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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 :)

[WTB] Dalsa 80mm Leica lens...

Chris

Didn't Alan Gordon have a set a couple of years ago? And since they were designed by Dan Sasaki I believe he might know where to find them.
 
I saw 1 set at Alan Gordon about 3 months ago.

They were just sending them all out for cleaning and collimation, but the glass looked clean and the lenses looked new.

They said at the time that this was the final set and there was one lens missing in the line-up.
 
The Alan Gordon set was minus the 80mm, hence, the problem!
 
Who stole the 80mm?

Chris, if you find a set I would love to know your feelings. Dan is an amazing optics guy and I look to him for the future of Panavision glass... He is a genius
 
Jason Cochard just purchased the Alan Gordon set this past week. Not sure if the 80mm was in the package.
 
Nice, don't know him though... He's sitting on a nice set if he dd get them!
 
Hi all. Yes, I recently purchased the last complete set of Dalsa/Leica primes housed by Dan Sasaki during his time away from designing Panavision Primos. There were only 11 sets delivered to Dalsa, of which two are now in the Academy of Motion Pictures museum (aka not ever going to work again), and one of which is still at Dalsa headquarters also never going to work again. Contrary to popular misconception, Dalsa still exists and are still making sensors for NASA and stuff (Mars rover camera, etc). Dalsa Digital Cinema was just a brief foray into the entertainment sector. Basically, the parent company Teledyne pulled out all DDC's funding when the economy crashed, and Dalsa went back to its core competency of sensor manufacturing, and Alan Gordon Enterprises was given the contract to liquidate the cinema gear -- eight of these lens sets among them. Back in 2005-8 I was one of the many people who never really got excited about Dalsa, because they just seemed like an oddball anomaly and basically they were a few years too ahead of their time. But because of that — and I know I'm not alone in this — I never knew Dalsa had contracted these gorgeous Leica rehousings.

Anyway, Dalsa's core competency not being entertainment doesn't in any way equate to Dan Sasaki's core competency not being lenses. On the contrary, he is the MASTER of lenses and basically these Leicas are a masterpiece. In my opinion they are the perfect match between modern cine lens mechanics and vintage optics, the best of all worlds. The first time I saw them, I thought they were Primos, because they have the same exterior finish and similar design peculiarities such as the two circular grooves near the end of the lens barrel. When I put them on a camera and saw how they behaved visually, I was hooked. When I learned there was a set for sale, I immediately jumped on it, and took possession of them a little over a week ago.

Here's what is in the set:
19mm / T2.8 / 1'6" CF
24mm / T2.8 / 1'9" CF
28mm / T2.8 / 1'9" CF
35mm / T1.4 / 2'3" CF
50mm / T1.4 / 2' CF
80mm / T1.4 / 2'3" CF
100mm / T2.8 / 2'3" CF
180mm / T2 / 4'6" CF

PL mount. 95mm fronts, except the 180 which is 114mm.

The set is available for rental, minus the 180 which is a la carte as it's not necessary for many situations. The 180mm was delivered AFTER Dalsa closed up shop, so was never used except for being in rental inventory at Alan Gordon. But because these lenses have no market hype and no market penetration, they didn't work a lot. Essentially the 180mm is new. And that's not to put the other lenses down -- they are all in amazing shape and are incredibly friendly for ACs. Lots of space between the markings for nice long focus throw, and very smooth. Lightweight and Steadicam-friendly too (I haven't weighed them yet).

Visually speaking, the way they focus is rather Cooke-like, by which I mean they don't "pop" into focus like a Zeiss — the image sort of rolls smoothly into and out of focus. There's a creaminess to them, and are great for women. That being said, when I projected them, every one of them was resolving down to 200lp/mm, meaning they're sharp, high resolution and Dragon-ready. The Dalsa sensor these were designed for was a VistaVision-size sensor, so yes, they will cover the Dragon. They are nice and flat, without a lot of barrel or pincushion distortion at the edges of the wide focal lengths. The 19mm is nice and rectilinear compared to a comparable Super Speed. The flare characteristics are nice, and have an appropriate amount of veiling glare as they start to get into a glare/flare situation, creating a lifting of the blacks and softening of detail which is coming back into vogue these days.

From what Wayne from Alan Gordon tells me, my set is the only complete set in Los Angeles. Out of 8 sets not caged in a museum, 5 were sold to Europe, leaving my complete set in LA, another set that is missing the 180, and another set that is missing the 80 and 180.

I'd love to put together a test if anyone is interested. Chris? Peter? Perhaps Duclos would want to include them in their next shootout? I want to get the word out that these are available to make beautiful images for not only me but others who are going to treat them like the irreplaceably rare gems they are. I feel lucky to have acquired them and to be their caretaker. My instagram and twitter are @eyelightyou and my info is not hard to find after that.
 
I'm in Santa Monica. No photos of them individually quite yet. Just the IG pic. Thank you for the kind comment Jamon. I am including an attachment of a flare situation on a Scarlet short I shot with them this weekend.
 

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Jason Cochard said:
Here's what is in the set:
19mm / T2.8 / 1'6" CF
24mm / T2.8 / 1'9" CF
28mm / T2.8 / 1'9" CF
35mm / T1.4 / 2'3" CF
50mm / T1.4 / 2' CF
80mm / T1.4 / 2'3" CF
100mm / T2.8 / 2'3" CF
180mm / T2 / 4'6" CF
Click to expand...
I am So Jealous! Great set for the Classic look!
 
Jason Cochard said:
I'm in Santa Monica. No photos of them individually quite yet. Just the IG pic. Thank you for the kind comment Jamon. I am including an attachment of a flare situation on a Scarlet short I shot with them this weekend.
Click to expand...

Nice, this is the kind of thread hijacking I condone!... (it was a dead thread anyway!) Which focal length was it, if you recall...
 
Chris there is a 19mm of that set on ebay UK perhaps you can buy that and use the housing ...cant say if that will work but its a long shot. ask Dan idf an 80 summilux can be shoved in that housing....better than being missing that 80mm forever i know you and that would cook my head till i found it.
 
I wanna say that shot is from the 35mm or possibly the 50. I had zero crew and my desire to put focal lengths on the slate fell apart after the second shot, lol. Yeah I try to keep my thread hijacks benevolent.
 
You can always go the VD route:

http://vandiemenbroadcast.co.uk/epa...899/Products/688014m/SubProducts/688014m-0004

CBIRDYOG80.png
 
I have the 80mm!!!
 
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