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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 :)

EPIC CAMERAS Save crap lenses. view test.

Great work Mark! I really enjoy your posts. I agree about old glass and RED cameras being a great combination. I love the look I get with my LOMO lenses.
 
Nice piece, Mark.
If you need Master Primes, all you need to do is ask :)
 
has anyone tried old , low budget tricks like spreading different gauges of nylons, sheers ect over the rear element and then onto the epic.
i wonder if it would soften the image like it does for film cameras, or would it register as a pattern on that epic sensor ...
might be fun to play with .

your scooter commercial was great Mark , seen alot of your posts. now when i see them i will take them with even more notice.

as we say in the states " when ef hutton talks ... "
 
We also use sometimes what you call crap lenses. We removed the coating, I describe them as sharp lenses with a soft look.
They are either Zeiss "b-speeds/ T.14 with a later add on of PL mount or Zeiss MK1. I am not sure.
They are very nice lenses we shot with them On Alexa and on Rd M-X haven't shot with them on the Epic yet
http://www.dnkarentals.com/uncoated/
They are for rent by the way
 
Pawel Achtel said:
Nice piece, Mark.
If you need Master Primes, all you need to do is ask :)
Click to expand...

At the time, you didn't live in Thaliand and India :) problem with these two countries is every one says yes... But struggle to ccome up with the goods. But I still love them.
 
Michael Totten said:
Mark-

I have to respectfully disagree with your take on those old super-speeds :laugh:... I personally love the way 30 year old glass looks on an Epic. I owned a set of Zeiss "b-speeds/ T.14" for a few years (I think they were the predecessors of the MK-1's you used). In terms of pulling focus they were absolute shit... 1/2 turn rotation for focus and no matter how many times you had them calibrated they never seemed to hold.

On the other hand they were soft on skin and fell off beautifully around the edges (both focus and light) - I grew to love them for this very reason.

The way I see it, these lenses were essentially doing (optically) what a colorist may be asked to do in post (adding mild softening and vignette's). Obviously they should be used only when you're fully committed to that particular look & they certainly don't compare in any respect to Master Primes.

You wrote in your original post: "So the moral of this post is.. sometimes.. not all the time. Bad lenses actually look good... but are saved by the EPIC's 5k image quality."

I would re-phrase and say: So the moral is, sometimes, old lenses actually look better and enhance Epic's 5K image quality.
I don't mean to imply there is anything wrong with the image an Epic produces (I love the Epic)... I'm just saying "good" is subjective and depends on what look you want.


PS. Your footage looks great.
Click to expand...


Let me correct myself. The actual lenses we used were crap... Not all Ziess Mk1s are crap.
 
Mark, amazing work as usual!

By the way, I'm from Thailand (born and raised) and I don't always say yes and struggle to come up with the goods. Let me know if you find yourself in a bind in Bangkok, would love to help!

Mark Toia said:
At the time, you didn't live in Thaliand and India :) problem with these two countries is every one says yes... But struggle to ccome up with the goods. But I still love them.
Click to expand...
 
Danai Chutinaton said:
Mark, amazing work as usual!

By the way, I'm from Thailand (born and raised) and I don't always say yes and struggle to come up with the goods. Let me know if you find yourself in a bind in Bangkok, would love to help!
Click to expand...

You have master primes for rent and an EPIC. I'll be calling :)
 
:thumbsup:Killer work as always. I love the Zeiss Super Speeds MK3. Those are kinda my fav lenses on the Epic. The flares look so nice and the image has a certain look to it. Not to sharp but nice.
Glad everything worked out fine on your shoot. It looks like it:thumbsup:

Keep on rocking.

Tim
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Once you stop down past T/2.8, the Super Speeds are not that different from Ultra Primes. They are only "crap", so to speak, from T/2.0 to wide-open.
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Dear Mr. Mullen, which lenses do you like best can you put them in order?

Leica's new ones, Master Primes, Ultra Primes, RED PRO PRIMES (i love mine), Super-Speeds, Cooke's

Thanks.

- Ellington
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Once you stop down past T/2.8, the Super Speeds are not that different from Ultra Primes. They are only "crap", so to speak, from T/2.0 to wide-open.
Click to expand...

I have allways liked Crap lenses on the red cameras...
Except for the masters, most lenses I have seen starts to misbehave when You open them up too far or close them down too much.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
Once you stop down past T/2.8, the Super Speeds are not that different from Ultra Primes. They are only "crap", so to speak, from T/2.0 to wide-open.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree David, These particular MKI's were very bad. MKIIIs are much better, well our set is. the 18mm does what you say.

But that said, they looked very good for this project. I was amazed how good it looked considering the actual lenses were so poorly looked after.

I may use them again if they keep giving me this nice look.
 
Nick Morrison said:
Some of the words most interesting looks can only come from crap lenses.
Click to expand...

Check +.

This is my "Reserve" set. The set i'm saving for that one project..... that just needs the charm. These have been accumulated over the course of 15 years, with dozens of lenses bought and sold till i found the right ones. Each has a specific defect that makes it absolutely perfect.

GLASS.jpg


In order clockwise starting from the upper right:

1: 135mm Telisar F4.5 - Has the most bizzare halo, which when flaring turns into a ghostly bright spot in the middle.
2: 58mm Helios 44-2 F2.0 - My shining little star. Perfect portrait length, with a stunning vignette, softness while maintaining enough of the good resolution, and the most beautiful yet bizzarre bokeh i've found to date. Looks like a Dream.
3: Soligor 2x M42 Tele extender, amplifies the flaws in each of the lenses, while turning each lens into 2. The medium wides become tele, and the tele lenses become super Tele.
4:Asahi Super Takumar "Yellow Glass" 28mm F3.5. This lens is the famous radioactive Super Tak. Its elements are yellow, however it doesn't seem to turn the image yellow. It is sharp and has a very slight barrel distortion wich makes it feel wider than it is. Very interesting looking with architecture. The best part......the flares are ACID yellow, HUGE, Pentagonal, but without a major loss in contrast. This is one of my favorite lenses ever.
5: Rikkenon 50mm F2.8 - This odd little lens has a ghostly low contrast veiling flare. Wide open, It seems to diffuse the light in the lens, which makes it feel like there is a net behind the lens, or a heavy promist filter in play. Stop down to a F5.6 and it cleans up nicely.
6:Asahi Super Takumar "Yellow Glass" 50mm F2.0 - Another of my favorites. Not as Flare happy as the 28mm, but is VERY sharp, but still has a certain intangible beautiful quality to it.
7: Zenitar MNP-24M 35mm F2.0 - I dont know much about this lens, but its an old Zenitar. It has classis 1970's feel, the lens is very classically bad. Soft corners, veiling flare, and hazy look wide open.
8: Sankyo Koki "Tokyo Kumara" 105mm F3.5 - This lens is quite cool, scary sharp, relatively neutral, but has 16 oddly shaped iris blades, so its bokeh resembles a mix between the Cooke S4/iPanchro flower, and the Panavision Buzzsaw bokeh from 25 years ago on the old Primos. I like this lens as it behaves well in the traditional sense, but has that weird bokeh.... always a reminder....
9: Zenitar Jupiter-9 85mm F2.0 - This is another rather interesting lens. Its optical qualities are just bizzare, neither sharp nor consistent, what it lacks in perfection it makes up for in character. Extremely contrasty, it stands out from the crowd because unlike most old lenses, it has a VERY deep and rich contrast and color rendition, so it appears very sharp at first glance, but it has some of the oddest donut shaped bokeh, and out of focus image rendition. Its bohek looks almost in focus.... like it was artificially done in post, with a instagram "donut" gimmick.

Mark, The spot looks awesome. Love the light in the bar. Definitly use the SSmkI's again!
 
Love the edit too Mark. Super tight - Perfect for a motor bike commercial. I bet you made the bike look much faster than it actually is :)
Look is great by the way - Didnt look soft to me at all. Wouldnt have noticed anything unless you would not have pointed it out.

Would you be so kind to roughly tell us how you did the static motor bike lighting (product shot) - Looks superb!
-----

I'm also interested in what lenses Mr.Mullen prefers.
What do you think of the new Cooke Panchros and upcoming Zeiss cp2 superspeeds. Both look interesting for the price point. Still deciding what to invest in.


You are both an inspiration Mr.Toia and Mr.Mullen. (Keep it coming) :)
 
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