question. I don't want to dismiss the issue, but answer in an informed way.
Click to expand...

I like your style, short, clear and informative. Hope to hear more soon. Good luck with the R&D!
 
I'm really looking forward to seeing more information about these lenses.

T stop matters and though the Red primes look sensational for the money, a stop is a stop when you're shooting in low light. Given that 99% of our stuff is likely to end up at 1920x1080 anyway that last tiny bit of sharpness isn't likely to matter all that much given the pro of having twice the light hitting the sensor!

As long as the mechanicals are sound these will be a hot seller I'm sure.

Cheers for the concise info. It gives a lot of confidence to prospective buyers.

Paul
 
Illumina 85mm Prototype

Illumina 85mm Prototype

Many thanks to you recent posters. Constructive comments are always appreciated.

Here is a shot direct from the LOMO factory of the 85mm T1.3-T16 prototype lens we will be showing at NAB (aong with 35mm & 50mm). A few mechanical details are already slated for change.

-Focus marks will be in feet and inches, not decimal feet. Decimal increments will appear only on METRIC focus scales.

-The ovoid window for focus scale will be on the camera-right (dumb side) of the lens, and the operator's side (camera left) will have open access to focus numbers. In other words, it will be a mirror-image of the prototype.

Final testing of optical performance at the factory has exceeded the design team's expectations. But isn't everyone saying this ?

Come see us at our Hilton suite at NAB. We will have all three prototypes, a RED camera and lens projector set up to examine them.

Times and exact location (room number) to follow.
Regards,
 
Luma Tech Website

Luma Tech Website

The Official website for Illumina S16 and S35 lenses is:
www.lumatechinc.com

You can email Lumatech by pushing the yellow-highlighted "give me more information" button, or you can PM or email directly to me through my website.

Thanks,
 
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