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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 :)

Budget PL Options

Nope, but can try on Helium

It’ll definitely cover helium at 6k, and maybe Gemini at 4K based on sensor size comparison chart
 
If S35 coverage is enough for you, used RedProPrimes are silly cheap for what they are. Not a fan of CP2s personally, but also a bargain on the used market.

As others note, you have to decide how important operational characteristics are. If you need precise mechanics and consistent fronts/gear alignment there are fewer options. It's also worth considering the color matching across a set - is that something you don't mind compensating for in post (raw development)? Or do you want consistent color rendition from the lenses themselves?

Cheers - #19
 
Alex Lubensky said:
Don't buy into Xeen. They are crap. Look into Sony Cinealta primes instead.
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...for good reason.

https://kamerawerk.ch/data/images/300_cinematography/Lenstest_Kamerawerk.pdf
"The tested Sony SCL PL Mount prime lenses have shown great imaging characteristics. Contrast performance, sharpness and chromatic aberration are equal if not even better compared to its competitor lenses Cooke S4, Arri Ultra Prime or Zeiss Compact Prime. As illustrated in the figure above, SCL 135mm, 25mm and 20mm actually show best mean MTF characteristics of all lenses."
 
I've got a set of the sony's and they punch above their weight surely. To my eye they look like ultra primes with less micro contrast. I'll likely never sell them since they won't really fetch much of a price used since they are not in demand...

If you're looking for a set there is one up for $9K in the marketplace.
 
I like my AIS Nikon set. I have no choice of course. I have no other lenses for a 35mm format camera. I originally built up the set back in the days of groundglass-based 35mm film emulators, Mini35-400, Brevis, Agus35, Letus35, SGPro et al. I subsequently used the Nikon via a focal reducer on the SI2K and they had a good look if you kept within their sweet spot of about f4-f5.6.

Unless modified, focus pulls are not a pleasant chore. The lens rotation is also the opposite of cine lenses. They are also a little flarey and seem not as crisp as modern kenses like Xeen, CP2 and the like. If you fit third party metal focus gears to Nikons with grub screws on radial centres in the gears, be aware that some of the lens focus barrels will suffer crush deformation, the 35mm F3.5 in particular. That lens is not in my set but someone else's. It began to grind and bind during focus movements.

They do not like being used with C-Motion controllers at all. The drivemotor gears will disengage and jump during the calibration due to additive compliance of the Nikon mount and the drivemotor rod mounts. Gears will also rotate on the lens barrels at the end stops and the calibration will fail.

There were some variations in the Nikon F-Mount. Some older lenses will not mount to later F-Mounts without the aperture control ring binding on the shoulder of the mount itself. Third-party Nikon F-Mounts mostly seem to be patterned after the modern mount versions.

The binding mounts can be modifed by skimming the small aperture ring overhang clearance shoulder of 0.7mm front to back further rearward by 1.0mm to the 1.7mm of the older mount and taking just a whisker off the shoulder diameter. the alterntiave it to removed material from the older style aperture control ring to match modern lenses.

However, the lens will then no longer is genuine to the class of camera it was designed for. The mounts are narrow in diameter and are inclined to cause image shift if the lens is handled.

A rare lens for Nikon is the Sigmatel 135 f1.8. It was apparently good enough to send into space and one may be still floating around out there.

My prime set is :-

Sigma for Nikon 14mm f2.8.
Sigma for Nikon 20mm f1.8.
Nikon 28mm f1.4.
Nikon 35mm f1.4.
Voigtlander for Nikon 40mm f2
Nikon 42mm (pancake) f2.8. ( a different look, almost like cooke and softer ).
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 52mm f1.2
Nikon 85mm f1.4
Nikon 105mm f1.8
Sigmatel for Nikon 135mm f1.8

This is what you might expect of Nikons on an older RED cam with an 11 stop dynamic range, shot on a BM "big" URSA.

 
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CP2 lenses can't be bad. Wide open on a SI2K camera with Super16mm sensor being used as a second camera at night, they were as sharp as the proper 16mm primes on the main camera and had good contrast in artificial lighing..
 
Looking for a set of FF primes that cover at least 43.5 image circle and cost below 3.5k EUR each. Xeens are out because I don't like their look. So far I've narrowed it down:

Sigma Cine FF High Speed
Schneider Xenon FF
SLR Magic APO Hyperprime
Nisi F3 / Mavo Prime (are these possibly the same lenses, just rebranded?) All the specs I found about them match perfectly.

The Sigmas are my favorite, although they are the most expensive lenses in the bunch. They are a stop faster than the others and offer the most focal lengths. Anyone know if they have a 65mm in the works? That would round out the set perfectly and would most likely seal the deal for me. Except for the focus breathing are there any optical faults that I should be aware of?

Next up are the Schneiders. I have an offer thats almost half the price of the Sigmas per lens, which is very tempting. I like the interchangeable mounts and their general look, but their serious CA issues of the 35 and 25 are keeping me hesitant. There are only a few focal lengths and development seems essentially dead on these. They do offer the highest number of aperture blades of all the lenses compared and have a nice bokeh. For a super-wide angle I would likely add a Laowa 12mm - anyone care to chime in how they would intercut? Another downside is the low brand recognition if I decide to rent these out, but then again this is probably true for all of them except the Sigmas.

SLR Magic APO - theres a lot to like about these lenses, very well controlled aberrations and an EF adapter, however its also the set with the least focal lengths available and development seems unclear at beast. They also price out to be the second cheapest in the set.

The Nisi F3s/Mavo Primes - if indeed they are the same lens - are a bit of a dark horse for me look-wise. Anyone care to chime in? Pricing wise they are only a little cheaper than the Sigmas, however they have a larger image circle and unified sizing, moreso than the Sigmas. A super wide is sorely missing, so I would add a Laowa as well here.

Any important lenses I am missing here? Something I should be aware of the lenses listed? In terms of look - I already have plenty of vintage lenses, so I am looking for a modern, clean (but not clinical set) that I will build over the years. My favorite look right now are the Supreme Primes, but those are only affordable as a rental for big projects at the moment.
 
I have the 25, 32, 50, and 85 APO hyperprimes as my personal lenses I own. I shoot mainly mini LF. They are great lenses. Better than the rest on the list with the exception of sigma which are sharp, contrasy and generally boring but technically great. So depends on your needs. I believe there’s a lens guru around here who was not impressed with the Mavo primes
 
Mark - thanks for the link, although it seems they reviewed the lenses with an old RED One camera? Especially in terms of MTF I feel like thats not very revealing, since the camera is so low resolution?

Jake, good to know that you like the match with the Mini LF! What do you do when you need an extreme wide angle? Would you feel the Laowa would be an appropriate fit or do you just rent if you need it? Also would you compare the APOs with Supreme Primes? I'm asking since I have shot a lot with them on rental projects, they kinda serve as my reference lens :-)
 
So I've looked some more into Schneiders and found the lack of breathing very convincing. Also at the price they are currently offered they are almost half the price of the Sigmas, which seems like a steal. Since the original Xenon thread has some issues (new posts are invisible), I was wondering if someone who has them could chime in here, especially in regards to the CA - I've read some contradicting accounts. For example Phil Holland makes the case that the CA is way less than Compact Primes and only slightly worse than Ultra Primes (which is a completely different price range).

I also love the fact that they have an exchangeable Nikon lens mount, which allows to use them on that format and have them easily adapted to EF and E-Mount as well, since the lenses have a built-in lens support this should also avoid any focus wobble. Has anyone used these with interchangeable mounts and can speak to the usability of that? Do you have to reshim them everytime or is the backfocus ok?
 
Paul Jonathan said:
Jake, good to know that you like the match with the Mini LF! What do you do when you need an extreme wide angle? Would you feel the Laowa would be an appropriate fit or do you just rent if you need it? Also would you compare the APOs with Supreme Primes? I'm asking since I have shot a lot with them on rental projects, they kinda serve as my reference lens :-)
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I'm only talking lenses I own, so wider than FF25mm I own a russian 20 (same from the ironglass set) and the tokina 11-16 which covers MiNI LF UHD and Open gate widescreen when set about 15mm and is wider than my FF25mm

never used the 12mm

As far as comparing with Supremes, they are a very different look. More character, warmer, way more flare wide open, less contrast overall, less sharp, not crazy vintage but in my opinion the only affordable PL full frame primes with character that are not "vintage"
 
Alex Lubensky said:
Also NISI primes, GL Optics has some options too. Tokina PL zooms and some fixed options outside of Vista prime line. Canon FD. Used .CP2

Also Sony cinealta has a mk I set of lenses which are rare and of plastic body, but also extremely cheap and the image quality is there.
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They're only a trio of lenses however, just the 35 / 50 / 85
(I've got the 50mm myself)
 
Jake Wilganowski said:
I'm only talking lenses I own, so wider than FF25mm I own a russian 20 (same from the ironglass set) and the tokina 11-16 which covers MiNI LF UHD and Open gate widescreen when set about 15mm and is wider than my FF25mm
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I love that 20mm as well, such crisp flares and the amazing close focus!

Jake Wilganowski said:
As far as comparing with Supremes, they are a very different look. More character, warmer, way more flare wide open, less contrast overall, less sharp, not crazy vintage but in my opinion the only affordable PL full frame primes with character that are not "vintage"
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Yes, I finally managed to look through the SALT VV tests and the difference is quite clear. Still on the fence about the CA though and I do have several vintage sets, so I am not sure if perhaps a cleaner, more modern look would be more appropriate right now like the Sigma's. Thing is, I would be able to pick up the Xenons at almost half the price of the Sigmas, except for the 18, so thats still making it tempting..

Jake did you ever exchange mounts on these? To me thats the edge they have over the other sets at that price range.. Being able to use them on smaller formats with a speed booster would be awesome. So I would likely try to pick up some Nikon mounts as well for these, although I cannot find them in stock anywhere.
 
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David Peterson said:
Meike said on IG that they'll be $539.99, that's crazy dirt cheap.
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Is that for the S35? Because they teased a 50 FF as well, but I cannot see any pricing for that. Do they design their own glass? I am only familiar with the MFT cine lenses and there was some strong overlap/influence from Veydra, which made them awesome. But for FF coverage these must be different designs?
 
Almost settled on the Sigmas now - does anyone know if theres a 65mm in the works or do they consider their line complete?
 
Looks like the Meike 50mm PL is finally available for pre-order. I wonder what kind of image quality they can deliver at this kind of bargain pricing..
 
Paul Jonathan said:
Is that for the S35? Because they teased a 50 FF as well, but I cannot see any pricing for that. Do they design their own glass? I am only familiar with the MFT cine lenses and there was some strong overlap/influence from Veydra, which made them awesome. But for FF coverage these must be different designs?
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Their MFT lenses are "the same" as the Veydra lenses (with just minor differences, except for one big negative: no swappable mounts!!!).
 
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