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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 :)

Illumina S35 "Soft Roll Out" in Miami

Sweet.
 
anyone know where these lenses can be rented?
 
Footage shot with Illumina S35 lenses

Footage shot with Illumina S35 lenses

You can see a beautiful music video shot entirely with Luma Tech's Super 35mm Illumina lenses at http://www.lumatechinc.com/S35.html

The video clip is at the bottom of the page. It was shot by Pasha Patriki on a RED camera who added this comment:
"Some of the flares were added in post, but note the ring-shaped flares, which expand as the camera moves. Those are real. :)"

More footage and samples coming soon.

Luma tech will be exhibiting its line of Super 35mm Illumina lenses as well as its Luma Check back focus tool at the NAB show.

More credits on music video clip:
(REACTIV PICTURES), the artist (Canadian Band LATENCY - "FORK IN THE ROAD"), director (ALON ASOCIANU).
 
Hi Fred,

Any news about the delivery date including the 18mm ?

Thanks

Antoine ?
 
Baffling problem?

Baffling problem?

From the video it looks like wide open the lens flares severely- a baffling problem if you ask me... It cleans up very nicely stopped down- colors sharpness look great but I wonder what stop that is. It's pretty typical, actually. Reminds me of the first Cooke S4 attempts in the early/mid 90's. They(Cooke) worked it out very well, in the end. I guess the only exception here are the Master Primes- that is if one can afford them...
 
OptiTek said:
From the video it looks like wide open the lens flares severely- a baffling problem if you ask me... It cleans up very nicely stopped down- colors sharpness look great but I wonder what stop that is. It's pretty typical, actually. Reminds me of the first Cooke S4 attempts in the early/mid 90's. They(Cooke) worked it out very well, in the end. I guess the only exception here are the Master Primes- that is if one can afford them...
Click to expand...


Jacek, I'm still on the look out for those OptiTek Primes. :yesnod:
 
Cool. I shot a MV for these guys before (The Latency) here in Vancouver on the RPPs.

I like some of the flares, especially the mediums and CUs. The ring shaped rainbow flares were nice. I wasn't a huge fan of the flaring across the background from the row of lights behind them though.

Norm
 
OptiTek said:
From the video it looks like wide open the lens flares severely- a baffling problem if you ask me... It cleans up very nicely stopped down- colors sharpness look great but I wonder what stop that is. It's pretty typical, actually. Reminds me of the first Cooke S4 attempts in the early/mid 90's. They(Cooke) worked it out very well, in the end. I guess the only exception here are the Master Primes- that is if one can afford them...
Click to expand...

He said some of the flares were added in post so it may not be the lenses. Besides, I think they were going for the flare look that is popular with music videos today.

Most of the shots were stopped down , based on the bokeh. Don't know about the stop but I would say around 5.6 ish.
 
Last edited:
flares

flares

Andrew Rieger said:
He said some of the flares were added in post so it may not be the lenses. Besides, I think they were going for the flare look that is popular with music videos today.
Click to expand...
Andrew- I've seen enough lenses to tell- believe me-these ghost like MFs.
Which could be an artistic choice-like the old Cooke Panchros.
As long as the keyword here is "choice"- as in "you choose to do this not have to fight it". The stopped down interiors look fantastic- as far as I can tell by viewing on the web-seem like lenses with real good potential.
BTW what's up with the retro style- painted glossy barrels, iris ring up front.. etc.-I kind of like it-reminds me of my beginnings in the industry.....
 
Lomo always made good lenses that produced a nice pleasing image, not as warm as Cooke but not a sterile as Zeiss. Granted, there were some reliability problems but I hear that these are first rate at a relatively inexpensive price. These lenses do seem to have an old school design with modern Zeiss supplied optics.
 
Luma Tech and the Super 35mm Illuminas at NAB

Luma Tech and the Super 35mm Illuminas at NAB

Luma Tech, Inc. will be showing its Super 35mm Illumina lenses, 16mm Optar Illuminas and its Luma Check back focus tool at NAB.
The company will be sharing booth #C10450 with Focus Optics, Inc. which is a dealer for Luma Tech products and who will handle
warranty servicing in the Los Angeles area.
 
Quick Note on Glass

Quick Note on Glass

Andrew Rieger said:
Lomo always made good lenses that produced a nice pleasing image, not as warm as Cooke but not a sterile as Zeiss. Granted, there were some reliability problems but I hear that these are first rate at a relatively inexpensive price. These lenses do seem to have an old school design with modern Zeiss supplied optics.
Click to expand...

Everyone's thoughtful observations on the mew Illumina S35 high speed lenses are much appreciated.

Yes, there is a bit of "old school" in the lenses, in that they have helicoid driven focus movements, rather than cams. This was done for the sake of simplicity and durability. They are simple in layout, but not simple to make well. The iris ring is up front, but protected by a chamfer in the lens barrel, so matte box bellows won't ride up onto the ring.

Regarding glass, the source of the optical materials in these lenses is German, but not Zeiss. Raw glass is purchased by LOMO directly from Schott and worked into elements at the St. Petersberg factory according to LOMO's proprietary designs. These are "clean sheet of paper" units, not copies or derivations of other products. They draw their inspiration from classic lenses of the past, but use present day design concepts and materials to surpass those legacy products.

Hope this brings the origins of the Illumina S35 series into sharper focus.
 
More footage from Super 35mm Illuminas from Luma Tech

More footage from Super 35mm Illuminas from Luma Tech

More footage shot with the Super 35mm Illuminas exclusively with natural light can bee seen here: http://vimeo.com/10341278

You can also see the footage on the Luma Tech website: www.lumatechinc.com and check out the specs of all the lenses and complete product line.

At NAB Luma Tech will be sharing a booth with Focus Optics who is dealer and warranty service center for all Luma Tech optical products. Booth Number C10450.
 
I was the focus puller on the Latency music video that's featured on the Lumatech website.

We had a 3mm streak filter in the mattebox, so that forms a large part of the look that you see. The ring-shaped flares though were naturally occurring from the lens.

I can tell you for certain that we were not shooting at a 5.6! For the performance portion (in studio) we were mostly working around a T2, sometimes a little more open than that.

I do have quite a lot to say about these lenses, but I'm afraid most of them are not particularly positive.

Andrew Rieger said:
He said some of the flares were added in post so it may not be the lenses. Besides, I think they were going for the flare look that is popular with music videos today.

Most of the shots were stopped down , based on the bokeh. Don't know about the stop but I would say around 5.6 ish.
Click to expand...
 
Kar Wai Ng said:
I was the focus puller on the Latency music video that's featured on the Lumatech website.

We had a 3mm streak filter in the mattebox, so that forms a large part of the look that you see. The ring-shaped flares though were naturally occurring from the lens.

I can tell you for certain that we were not shooting at a 5.6! For the performance portion (in studio) we were mostly working around a T2, sometimes a little more open than that.

I do have quite a lot to say about these lenses, but I'm afraid most of them are not particularly positive.
Click to expand...

like what?
 
Andrew Rieger said:
like what?
Click to expand...

Most of my complaints relate purely to the mechanics and quality of the housings. On one or two lenses the witness marks wouldn't reach infinity...focus ring would hard stop just short of it.

Front diameter was slightly inconsistent...apparently they had problems with the paint jobs, so some got more coats than others...so the clip-on mattebox would be too loose on some, too tight on others. Some tape was used to shim the looser ones, but we really shouldn't have to do that. Similarly, the lens caps would fall off on some, and not fit on others.

The pressure of the clip-on mattebox also completely seized up the focus helical, causing lots of problems with a Preston DM1 motor. Had to help the motor during calibration process by turning the lens. Yes, I did try doing the calibration without the mattebox on, but there's apparently still something wrong with the lubrication they're using that they're still trying to sort out. The torque from the motor itself would seize the helical and the gear would jump off. We had one of the earliest sets, and the first set in Canada, and what I heard via the DP was that they're still working some kinks out and hopefully the mechanics will be more reliable on later serial numbers. These lenses are apparently made in a factory that mainly manufactures optics for other industries...the DP told me he was on the phone with an engineer in Russia, explaining what a mattebox and Preston were and the issues we were encountering with them.

Some other things didn't quite make sense...we had imperial markings, but I remember one distance was marked as 1.7 feet or something similar. Not 1'7", but 1.7 feet. Kind of odd.

Optically, the lenses remind me of Zeiss Super Speeds. Soft open, and my feeling is that T1.3 2/3 is where it starts to look similar to SS's at T2. I did not A/B them side by side with other lens series, just my general feeling based on memory. I didn't have time for a prep for these lenses, so I don't have any empirical data about resolution or anything.
 
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