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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 :)

Elite Optica Super 35 MKIII lenses

Being unfamiliar with the brand Optica-Elite, are there any comparisons of these lenses with the Master Primes? or does anyone know what the differences are between them?

I hate to assume, but are the Zeiss lenses more expensive because of brand popularity, or are they actually leaps and bounds better?
 
any infos about a release date of those new digital lenses ?

edit : in the price list section of their site the 35 digital lense are announced at the prices (each) of 4100 Euros for the 18 24 35 50 and 4300 Euros for the 75 and 100. All T 1.3
25 000 euros a Set... i might get one of these.
 
Holosynthetic said:
Being unfamiliar with the brand Optica-Elite, are there any comparisons of these lenses with the Master Primes? or does anyone know what the differences are between them?
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With all this talk about the Optica-Elite Mk3's I became curious enough to round up my favorite AC and go and check them out at Slo-Motion near the Burbank Airport. Anatoliy was kind enough to project the 18,24,35,50,75,100 for me on his lens projector, then we looked at the lenses on an Arri 435 in his shop to test for flare,bokeh, breathing and subjective performance.

The Optica-Elites are very nice lenses especially for the price. They exhibit very high resolution and contrast and low distortion. The design and construction is very nice, LARGE barrels much like the Cooke s4's. As far as we could determine with a maglight they are very flare resistant. The only critiques I had was that there was tiny amount of "moustache" distortion in the 18mm. Really the kind of thing that would only bother a professional brick wall photographer... The other is some of the markings were a little lacking, my AC noted that the 24mm was marked for 10ft and then infinity - seems like it would be good to have had a few extra engraved marks there, it all counts at T1.3 ! I did not see this on other lenses, but I wasn't looking for it either. Close focus was decent and Anatoliy claimed that the lenses perform at close distances very well. ( cooke s4's are a bit weak here ) Breathing was similar to the S4's. Minimal.

On the lens projector most of the lenses exhibited a little bit of coma wide open which was always gone by the time you closed down to T2. All the lenses showed 140-200 lp/mm at the edges which is great.

Probably the biggest problem with these lenses is they are not well known and might be harder to rent out than S4's or Ultraprimes. Also access to service and parts networks are unproven. The best thing about them? an extra stop for less cash.

The Master Primes that I've looked at under similar conditions in my opinion preform *slightly* better at t1.3, the differences get very small once you stop down a little. I think the Master Primes have some floating elements and a mechanism in them that totally negates breathing.

Why not shoot a bit with each of them and decide what your tastes are and how much you are willing to pay for high performance?

Matt Uhry
www.fuzby.com
 
Thanks for taking the time to do that and reporting back Matt
 
The lenses listed on the Optical-Elite site, are they the same ones being sold on abelcine.com? where else would I be able to pick up a set of these?

Matt thanks for the tests, your feedback was great, and to answer your question, I am willing to pay a lot for high performance (which is why I went for the RED over the hvx200).
 
the real question is how do you even find a set to purchase?

and does that price equate to a used set or brand spankin new?
 
Theyre new good luck finding a used set
 
I recently e-mailed the company through their newly updated website.

http://optica-elite.com/

I asked them simple questions like:

Do you ship to the lenses straight from the factory to the USA?
How much does shipping cost?

I received an e-mail this morning from them with some answers, I'll just paste the whole e-mail here.

Dear Mr Parron,
We are glad you are interested in our lenses. Yes, the price for our lenses is from 4200-4500 Euro's. Moreover if you buy more than 6 lenses we give a discount of 20%.
We deliver our lenses all over the world. We deliver the goods after the conclusion of the contract. We ship the goods through our expense.
Unfortunately we didn't make any comparative tests with Zeiss Master Primes. I think there are not principal differences between them.
We made comparative tests with Cooke S4. As a result some of our lenses are better (optically) than Cooke's but some lenses Cooke are better than our lenses.

Best regards,
Romashkin Grigory.
Executive director.
Optica-Elite
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So for those of you looking to save some money on lenses, this is some great news.
 
Definitely good news. I think I'll rent a set from Slow Motion Inc and do some tests.......once I can find a Red camera to rent.
 
I asked this through a translator 12months ago and they should cover...

I have friend who has bought a lot Elite glass and really likes them.. The one chore is that it is worth having them reassembled with a few tweaks, modifications and a bit of love. I'll see if he wishes to comment on the particulars.

Did you find them pleasing... ? We've considered getting a very small set and having the coatings striped..

Michael L
 
Yes they are pretty slick lenses - the zeiss's initially seemed sharper until we realised that even at f2.1 they were transmitting the equivalent of t2.8 on the Elite (as in - the Elite was a clear 2 stops faster as a lens)- an aspect of the portholing at the wider end of the zeiss lenses - the softness was an aspect of the Elite lenses being wide open (1.3). The Zeiss lenses perform better at t2.1 until one realises that the transmission is equivalent to an Elite being at 2.8 - even at T2 the Elites perform much better - That said the wide open aspect is hardly a problem - some loss of contrast, a little coma, some loss of resolution but as part of a "look" would be perfectly workable (esp. with an actress of maturing years - a nice low con very mildly diffused look - she'll ask you to shoot her next picture :)

The Elites toughen up somewhat at 1.4/2 split and tougher again at t2 - big suckers though. Ergo my interest in the Digital S35 lenses. One other thing - they are a clear 4-5mm longer than the equivalent zeiss standard eg: a 20mm elite fov is equivalent to a zeiss 24mm - so buy wider if you lean on wide lenses more).

I would love to get more inf on the tweaks during the reassembly your friend undertook Michael - any info would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Thx
 
The question is, is the web site price correct and how long do they take to get? The price on their website in Euros comes out to just over $7k each. Personally, if I am going to spend $45k on a set of lenses, I would probably spend the $15-20k more an get Ultra primes. Yes, one stop slower, but the name and optical quality is worth it. Now, if these lenses were under $30 for a set of 6, that might be worth looking at.

Matthew
 
They offer a 20% discount for orders of 6 or more lenses. Grigory is pretty fast at email response and can tell you how long lenses will take to get. A full set that I am looking at will be ready by end march 09 I am told. My only debate is whether to hold on for NAB.

As regards the Arri UPs. Yes - nice glass but I am in two minds. At t2 the elites seem nice and having the 1.3 option as a get-out-of-jail card on a rough night exterior (when the director suddenly demands 120fps right before we roll ) might just be what tips me over to Optica Elite. (plus a 20% discount can't hurt either (bringing the euro cost per lens to just over 5000). From my dealings with them (Arri Uk) they don't seem to do discounts.
 
James T Mather said:
Or do they cover full aperture s35?

Thx
Click to expand...

Michael Lindsay said:
I asked this through a translator 12months ago and they should cover...
Click to expand...

The only difference between them and the Primes is that they're more or less half the size. They're still S35 lenses.

I have no clue why they decided to call them Digital Primes? But as for size they're close to the Zeiss standard and super speed.

Edit: When these were lens projected there was no indication of them covering 18x24mm only, but I will double check this
 
James T Mather said:
Thanks Frederik, I would love to get that info on the digital 35 coverage. Many thanks. James.

Ps. What type did you buy - digital or mk3?
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I've actually bought all lenses that they offer including their zooms.

I'm very happy with them although I have had my lens technicians overhaul them quite a lot to make them up to my standard.

I'm using those Elite sets and my Master Primes as my lenses, but I have to say that I do prefer the characteristics of the Elites. I like when it's a little F**** up, in a good way of course.
 
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