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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 :)

You Down With R.P.P. ? .. Yea you know me...

this footage is creamy and buttery all over.
 
I wonder why the RPPs are only 7. Personally I'm cool with that, but it seems others prefer much more. How many do Zeiss MPs, UPs, SSs and Cooke S4s have each?
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The Cooke S4's have an 8-blade iris and they have a somewhat star-shaped highlight bokeh to them before the iris expands far enough to soften into obscurity. Don't know about the new Panchros just yet. I don't recall off the top of my head how many blades the Arri ultra and master primes have.

If memory serves me, the UniqueOptics primes shown at NAB, that a lot of people were saying look just like the RPPs, have a 12-blade iris.

I kinda like the 7 blade iris of the RPPs from what I've seen so far.
 
UniQoptics lenses I saw had seven-blade irises. Ultra Primes have nine-blades and are slightly curved to produce a somewhat rounded shape. I can't recall how many blades are on them, but Master Primes are known for their very circular bokeh, although this is not the only element that comes into play with what makes up bokeh.
 
Mitch Gross said:
UniQoptics lenses I saw had seven-blade irises.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarification on that. I probably read an erroneous report, not much info has really surfaced about these lenses yet.
 
Sorry guys, I had to disable the video for a bit. My bandwidth is almost gone! I'll see what I can do about hosting a Vimeo version
 
Thanks Richard for putting the Video together and hosting it.

Sorry for the offtopic:

As far as relatively light weight primes go... How do the K-35s stack up against the ZFs optically and cost? How do you like the mechanics of the K-35s? I get the difference in operational mechanics between the pl vs. nikon though...
 
Hey Andrew

To Answer your question, The K-35s are extremely light weight. The 18mm T1.5 lens is beefier than the rest, but I like that. The 24, 35, 55 and 85 primes are about the same weight as the Zeiss T2.1 set of lenses.

There is quite a leap in optical/mechanical performance when compared to the ZF lenses in Nikon form. I am curious to see how the Zeiss Compact Primes stack up against the K-35 set, being Full Frame and with 2 more iris blades. ZFs are great but the K-35s are sharper and have a more pleasing bokeh to my eye. I also prefer the contrast of the K-35s to the ZF lenses as it feels more cinematic. Cost is a bag of peanuts really. 5 lens BNCR mounted K-35s will set you back anywhere between $9,000-$15,000 a set depending on their condition. I heard the early 80s models were better by the way so look for serial numbers that begin with 80 or 81. If you want to convert them over to PL then you'll have a hard time finding someone. Jacek at Optitek is doing my conversion and he's based out of Los Angeles. There is another tech in Europe that does it as well although I forgot his name. Most techs won't touch these lenses because of how complex the conversion process is. But i heard the Visual Products BNCR adapter is awesome, so that's always an option so you don't have to wait long for the conversion. The conversion will set you back another $5,000-$6,000 depending on the work that needs to be done. All in all, you're looking at $14k-20k for a set of K-35 PL lenses depending on the condition. I would put their value a little higher since the PL conversion takes a lot of time and time is money. I would think this number would come down as more modern sets hit the market but I doubt it, as the K-35s are rare and very unique plus they are virtually future proofed for Full Frame 35. Mechanically, they have been buttery smooth. One thing I don't like about them is that the iris ring is at the front of the lens instead of the back. Red Pro Primes have better mechanics though, also a way better looking housing.. But optically, I'm still torn.. I wish I could own both
 
Man... I feel like I hit the big bag bonanza! Thank you for the breakdown Richard.

I have a follow up question... but I just read it and it I need to sleep on it so it makes sense with less shorthand so to speak.

Thanks again man...

Cheers,

Andrew

PS- Is your 35mm still for sale? And... have you heard anything about Optitek's sweet Nikon Pro Mount being legal from Red since they make a channel for the i-cable (but I have no clue about what else would be less than cool as far as Red is concerned.)
 
Andrew Benz said:
PS- Is your 35mm still for sale? And... have you heard anything about Optitek's sweet Nikon Pro Mount being legal from Red since they make a channel for the i-cable (but I have no clue about what else would be less than cool as far as Red is concerned.)
Click to expand...

Hey Andrew, Yes my ZF 35mm is still for sale!

Can't comment on the Nikon Pro Mount as I haven't seen a working version yet. It looks genius however.

I'll post the RPP test on Vimeo later tonight as I'm helping out with the SALT tests at Keslow all day today.. Excited to see some glass :cool:
 
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