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Schneider Xenon FF Prime Lens Set Group Buy?

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Isaac Marchionna said:
Oh good god, if so then count me in for sure.
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Yeah, if they are that price then they will be a huge hit! Schneider is trying to compete with the CP.2's and Canon CN-E Primes, so they will be priced similarly.

Here's the source I got it from:

Duclos lenses

FF35 Full Frame Coverage (36x24mm)
T2.1-22 Iris Range
14 Iris Blades
Weighs approximately 3.3lbs each
Designed for 4K
Color Matched
Minimal Breathing
Uniform Size and Gear Spacing
300 Degree Focus Pull
Generous Focus and Iris Marks
No Image Shift
100mm Outer Diameter
95mm Front Threads
Available in PL, Canon EOS/EF, and Nikon F Mount
Available 4th Quarter 2013
MSRP $4000 each
 
Hey David,

Would be great if when you're in talks with them, you could ask if it's possible/how much to get the lenses shipped out with multiple mounts. One set on the lens, and the others loose.
 
Price has not officially been locked in, but at NAB and since, they have been saying "about $4K USD" per lens. From what I have seen of the lenses myself, the build quality is excellent and they are a very nice size and weight. I'm not really a fan of the Zeiss CP lenses, although that set keeps improving over time with new offerings. IMO, the Xenons I've seen thus far have a much more pleasing look than the CP's. Of course, that is entirely subjective, some people just love the look of the CP's, where I just don't. The Xenons are going to be a very nice set though. I'm anxious to get my first 3 in the coming months and hopefully other focal lengths will follow without too much delay.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
...IMO, the Xenons I've seen thus far have a much more pleasing look than the CP's. Of course, that is entirely subjective, some people just love the look of the CP's, where I just don't. The Xenons are going to be a very nice set though...
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What's what don't you like about the CP's..that you think the Xenon's will do better on..?
 
Steve Das said:
What's what don't you like about the CP's..that you think the Xenon's will do better on..?
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For me it's a mechanics thing and design thing. One is a technical benefit, the other is fairly subjective.

While the elements themselves aren't exactly new designs, the Xenon-FF Primes aren't rehoused still lenses. They are a new mechanical design all together. Some may or may not find that to be important. You can certainly see it in during a focus pull. Somebody will have to do a side by side when they come out.

Also, from my couple of times with them I'd describe them as rendering a "smooth" image, which lends well for cinema use.
 
Phil Holland said:
...While the elements themselves aren't exactly new designs, the Xenon-FF Primes aren't rehoused still lenses. They are a new mechanical design all together. Some may or may not find that to be important. You can certainly see it in during a focus pull. Somebody will have to do a side by side when they come out...
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If the CP's breathe more..that is an image issue.
But the build itself..it is I think a question if the build quality affects the final result..the image.
If it doesn't then the build quality is of lesser importance to most budget shooters.

I mean Car A and B will both get you where you need to go in the same time and speed.
But Car A may cost tens of thousands more for a superior build qualtiy that is mostly non-functional.
The Car A door slams to a nice tight fit whereas Car B's may clunk together and not fit
as smooth...but in both cases the doors are shut and secure.
 
From what I could discern they breathe less, but more importantly there's no image shift in the Xenon-FF Primes.

I have thoughts from a more aesthetic nature however. Specifically if you look at the out of focus area (bokeh), which I rather like. Even at deeper apertures:

phfx_SXFFP_04_bokeh.jpg


phfx_SXFFP_05_bokeh.jpg


Which clearly stems from a nice 14 blade iris design:

phfx_SXFFP_03_14BladeIris.jpg


I would describe that as "pillowy" and smooth. Not as pillowy as the Cine-Xenars, but in the wheel house.
 
I'm in complete agreement with Phil here. To add to that, in regards to the CP's, the Xenons will offer consistent apertures across the set and a consistent optical design. No matter how Zeiss dresses them up, the CP's are a hodge-podge set derived from two series of lenses originally designed for SLR photography. The 18mm is a complete turd. They have 3 different versions of the 50mm, the T2 makro being the good one.... And I'm not going to touch on their marketing approach and the crippling of certain lenses with the introduction of the CP.2's, only to reintroduce the non-crippled versions later as "super-speed" models.

So you can call me biased if you want, because I am. I'm just not a fan of the CP's. There are some gems in the set -- the 15mm, 50mm makro, 85mm T1.5... But all things considered, I've never found them to be a consistent, friendly or compelling set of lenses. There are other offerings out there for the same money, which I feel are a better product. Like the Cooke mini-S4's. If you want the Zeiss label, then step up and get some Ultras. Or even the Masters -- hardly any more with current pricing and shorter wait time, they're just bigger and heavier to let in more light and get that faster aperture. I suppose those other lenses don't have the full-frame coverage, but I don't see that being a concern for now, or anytime in the foreseeable future.

I think the only lenses that are higher on my wanted list than the Xenons right now are the Summilux C's. But I just can't justify their purchase... The Cine-Xenar III's are nice lenses as well, but not on my list. They have comparable size and weight to the RPP's and not enough advantages to sway me over. The Xenars look to be a good investment moving forward with exceptional build quality, 35mm FF coverage and a smaller, lighter, consistent form factor across the set. So far, the prototypes I've played with have all had exceptional build quality, superior to the CP's, and have produced very pleasing images.
 
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