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Opinion about Illumina S35 lenses

Manoj R C

Manoj R C

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Dear DPs,

I'm in the market to get a set of Illumina S35. Got a quote from Lumatech and the price is reasonable. The problem is that it's for rental in India and unfortunately DPs in India are biased ( Heavily biased !!! ) towards Ultra primes & Master primes. How do I convince these DPs to use Illumina instead of UP? I searched the net & read almost all articles on Illiminas & watched comparison shot videos etc. I see & hear favorable videos/reviews.

Now what's your experience with these lenses? Ultra primes are out of my budget at this moment. Do we have alternate options. Please remember, this is strictly for rental purpose and we should think from those DP's perspective. Any advise/opinion will be highly appreciated..
 
That is tricky. The Illuminas are very different from Master and Ultra primes.
The Zeiss glass is very clean, sterile... (a little less so on the Ultras). The Illuminas have a lot of personality, softness... Some DP's hate that and want it all clean. Some love it and add more stuff like diffusion, etc...
For me, it's very project specific, but I like to stay away from the ultra clean look of the Zeiss... But if it's a trend in India, and people blindly follow that, than it might be tough for you. On the other hand you could be starting a reverse trend. Only you know your market...
 
Hi Manoj

I'd wait till NAB either way..

It will be a struggle to convince them... price might be the only way.

Also if you don't have the other lenses (MPs and UPs) you don't look unbiased when you ask a dp to try them out...

Do your DPs like flairs? Do they like super speeds?..

Also remember what I said about clip on matte boxes!

Good luck

M
 
I have a set and I love them. They are really lovely on faces wide open. Stop them down to a 2.8/4 and they are as clean as a whistle.

Nick
 
I imagine if your market is very high on Ultra and Master Primes, then you would probably do better with a set of Zeiss Super Speeds than Illuminas.
 
Great Lenses

Great Lenses

We have shot several features and tons of commercials with them.. I love those lenses. Great Value for money and I agree completely with Nick.

Having said that, it has been a hard sell for rentals.. but slowly but surely the fan base is growing.

Good Luck!
 
My brother in law owns a set, and I have operated or assisted on countless sets with them. I personally think their comparison with ultra or master primes is overstated. Yes, they do measure up very well in sharpness at most apurtures, but that's where it ends. The Illuminas have less clarity and micro contrast. Their build quality is very tough but they tend to get stiff in the rings. And the worst part about the. For me is the barrel distortion. even the mid range lenses like the 35 and 50 suffer from very visible distortion that's clear whenever straight lines are in the frame.

They are not a replacement for the Zeiss sets, and I think making an investment in something that has no demand is unwise. If you like the lenses and plan to use them all the time, that's one thing, but convincing others will be difficult.
 
Thanks everyone for your wise suggestions. It only creates more confusion though :-)

The Indian market, especially the South Indian market, is pretty tough. Old gen DPs appreciate Zeiss Standard primes and super speed, but all Gen-Y & Z DPs use only UPs and these days MPs ( Since producers pay, these DPs can ask the most expensive ones ). I'm talking about commercial movie industries where money for rental equipments is not a real concern.

Most of these DPs don't even know about super speed or they don't care. They don't need flare, softness, dreamy look or whatever the aesthetic effects we normally talk about in this forum. They need the cleanest looking images possible. Period. Everything else can be added in post, they claim.

Now either I should get set of UPs or as Daniel suggested, create a reverse trend.

Michael, we bought a locally (Mumbai) made clip on matte box & Arri clone MB-14. ( DPs rejected my beautiful Arri MB-20 II matte box !!! They want bigger MB-14 !!:banghead: ). (Any takers for an used MB-20 II and around 20-30 PV size filters?? )
 
I feel your pain. Turkey is exactly the same...Alexa and Master Primes/Ultra Primes. The Turks wouldn't rent Cooke Mini S4s and they hated the MB-20 as well. I've come to realize that its best not to try and change the market. The only way to slowly change people's minds is to show them through your personal work. I made a point to shoot our last feature in Turkey on Canon K35s just to show people there is other options. Good luck dude!
 
Get a good condition used set of 8 UltraPrimes from 14mm to 135mm and rent them like crazy to happy customers that will make nice images.

The Zeiss glass is very reliable and easily serviced. Good Superspeeds cost the same per lens as UltraPrimes but require far more maintenance.

Good luck ��
 
Kenneth, I have never heard anyone compare Illuminas and Ziess lenses. They look completely different. As far as mechanics, if you clamp the fuck out of a clip on matte box, then yes they will get stiff, so I don't do that ;-). Other than that as long as they have not been abused they are just fine. Barrel distortion, maybe I'll give you that one, but It's no worse than Zeiss standards or speeds, so it doesn't jump out at me.

Nick
 
You may also want to look into Zeiss Variable Primes. They are sort of like ultra prime zoom lenses and there's a set currently for sale on Reduser. I've yet to shoot with them so I can't talk from experience, so hopefully someone else can chime in. But the good news is, it's much cheaper than buying a set of ultra primes, and you can offer something unique, while still giving your client what they want.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showth...ime-Zoom-PL-mount-lens-Set-VP1-VP-2-VP3-16995
 
When I seriously started saving to get a set of UPs, i realized that these days DoPs demand MPs !!! It's not that they are after certain 'look' or achieve certain objective through MP. It's more like 'since DoP X used MP, now I also should use it' kinda mentality. So you may be wondering, then why don't we get a set of MPs or Anamorphic primes to exploit the situation. Well, they want to use MPs, but willing to pay only CP.2 price !!!:mad:

I'm gonna get an used Illumina set to try my luck. Worst case scenario, I'll take a slight financial hit & sell it off. Then eventually buy a set of MP ( UPs are no longer in demand !! ). Hope, my kidneys are in healthy condition:smile5:

:cheers2:
- M
 
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