Angenieux Optimo DP 25-250mm Zoom (T3.5)

[Ajay Kumar]

Hi,
I am confused in selecting the lenses for my small business
First I decided to buy used Arri Ultra Prime lenses, but used lenses price is almost equal to new lenses price. So I decided to go with Angenieux Optimo DP 25-250mm Zoom (T3.5), Thinking it’s cheaper than Ultra Prime lens, latest technology zoom , compactable for all the cameras and It’s brand new.

But after reading Angenieux Optimo DP 25-250mm (T3.5) Zoom description & Specifications I see the lens are most versatile zoom lenses used for large format digital production cameras with Max Aperture f/3.2 – T3.5, Close Focus 1.22m / 4’, Front Diameter 136mm, Length 377.4mm, Image Coverage: S35+ : 31.4mm diagonal, Internal Focus.

Now my Cons are:

1) Are this lenses are for Red cameras only as its sensor are in large format? And also I see pictures testing this Angenieux Optimo DP 25-250mm Zoom on Red Cameras only at the shows.

2) How will it work for ARRI ALEXA, AMIRA, Sony Cameras. And I see most DP’s prefer ARRI Alura 45-250mm(T2.8) zoom compared with Optimo 24-290mm (T2.8) & 28-340mm (T3.2) Zoom for their productions this days.

3) Has any one tested Angenieux Optimo DP 25-250mm Zoom at NAB & other shows. And how compactable and success it’s going to be for all the digital cameras like RED Epic, Dragon, ARRI Alexa, AMIRA, SONY and other cameras if I buy for my business.

4) What’s the best suggestions you recommend to go with apart from ultra Prime and Optimo 25-250mm lenses for my business.

Reference :
http://www.angenieux.com/zoom-lenses/cinema-portfolio/optimo-dp-25-250.htm


Awaiting for your reply,



Aj

 

[Michael Tiemann]

I will try to answer your question based on my own criteria and experiences.

I, too, was looking for a versatile zoom lens for my principal camera, and I chose the Fujinon Premier 24-180 T2.6. This lens does not cover DRAGON's 6KFF all the way to the wide end, but if you are either careful about the wide end, or you crop down to 5.5K or 5K, it's not a problem. 24-180 is a 7.5:1 zoom, which is not as much as the Optimo, but it is also a full stop faster. And it is unbelievably sharp as you zoom in. It is also slightly heavier than the Optimo. The Premier was heavy enough that it really did not like balancing on my Sachtler Video 18 head, so I had to buy a CineHD 30 head and corresponding legs, feet, etc. Minimally rigged, my DRAGON + Fujinon lens weighs 34 lbs, and on top of the tripod that's a lot of weight to move/carry around. You really, really need to think about support when you are working in this weight class. If you are doing a lot of location work, you are going to find that lenses of this kind are a real beast to lug around. Mine lives inside my studio, so it is not nearly such a big problem. The Optimo is not much lighter, so you would probably also be looking at a pretty hefty platform to support it.

I also bought a Fujinon Cabrio 19-90 lens. It reaches to the corners of 6KFF better than the Premier, at a 1/2 stop loss (T2.9 vs. T2.6), which is minimal. It is very light, fits on 18" rails (instead of 24" rails) and has a closer M.O.D., making it more practical for tight spaces. There's a big difference between a 2' M.O.D. and a 4' M.O.D. when you are in a small room. The Cabrio is very usable on top of my Video 18 head and 100mm bowl, making it a lot easier to move around the studio. It also--obviously--shoots much wider at the wide end, which is important for shooting in normal interior spaces (as opposed to sound stages). I don't yet have a power solution for the servo, so I simply removed the servo and treat it like a regular lens. But I'm probably going to go with some kind of motorized controller. But no matter what, this is very much an easy-to-carry and easy-to-move solution.

Some day I'm going to get some prime lenses to complement the zooms. I have an EF mount and EF lenses, but their ergonomics are so terrible that I would only ever use them for completely locked-off shots. Which means rarely because locked-off shots are ugly and boring. I'm looking hard at whether I want primes just to fill spaces at the wide end, or if I want to build out a larger set. I don't know at this point.

The big lens is fantastic for my specific environment: a room that's 34 feet wide, 52 feet long, with a 24 foot ceiling. At the wide end, backed all the way up, I can get the wide shot I like. And at the long end, sometimes with a little bit of dolly forward, I can get brilliant close-ups. Because the lens is so sharp I can zoom digitally with minimal penalty. The Cabrio does almost everything else in my smaller rooms.

My suspicion as to why you see so many more 45-250s than 25-250s is that the 45-250 is simply easier and faster to work with when shots call for 100mm +/- 2x zoom than its bigger cousin. And similarly, the 18-80 is just more flexible and faster and easier to use when shots call for 36mm +/- 2x zoom than its bigger cousin. Sometimes two is better than one.

I think the real question you have to ask yourself is whether a 10:1 super-zoom is more of a help or more of a hindrance for the productions you plan to do. If you are doing lots of outdoor/nature stuff where you want to be able to rack a 10:1 zoom, I'm sure the Optimo would be a great choice. If you are doing most of your work indoors, I think that having faster glass--even at the cost of some zoom range--will be a better business decision.

 

[Mark Toia]

25mm it vignettes... shoot at 5k its gone... But we all want to shoot 6k all the way.
At least its super quick to click from 6k to 5k and back again if you need too.

 

[Michael J Brennan]

Opps my bad I, to avoid confusion I deleted a post which was referring to the new Optimo style 25-250 ….not the Optimo DP 25-250


Apologies..

Mike Brennan