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Prime Advice?

Christopher Barrett

Christopher Barrett

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Hey People,

I'm planning to pull the trigger on a set of primes for my R1 in about two weeks. I figure on spending between 25 and 40k and my thoughts were...

Schneider Cine-Xenar's Inexpensive, new symmetrical design nice for digi, lot's o iris blades for nice bokeh

Red Pro Primes Also Inexpensive and the 18 is available... nice glass from what I hear.

MKIII Speeds Pricier but FAST, older design more likely to give CA?

All thoughts appreciated. I'm currently working with an RPZ 17-50 and a couple ZF's. I could also talk myself into just sticking with the RPZ so any thoughts on that versus primes from experienced users would also be great.

Thanks and Happy New Year!
CB
 
The two downsides to the RPP's are size/weight (the 18, 25, & 35 are bigger lenses than the 17-50 and weigh over 6 lbs!) and the focus markings could be better. Other than that, optically they are beautiful and the speed at 1.8 is very nice. I've yet to have a client say they didn't like the look of them. To my eyes, they are very neutral lenses, not on the warm or cold side.

As much as I miss shooting mainly on zooms, I tend to shoot in lower light, so the faster speed is nice over zooms (although, the MX's 800 ISO helps a ton with that.)

Matthew
 
I am also close to buying a set of primes and would also like some feedback on this.
How does the optimo zoom stack up against the primes.
Paul
 
Anohter vote for the RPP´s the glass is beautiful, great lenses which stand up to S4´s or UltraPrimes visually. Mechanically they are well made, but with two drawbacks because of "mass production" i think.
1. Focus marks could be off - Infinity is right if you collimate the lens but if you set the lens to say 2m and you measure it, it´s 2,30m and so on- With my 7 lenses 3 are dead on, 2 are slightly off, 2 are way off.
2. Focus marks again, the spacing between marks is very wide in the close area but gets very narrow in the 2 - 10 m range. Still a lot better than any Still Lens but not compareable to modern Cooke or Zeiss Cine Glass (UP,MP,S4)

I wouldn´t go for any old glass like MKIII, they are still overpriced for what they are in my opinion (not that i don´t like them in some cases)
 
I just got a set. Budget was $23K and hence there was only one choice for new glass at faster than T2. Would be nice if there were more options in this price range. Ended up with the RPPs.
 
I just bought the new zeiss compact primes (except the 18mm and 21mm as they are too slow) they are fantastic.

To compliment the kit I also bought the new zeiss light weight zoom.

This new zeiss range is by far the best value and quality on the market.

I researched everything and found this the best option for me as I shoot a fair bit of steadicam
 
If you do get the RPP you may want to look into the improvements you can do with the markings.
 
KETCH ROSSI said:
Do yourself a favor and get the RPP's, absolutely great lenses and beyond any doubt the best deal out there, or get a set of Leica Summilux-C ;)
Click to expand...

Heh, I knew you'd say that, Ketch and hell, you just might be right ;)

Would love to go for the Leicas but not in my budget... not if I want an Epic too!

CB
 
Do you have a project going to camera that will need this set right away? NAB is just around the corner so it might be worth the wait to see what may be unveiled at the show.
 
Unless you're desperate to spend money, I'd wait until April, post NAB. By then there should be some reviews on the various reported lens upgrades. Unless something has happend recently, your comment on the Schneider lenses are the first positive thing I've read other than from their distributor.
 
The RPP's are indeed great glass. BIG and HEAVY lenses is the trade off for the nice glass. But sharp and crisp, commercial clients love them. Film clients for us, still shoot Zeiss Ultra Primes 99% of the time.

Im testing the Ultra Primes against some new Illumina S35 (fjsinternational.com) sets from LOMO in Russia. The latter are all the same size. (3-4 lbs and small barrels) are close to the same price as RPP's ($27K) and were now rated as the fastest Primes in the world at T1.2! They start with a SLUG of SCHOTT glass from Germany but all the lenses are ground and prepped at the legendary LOMO plant.

earlier sets had good glass but typical early mechanic issues. the latest batch shipping are apparently a major improvement and the mechanics are corrected. Also have much more pro witness marks... but NO IDEA other than a couple videos on the web of how they look... I know a Canadian rental company bought a set and wrote an extremely positive review.

We have a set coming in 3 weeks for extensive comparative testing against every lense we can find. Perpahs even the LSC's at $170,000 a set of 8.

meantime, search the LENS thread for the SALT tests. a fantastic test was done of all the lenses last year that were available. (MOST anyway) by DP's and pros.

FYI: the Optomo DP Rouge Zooms's surprised a ton of people...sharp contrasty and fast at T2, and blew people away in the SALT tests.

In the end, RPP's are the best bang for the buck glass wise, to date. Hopefully the Illuminas will offer us another lower end choice.

We will post test results in early February
 
I love my ZF's

and while some may scoff at them for not being "cine".. they look really good..

with the mods done by duclos, and the allstar system.. the ZFs are really the best bang for buck...

But if you must have PL, large barrels, and more focus rotation, then Id go for RPP..

or find a nice set of standard speeds
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
I love my ZF's

and while some may scoff at them for not being "cine".. they look really good..

with the mods done by duclos, and the allstar system.. the ZFs are really the best bang for buck...

But if you must have PL, large barrels, and more focus rotation, then Id go for RPP..

or find a nice set of standard speeds
Click to expand...

Don't like focus direction on ZF.
Consider M-glass(voigtlander,zeiss,leica) or CP.2-they are FULL 35mm and light.
 
The RPP's are a nice place to be sitting. If you want sharp images and be able to handle low light well.

Personally I do not like shooting with zooms as I find they can some times lend to lazy filmmaking by directors. "Put the camera there and get me a medium" working with primes really gets you thinking about what to use where and when and why. When sometimes you get asked to frame a MS 3 feet away from an actor on a 18mm, when is not the correct medium shot. (ie too much distortion and fat faces)

But if your shooting an action picture and need to get 40 shots in a day sometimes it is a nessicary.

I would rather own primes and rent a zoom (which is my current set up) if I needed it vs the other way around. But with a zoom you can cover more focal lengths at a better price.

I have yet to hear about the Schneider Cine-Xenar's do you have any good reveiws you can post links to.

Best Success
 
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I have just tried some RPP. I was surprised how sharp they were. So at present IMHO they are the best value.

Paul
 
I have RPP, and I love them...fast, sharp, a bit heavy...but hey, for the price, I don't think you can find such a good deal, and they are really made for the RED. Focus marks are a bit off, but that is ok, it does not really bother me
 
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