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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 :)

Who makes the Red Lenses?

K

Kenneth Wiatrak

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This is a real beginner's question but I am just starting to work with the Red. Most of my work has been 35mm film so I'm familiar with the different lens makers. Could anyone let me know who makes the Red lenses?
 
RED
 
Really? They've got guys somewhere that just design and grind lenses for the Red cameras. That's terrific. I was expecting to hear that Zeiss, Cooke, Angenieux or someone else manufacturing glass that gets packaged as a Red lens.
 
Wrote to Red and asked the same question. The answer I received was that it "is not public information".

At the heart of it is the question, how good are the Red lenses? Is it better to buy the Red lenses or go for a set of PL mount Zeiss speeds? Any thoughts?
 
Ultimately that is what I will have to do. Always good, though, to hear from others who have used the equipment; what they have experienced.
 
Kenneth Wiatrak said:
Is it better to buy the Red lenses or go for a set of PL mount Zeiss speeds? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I tested Zeiss HS, IB/E proto and some Ultra Prime - and bought Red. But depends on your taste, money, shooting style, rental, etc.
Reds are not perfect - they got enough flaws - but they are good. Better than other lenses in some details, worse than the same lenses in other details - just depends.
 
I noticed barrel distortion in the 25 that seemed excessive. I'll grab a screen shot and send it to RED one of these days to get their opinion on whether somethings out of whack. Otherwise, they are gorgeous.

For what it's worth, the boxes say "made in China."
 
I have been always, been in Love with Arri/Zeisss Master Primes, and almost purchase an entire set for 300K!!

Since the RPP's and RPZ's I absolutely can not ever justify spending that kind of money, as the RED glass in the PRO, are just stunningly sharp, and very well build.

Flaws??

well every single object of this world will have them, nothing can be perfect as we, humans can not make anything perfect :~) but to my experience the RED glass IQ build Q and handling are as good as it gets at this price points, hands down no comparison to anything out there.. unless off course you start comparing them to Arri and or Cooke or Angenioux at 4 to 5 times the price.

But if you need not faster lenses there is absolutely 0 reasons to spend more money for anything else.
 
Alexis Hanawalt said:
I noticed barrel distortion in the 25 that seemed excessive. I'll grab a screen shot and send it to RED one of these days to get their opinion on whether somethings out of whack. Otherwise, they are gorgeous.

For what it's worth, the boxes say "made in China."
Click to expand...

The boxes do not say "made in China".

Jim
 
Kenneth Wiatrak said:
At the heart of it is the question, how good are the Red lenses? Is it better to buy the Red lenses or go for a set of PL mount Zeiss speeds? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

For all intents and purposes, it is RED that makes the lenses. They have their own optical designs. The lenses are assembled/manufactured in Japan, as this is stamped right on the boxes. The exception being the original 18-50, which was made in the UK, as was stamped on the lens itself.

You really do need to rent a set and get a feel for the RED primes. They are excellent lenses. Very smooth mechanics and they are very, very good optically. I really like the "look" they produce, far superior to Zeiss super speeds or "standards" in a technical sense and I really prefer the look. Optically they are every bit as good, and in many ways better, than the Ultra Primes. In terms of sharpness, they give Master Primes a run for their money. The Masters are arguably still the better overall lens set, and for the price, they should be. As I said about the look of the lenses, I like it. I don't think they are as sterile as the Ultra Primes and to me they produce a more "contrasty" image. In some ways, they have a slight organic feel to them. It's almost like they're somewhere between a Cooke S4 and an ARRI Ultra Prime for aesthetics...

The only two complaints you will hear about the RED Primes (other than the limited selection of focal lengths right now and 18mm back-orders) is that they are very big and heavy, and some people feel they need more marks on the focus ring. I agree with the big and heavy, especially the 18, 25 and 35. 50mm and up uses a different optical design that cuts down the heft by quite a bit. As for the markings, I don't mind that they are a bit sparse. I don't stare at the lens while I pull focus anyway and when I need accurate markings I mark my FF wheel anyway.
 
My thanks to everyone for their invaluable feedback. As was suggested I need to rent a set of the RED PP and the Zeiss Master Primes and do a comparison.
 
Kenneth, one of our fellow Redusers (you know who you are) had the option to buy one of these sets - Master Primes, Ultraprimes, or Red Pro Primes. He thought the best overall lenses were the Master Primes. And he could have bought them. But he bought the Red lenses. They are just too good value wise. If you like the look, there's just nothing else in the market that can give you that much quality for that price point. This fellow Reduser liked the look and liked the extra money in his pocket so he could buy other gear he needed.

By the way, I agree with Jeff's assessment.

But I encourage you to take the lenses for a ride and compare them. It will answer a lot of questions for you.
 
The first two Red zooms have "Made in the UK" written on them. Is this true? Maybe by Cooke since they also have /i support?
 
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