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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 :)

Lens recommendations for upcoming feature.

S4's @800/week . . . you'll thank yourself in post
 
I love the Cooke's on Red. If i had to rent I'd by-pass going with a full set of S4's and do 2-3 5i's T1.3 instead (if possible) that'll give you the same great color with less grain, more light, ect.. But $800/wk is pretty good.

Other than cooke I like Leica M or R's with cine mode. Leica mount on Red M-X you can only go 50 and longer though.

Van Damien rehoused Leica R's are a cool set if you can find'em.

RRP are a clean look as another option I'd consider
 
Thanks for all the responses here gentlemen. I'm still weighing my options, but I appreciate all the great feedback. I've found a set of duclos modded zeiss contax lenses for a great price from a fellow reduser, but as stated, I know I'd need to supplement with a faster wide angle. We're shooting all on location, and most are houses and apartments, so I think that wide angle is going to be used a lot and I'd prefer to stick to one set. Still looking into it though, and from the limited footage I've seen I really like the look.

I've also got a lead on the Cooke mini's, but at 2.8 and with minimal crew and lighting, I think they may slow me down. Superspeeds are starting to sound pretty good, but I haven't priced them out yet... I'll look into it.

Any redusers in L.A. own a superspeed set they can quote me?
 
Hey Ryan,

If you ever want to look at MiniS4's, I have a seven-set (18, 25, 32, 50, 75, 100 and 135mm) along with the additional option of uncoated front elements. The uncoated fronts give the lenses a more vintage look as they produce some optical qualities typically found in older lenses with less sophisticated coatings. Increased flares, increased sensitivity to contrast reduction from veiling flare and other effects are examples of the effect uncoated lens coatings provide. The look is quite nice, but there are some restrictions as things can get crazy if you are not careful! haha. I don't think they are a 100% substitute for vintage look, like something you would get from superspeeds, baltars or Cooke speed panchros, however they are a great hybrid as you get the modern mechanical build but with added (rather subtracted?, haha) optical qualities similar to vintage style lenses.

If you want to go full vintage, Cooke Speed Panchros (rehoused) are phenomenal looking. The rehoused comment is because they are very unpractical to be used if not rehoused and with proper PL mount.

I agree with past posters here. Cooke S4's are wonderful lenses and if you have the $$$$ I'd go with them. They are beautiful and gentle, but not quite vintage IMO. However, if the modern Cooke look is something you desire, the Mini's are smaller, lighter, a stop slower, but most importantly (I find) MUCH less money. I have no idea who has the $800/week deal, but every rental house I have gone through in the past starts at $800-$900/day. Discounts of 20%-30% are given out like candy in SoCal, but that doesn't even start to get you near the $800/week deal.

I would love to find out how I can get that deal.

If you can get that deal, you should go full on S4's.

Good luck!
 
+1 for super speeds. I can post some images of stuff I've shot that have an organic feel using only ambient light.

So many features have been shot on Zeiss Super-Speeds, you should look into them. Personally, if you are going to do a lot of close-focus critical focusing on actors while moving around handheld, you are going to want the longer rotation of cine lenses for focus-pulling -- with their better-marked scale on the barrel -- rather than still camera lenses. You should talk to your focus puller to see what they think. Contrast of a lens can be adjusted in post but it is a lot harder to fix focus problems.

Cooke S4's have terrible coverage for Dragon 6k. So if you go Scarlet, you'll be okay. Not Dragon. Super Speeds, have great dragon coverage in contrast.

I agree with past posters here. Cooke S4's are wonderful lenses and if you have the $$$$ I'd go with them.
 
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