Revisiting Older Lenses

[Zack Birlew]

Hey, everybody, so there's so many lens options these days and some rehousing efforts have brought some SLR lenses back into the mix, namely Nikon and the Russian Helios sets, but some others have been done yet I don't see too much major work being done with them (Minolta, Konica, Zeiss Jena, Fuji EBC, etc.). However, even those may take some time to make their way into big time productions just from being newly rehoused and high-end collectors may have messed with the numbers, I'm wanting to look back at some older lens options and ones that really aren't that old but aren't mentioned much. Are people still using:

1. Rokinon Cine DS/Xeen
2. SLR Magic APO
3. Meike Cine
4. Zeiss CP.2
5. Cooke S4i
6. Red Pro Primes
7. Fujinon Zooms
8. Angenieux Primes
9. Mitakon Cine
10. Zeiss Super Speeds/Standard Speeds
11. Zeiss Contax
12. Zeiss Nano
13. Schneider Xenon/Xenars/etc.
14. Super Baltars
15. LOMO sphericals and anamorphics
16. Arri Ultra Primes, Standards, or anything other than Signatures
17. Cooke Speed Panchros and other legacy Cooke sphericals and anamorphics
18. Older legacy zooms of all kinds
19. Dulens
20. Optica Elites
21. Xelmus Anamorphics
22. UniQOptics
23. Hawk Anamorphics
24. Leica R
25. Irix
26. Sony Cinealta

It's strange, I hear a lot about Leica Cine, Nisi, Canon FD/K35/CNE, Cooke SP3/S7/S8, Arri Signature, Technovision 1.5x anamorphics, Tribe7 Blackwing7, DZOFilm, Sirui, Gecko Cam Genesis, and even adapted B4 lenses being talked about but the listed lenses and even Sigma Art and Tokina lenses are dropping off the radar and I know those were very popular! One of my favorites, Laowa, is mentioned quite a bit for a few different things to fill in sets so I don't feel they are left out but I am surprised that I don't hear more about the Rangers and some of their newer unique wide angle options being used more, save for their probes which are apparently doing great!

SLR lenses and Mirrorless lenses are also kind of hit or miss with some non-rehoused options being adapted regularly with focus gears and the mirrorless options being the brand names you would expect but not always for film production oddly enough. Personally, I wouldn't mind using a set of Sony G Masters or Nikon G or Nikon Z lenses for a project but they only get talked about for photos. I remember when ALL lenses were an option with mirrorless cameras, so what happened? Is it just a matter of a lot of options and too little production time? Do the new options make it too hard to look back? What are your thoughts? Any recent projects you know of that turned to these less talked about options rather than the new apparent standards? Still using any consistently?

 

[M Harvey]

I think the question is not whether these lenses are being used-- they all are. I think the question is by whom-- what group/production sector is using them?

You mention rehousing, and I'm not sure how that connects exactly.

I think you'll find plenty of indie films and larger feature productions and series shot by DPs and directors who like what they get from vintage optics, so yes on 10, 14, 15, 17, and 24 (if rehoused). Throw the Hawks on the list, too, as they play in the same world. Arri Ultra Primes might be a little out of fashion but still are probably doing a fair amount of work.

Plenty of those DPs would probably also consider Cooke S4i (see: "The Last of Us") and would mix in Fujinon zooms for narrative work. Fujinon zooms play a lot in doc and sports too.

The Contax and Leica Rs still probably see a fair amount of action from certain DPs and owner-ops as part of an inexpensive personal set. They're the vintage counterparts to the Sigmas or maybe Tokinas in my world-- you might pick one of those depending on your taste as your "house lens kit."
Many rental houses here in NYC carry a set of rehoused Leica R ("oh I heard they used those lenses on THE BRUTALIST"), which are nice if you like Cooke s4 and Zeiss Super Speed-type stuff but are shooting large format.

The Angenieux Primes are pretty high end and newer, I'm sure they're working in the same world that Arri Signatures and Supreme Primes do but not sure if the acceptance is as wide in North America, where I'm most familiar.

4, 6, 13, 26 were all sort of lens kits aimed at owner-operators. I'm sure there are a lot of CP2s still floating around, particularly at film schools and local production houses, but I don't think the rest caught on in a big way.

Most of the rest are very inexpensive lenses within reach of youtubers, film students, schools, and even well-heeled consumers. I think a lot of them wouldn't be considered for professional productions due to mechanics/durability or conceptions (right or wrong) about the sophistication and quality of the image. That said, that's probably how people thought about some of the Russian lenses (i.e. the Optikas) back in the day, and now maybe there's a little cache to them for their vintage flavor, so that can always change.