Bill Stengel
Member
I know I'm going to regret selling these, but I recently picked up a set of mid 80's Leica R's and feel they fit better with the type of work I've been doing so the DSO's have been effectively sidelined. The two sets aren't similar per se, but they both offer a very organic, low-contrast image. The Leica's are more controlled and predictable which I prefer.
These render beautifully on Gemini, which is my main camera.
I bought this set new from Richard in 2016. They are on the neutral side in terms of base color cast and rendering. As is typical of Helios, they have tons of character. The lenses themselves and all the bits are in excellent condition. To those who aren't aware, these were handmade by Richard Gale in the UK. Legend has it he had a nearly unlimited source of Helios 58mm lenses and applied his genius to build a cottage lens business. He started by (aggressively) modifying the original Helios stills lenses as the Flare Factory and eventually developed these Trumps in a more proper cine-focused form factor. The Trumps then evolved into Apogee with proper witness marks and better calibrated aperture markings. The last iteration of Richard's cine-type lenses were the Clavius which looked fantastic. I have no idea if he's still in the lens game as his various feeds went cold several years ago. He was and is a passionate and interesting character who had tons of ambition for some really funky lenses and projects.
I'd prefer to sell everything together.
Included in this set:
– Pelican 1510 + Trekpak insert
– 38, 58, 88mm f/2 PL mount primes, all based on the Helios 58mm
– A huge amount of aperture discs which drop in behind the unscrewable rear lens block and either affect the shape/character of bokeh or add intense color to flares – or BOTH. Some call this a gimmick, some see this as the set's biggest strength as a creative tool. I didn't go much beyond the anamorphic ones or very occasionally the super-speed ones that emulated the orange/red flares.
– Two additional rear lens blocks – one is uncoated low-contrast and the other is modified (butchered with love) with what looks like blue ink and some melted plastic or resin to give an ultra-low contrast image (the film canister it lives in says ULC FUNGUS on it). I only tested these rear blocks and found the lenses as they were didn't any additional contrast reduction or raunchiness. The lenses are wonderfully low contrast as they are.
– Set of 95mm screw-on Format Hitech Firecrest NDs. (.6, .9, 1.2, 1.8, 2.1) The front housing of these is made of fiberglass and the threads, while in perfect shape, are prone to stripping so I've kept an 86-95mm step up ring on each lens and screwed the ND's into the rings. ND's are in excellent condition with no marks on the glass. Also included is a bunch of other step rings. The reasoning behind screw-on ND's over a matte box and 4x5's is to keep the camera more compact.
– PL-EF adapter. A lightweight and simple unit. There are more robust ones out there, but this does the job. I've used it a handful of times on stills cameras and on a 2-camera project where the second PL mount didn't show up in time.
Photos of everything here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jxxt9191i1wm6s9/AAAIu8HQcr3v-f8-ypZ1ZbH0a?dl=0 <-----Link
Bennet Cerf's deep dive into RGO/DSO Trumps <-----Link
Richard's Vimeo with lots of sample and test footage <----- Link
Asking $5750 shipped via FedEx Ground from New Mexico to the Lower 48.
Thanks!
These render beautifully on Gemini, which is my main camera.
I bought this set new from Richard in 2016. They are on the neutral side in terms of base color cast and rendering. As is typical of Helios, they have tons of character. The lenses themselves and all the bits are in excellent condition. To those who aren't aware, these were handmade by Richard Gale in the UK. Legend has it he had a nearly unlimited source of Helios 58mm lenses and applied his genius to build a cottage lens business. He started by (aggressively) modifying the original Helios stills lenses as the Flare Factory and eventually developed these Trumps in a more proper cine-focused form factor. The Trumps then evolved into Apogee with proper witness marks and better calibrated aperture markings. The last iteration of Richard's cine-type lenses were the Clavius which looked fantastic. I have no idea if he's still in the lens game as his various feeds went cold several years ago. He was and is a passionate and interesting character who had tons of ambition for some really funky lenses and projects.
I'd prefer to sell everything together.
Included in this set:
– Pelican 1510 + Trekpak insert
– 38, 58, 88mm f/2 PL mount primes, all based on the Helios 58mm
– A huge amount of aperture discs which drop in behind the unscrewable rear lens block and either affect the shape/character of bokeh or add intense color to flares – or BOTH. Some call this a gimmick, some see this as the set's biggest strength as a creative tool. I didn't go much beyond the anamorphic ones or very occasionally the super-speed ones that emulated the orange/red flares.
– Two additional rear lens blocks – one is uncoated low-contrast and the other is modified (butchered with love) with what looks like blue ink and some melted plastic or resin to give an ultra-low contrast image (the film canister it lives in says ULC FUNGUS on it). I only tested these rear blocks and found the lenses as they were didn't any additional contrast reduction or raunchiness. The lenses are wonderfully low contrast as they are.
– Set of 95mm screw-on Format Hitech Firecrest NDs. (.6, .9, 1.2, 1.8, 2.1) The front housing of these is made of fiberglass and the threads, while in perfect shape, are prone to stripping so I've kept an 86-95mm step up ring on each lens and screwed the ND's into the rings. ND's are in excellent condition with no marks on the glass. Also included is a bunch of other step rings. The reasoning behind screw-on ND's over a matte box and 4x5's is to keep the camera more compact.
– PL-EF adapter. A lightweight and simple unit. There are more robust ones out there, but this does the job. I've used it a handful of times on stills cameras and on a 2-camera project where the second PL mount didn't show up in time.
Photos of everything here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jxxt9191i1wm6s9/AAAIu8HQcr3v-f8-ypZ1ZbH0a?dl=0 <-----Link
Bennet Cerf's deep dive into RGO/DSO Trumps <-----Link
Richard's Vimeo with lots of sample and test footage <----- Link
Asking $5750 shipped via FedEx Ground from New Mexico to the Lower 48.
Thanks!
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