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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 vs. Optica Elite Digital S35 Lenses

Maybe someone with Illumina S35s would be interested in participating in your test too. While we are at it, why not have a set of Zeiss Super Speeds on hand? I'll know by the end of the week if I can contribute a SS set.
 
Hey Matt, i know i still owe you stills but ive been crazy busy.. If you want to look at some stills on the web, as opposed to actual r3d's or tiffs, you can see lots. Every single still was shot on an Illumina. the website is catandnat.co
 
Will Keir said:
Maybe someone with Illumina S35s would be interested in participating in your test too. While we are at it, why not have a set of Zeiss Super Speeds on hand? I'll know by the end of the week if I can contribute a SS set.
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good idea. Master Primes would be good as a sharpness and quality standard for these tests (aka The "Control" set)
 
So if Illuminas are faster the 1.3 (according to Fred) why don't the markings reflect that? We're in the business of doing things precisely, especially when it comes to optics. Mis marked lenses do not bode well. Or is this a "Volume 11" situation?
 
Ned, I dont think the tolerance of any lens when it comes to manual set t stops is exact since the lens gear is analog and de-clicked. Nor do I think being off 1 or 2 tenths of a stop is going to matter, unless you are doing lab tests. I think you can get more precise when aperture is digitally controlled, but do you really want to shoot canon glass? For me the bottom line is this 1) I love their look - they have a painterly quality. 2) They are frigging fast 3) they are affordable. Are they as good as Master Primes? No. But I cant afford Master Primes, and have never been a huge fan of Zeiss as they all seem sterile to me. For me, cinematography is an art form, and for others its about science with hard facts. Neither approach is wrong.
 
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I Can provide the Zeiss MK3 superspeeds, Ultra's & Masterprimes if you want to do tests against the Illuminas. I do not have a set of Illuminas though. Bring them in and you can shoot the test at my location as well if anyone is interested.
 
Steve Gal said:
I Can provide the Zeiss MK3 superspeeds, Ultra's & Masterprimes if you want to do tests against the Illuminas. I do not have a set of Illuminas though. Bring them in and you can shoot the test at my location as well if anyone is interested.
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Thanks for the generous offer Steve! I think I can find someone with the Illumina's and Elites here in LA hopefully. This would be a great test to do.

Saw you have a set of Elite Anamorphics, how do you rate them image and quality wise?
 
Nathaniel Kramer said:
Ned, I dont think the tolerance of any lens when it comes to manual set t stops is exact since the lens gear is analog and de-clicked. Nor do I think being off 1 or 2 tenths of a stop is going to matter, unless you are doing lab tests. I think you can get more precise when aperture is digitally controlled, but do you really want to shoot canon glass? For me the bottom line is this 1) I love their look - they have a painterly quality. 2) They are frigging fast 3) they are affordable. Are they as good as Master Primes? No. But I cant afford Master Primes, and have never been a huge fan of Zeiss as they all seem sterile to me. For me, cinematography is an art form, and for others its about science with hard facts. Neither approach is wrong.
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All good news. I think I'll volunteer to help test them.
 
Steve Gal said:
I Can provide the Zeiss MK3 superspeeds, Ultra's & Masterprimes if you want to do tests against the Illuminas. I do not have a set of Illuminas though. Bring them in and you can shoot the test at my location as well if anyone is interested.
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If anyone has Illuminas in NYC, I'd love to take you up on your offer to test them against Speeds, Masters, etc. Please EM me at cinetim@gmail.com. I'm based in Brooklyn and have access to lighting gear, space, etc.
 
Ned Wilson said:
If anyone has Illuminas in NYC, I'd love to take you up on your offer to test them against Speeds, Masters, etc. Please EM me at cinetim@gmail.com. I'm based in Brooklyn and have access to lighting gear, space, etc.
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Nathaniel is in NY and may be willing to test his set. He has the MK1 Illuminas.
 
The tests of Super Fast Glass. I can't wait to get this going Matt.

Super Speeds
Elites
Illumina's
Master Primes

LOCATION: LA makes sense?
 
Hi Matt,

I´m a cinematographer based in Los Angeles and I own an Illumina MK1 set. Contact me if you want to test them. I share Nathaniel´s experience with the lenses. They´re not perfect, but that´s exactly the reason why I love the lenses. They give the image an organic feel that is just beautiful. I work a lot with available light and wide open the image is definitely softer then stopped down 1 or 2 stops, but I found myself making use of that many times. If I want a softer quality for beauty or fashion stuff I just put in a couple ND´s and shoot wide open. If I want them sharper I stop down. I can´t post images right now because most of the work is not yet released, but I can definitely show you lot´s of stuff if you swing by.
 
Paul Ellington said:
Optica quoted me 30K for one Optica Elite Ana lens...
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Paul, they are still open. Fred was wrong... I have been emailing them back and forth since I started this thread. They are definitely still open and producing lenses.
 
kay madsen said:
Hi Matt,

I´m a cinematographer based in Los Angeles and I own an Illumina MK1 set. Contact me if you want to test them. I share Nathaniel´s experience with the lenses. They´re not perfect, but that´s exactly the reason why I love the lenses. They give the image an organic feel that is just beautiful. I work a lot with available light and wide open the image is definitely softer then stopped down 1 or 2 stops, but I found myself making use of that many times. If I want a softer quality for beauty or fashion stuff I just put in a couple ND´s and shoot wide open. If I want them sharper I stop down. I can´t post images right now because most of the work is not yet released, but I can definitely show you lot´s of stuff if you swing by.
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Thanks Kay,
Sounds good. Once I get the logistics of all this down we can get the ball rolling. Maybe we could have a East vs. West lens shootout. Have the group test the same lenses in NY and our group test those lenses here in LA. Might be fun to see how the tests and sets compare from one to the other. I want to do a "typical" lens test but also do some practical lens tests like set up a typical scene and shoot it (Low Light/Night shoot stuff).
 
What is our goal and what is missing? Matt, maybe it's time to create a new thread for this test?

FAST GLASS SETS

Illumia's
Elites
Super Speeds
Master Primes
K35s
??? any other fast lens I missed ??? (what about the Lecia T0.95 lens?)
??? Leica Summilux-C Primes ???


Gear Offers

Los Angeles Tests

-Illuminas MK1 offered by Kay Madsen (LA)
?Elites offered by Matt Uhry?

New York Tests

-Super Speeds MK3 offered by Steve Gal (NY)
-Ultra Primes offered by Steve Gal (NY)
-Master Primes offered by Steve Gal (NY)
-Illuminas MK1 offered by Nathaniel Kramer (NY)
 
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Looking forward to the tests.
 
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