Illumina Test - Red One-Mx, Arri Alexa

[Mark Toia]

I'm not getting into any debate on this subject or respond to any replies... as I'm only sharing a link that was forwarded to me... only because I was going to buy a set of these lenses.

So don't shoot the messenger...

http://vimeo.com/36791058

Note there is a HD download.zip link at the bottom of the Vimeo page

 

[Greg M]

holy shit, pretty bad when you can see the problem on a small compressed file. Would hate to look at the raw files.

 

[Matt Ryan]

Just out of curiosity, are these the newer MK2 version of the lenses or the original set? The newer MK2's are supposed to have improved (If those are the MK2's I'd hate to see the originals). I wish they were more widely available to test.

 

[Sid Idris]

Wow that's a pretty definitive test.

 

[Martin Stevens]

Mark....thanks for the link.

Interesting stuff to say the least.

 

[Liana]

And because I also cancelled my order of the 135mm I ended up loosing, with shipping close to $5000 Australian dollars.

Ridiculous situation. This is about as expensive a 'lesson' one can learn.

 

[Matt Ryan]

wow, thats terrible! Thanks for the post as these were high on my consideration list

 

[Iain Philpott]

Wow these 'were' on my shortlist!

 

[Nathaniel Kramer]

I have a set and i like them.. I have never run any tests like these, however my illuminas have performed for me. I am not so interested in lab tests as I am interested in how an image looks inits entirety. I believe good creativity overcomes any small technical issues . I have posted in the "shot on red" 3 videos that i shot with them, and to my eye they look great. And, I usually shoot between 1.3 and 2.0.. I dont think I have ever closed down past 2.8..And the stuff that i posted is all between 1.3 and 2.0.. they were shot with 25, 35, 50, 85, but not the 18, which i like too.. I will post some clips in a few days of stuff shot on the wides.. 18/25/35
I am very happy with my set of illuminas- especially given the price.

 

[Noah Yuan-Vogel]

Even the photos posted on lumatech's website from these lenses are pretty horrible looking with ghosting, huge CA, and ugly uneven bokeh that reminds me of some 40year old lenses.

 

[Robert Horwell]

Even the photos posted on lumatech's website from these lenses are pretty horrible looking with ghosting, huge CA, and ugly uneven bokeh that reminds me of some 40year old lenses.

Excuse me, my Cooke panchros are mid-century and theybdon't look like this, they are quite beautiful . :tongue_smilie:

 

[Timur Civan]

I think the big problem with Lomos (illuminas) has always been quality control. Sometimes you can get a sharp, good set, but often the lenses are very inconsistent.

 

[Tom.Wong]

or maybe the only consistency is how underwhelming they can be

 

[Nathaniel Kramer]

Again, my set of lenses are very good. Check out my website and see for yourself

 

[Matt Ryan]

Again, my set of lenses are very good. Check out my website and see for yourself

Do you mind posting some R3D stills? I'd like to check them out in full res.

 

[Timur Civan]

Again, my set of lenses are very good. Check out my website and see for yourself

I totally believe you! Infact i'd like to do a write up about your lenses for my blog. I want to see what the illuminas can do

Timurcivan.blogspot.com

I have an ongoing seriers reviewing lenses.

 

[Michael Ou]

Thank you for the post Mark. I really feel for Adam! We all from time to time get "soft" lenses, from even the largest manufacturers. That's why some folks order 3 Canon or 3 Nikkor lenses, test them, and keep the sharpest one (a practice, I do not not subscribe to, or rather, have not had the misfortune to need to). But when it comes to these high ticket items, namely whole darn lens sets, I see myself travelling to where ever they're at, testing them personally and having a certified check ready once/if they pass muster. But what bothers me is the way Adam was treated by the dealer after the sale, talk about standing behind a product! Of course, all this is just my knee jerk reaction to Adam's unfortunate vimeo post. I'm sure time will tell whether this was an isolated incident or a real quality issue with the line of lenses. It's a real shame though, so many of us want the Illuminas to "shine".

 

[Nathaniel Kramer]

here are some spots i shot with the 50 and 85

tis was shot entirely with the 25

i will post stuff shot on 35 and more 18 in a dy or two

 

[Michael Hastings]

snip
When a manufacturer makes claims that these lenses are faster and sharper than Master Primes, I just have to shake my head.

Where have they ever claimed to be sharper than Master Primes? I have never heard that, in fact I shared some space in their booth last year at NAB showing my Aero3D and I don't remember them ever even claiming they were sharper than Ultras or any other of the modern high end, high dollar lenses.

When Ketch Rossi was here last year on his American tour, we did some tests and compared them to the Master Prime he had with him and they were indeed slightly but clearly faster than the Master Prime he had with him.

Adam, I feel for you - It's too bad that they weren't up to what you were hoping for and you ended up paying a 10-15% restocking fee (which is neither uncommon or excessive), but it doesn't seem fair to misrepresent their marketing claims to make it seem worse.

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

I am not so interested in lab tests as I am interested in how an image looks inits entirety. I believe good creativity overcomes any small technical issues .

These tests are a starting point. Do you like the edges of your frame a little soft focus? I like to choose wether I want that or not - if it is creatively appropriate. These are sub-par lenses based on viewing this test. Could I make beautiful images with them? Of course. That's not the point.