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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

UniQoptics Lenses

Worked on them at Sim Video while I was there. Sharp, clinical, decent for average use. We did have issues with them though as mechanically they're not the best for rentals. They weren't that popular either.

As Bob said, they're not really any different than RED Pro Primes, and frankly I think they're nearly identical.

Are you perhaps interested in renting them from Sim seeing how you're in Toronto? I think they're the only ones with a set.
 
Shervin Mandgaryan said:
Are you perhaps interested in renting them from Sim seeing how you're in Toronto? I think they're the only ones with a set.
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http://camerarentalstoronto.com/ has them too, I was just looking for some footage shot with them first that isn't their own - paid for - footage.

On this topic, I was told once that RED Primes are just repackaged Cooke Optics glass, does anyone know if this is true?
 
No, RPP's are definitely not 'repackaged' Cooke glass.

I think that rumor started when people saw the 'Made in the UK' engraving on the lenses and thought they were made by Cooke.
 
Karl Janisse said:
http://camerarentalstoronto.com/ has them too, I was just looking for some footage shot with them first that isn't their own - paid for - footage.

On this topic, I was told once that RED Primes are just repackaged Cooke Optics glass, does anyone know if this is true?
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Definitely a debunked rumour about Cooke.
 
I tested them once and I used to own a set of RPP's. Both sets are similar, sharp and reasonable breathing. I found the Uniq's had worse CA and boy did they flare. RPP'S flare quite a bit but whoooo boy do those Uniq's ever flare! I mean they should change the name to the Uniq Flare set and promote it as a music video set or something.
 
Shervin Mandgaryan said:
No, RPP's are definitely not 'repackaged' Cooke glass.

I think that rumor started when people saw the 'Made in the UK' engraving on the lenses and thought they were made by Cooke.
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The only RED lens that ever had "Made in the UK" stamped on it was the original 18-50 zoom. That along with the /i data features had people thinking it was a Cooke lens, back in the day. Thing is though, /i is an open spec and the lens just happened to be assembled in the UK, initially anyway. Don't think it had any connection to Cooke what-so-ever. Optically it was pretty darn good other than it breathed heavily like a typical SLR zoom. Mechanics were generally crappy and very inconsistent between lenses. At one time I owned one and it was a "good" one with properly working mechanics. I've come across several that were nearly unusable. :(

RPP's are all made in Japan. I don't want to say anything to add to wild speculation, but I think I might know where the glass comes from. And no, I'm 99.9% sure it's not from Cooke.

Personally I love my RPP's. Only real complaint is the hefty size of the 18, 25 and 35.


As for the UniQ primes, they do look an awful lot like the RPP's. This was questioned heavily back when they started shipping. Enough so that Jim Jannard got together with someone at UniQ and they put a lens or two of theirs side by side with an RPP in an X-Ray and took a picture. Quite different on the inside.

I've played with the UniQ primes a bit on the show floor, but have never used them. They seem alright for the price. I've heard they don't perform quite as well as the RPP's. Similar overall, but the image and mechanics are just not quite as good. That's just what I've heard...

Looking to the future, the set of lenses I'm most excited about are the Schneider Xenon primes. Cover 35mm FF like the CP.2's, but I think they produce a more pleasing image and they will have consistent aperture and look across the set. Something the CP.2's don't have. I'm really not a fan of the CP's... Used the original CP's a couple times and the CP.2's a bunch. They have a few jewels in the set, but overall it's a big flat "meh"... Love the size and mechanics, but they just feel like a big compromise way to wrap their SLR optics into a cinema lens package. I much prefer Ultras. Or older SuperSpeeds and "standards" if I want a softer look.
 
+1
I am also looking forward to see the Schneider Xenon FF prime lenses.
 
I also had Uniq and our own RPP set side-by-side at one time and found them surprisingly similar.
 
Put me down as another vote for the Schneider Xenon's...I got to play with the 75 a little bit during REDucation at NAB and it was very smooth mechanically. Hard to tell much about the optics on the show floor with no lighting to speak of, but I did check them out at the Schneider booth and they looked pretty sweet. I'm excited about the size, weight and price too...hope they live up to my expectations once I get to actually shoot with them.
 
The UniQs are terrible. Had to use them for a commercial shoot once. There is no easier way to make a RED look like cheap video than by using these lenses. Size-wise, they are similar to RPPs, but RPPs have a much better look. Both have a sharp look to them, the UniQs just look boring and clinical.
 
Tom Greenberg said:
Put me down as another vote for the Schneider Xenon's...I got to play with the 75 a little bit during REDucation at NAB and it was very smooth mechanically. Hard to tell much about the optics on the show floor with no lighting to speak of, but I did check them out at the Schneider booth and they looked pretty sweet. I'm excited about the size, weight and price too...hope they live up to my expectations once I get to actually shoot with them.
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Well I'm #1 in line for the Xenons via Matt Duclos. ;) I'll let y'all know how they do... Expecting to see them end of summer at the earliest, probably fall sometime. I'm starting to build up a collection of glass again and I might have to retire (sell) some of it. The tricky part is I don't know which ones should go! I'd keep them all if they weren't so expensive and since a camera can only use one at a time...
 
Adrian Jebef said:
I tested the Uniq's against Cooke S4's and thought the Uniq's were sharper with a similar flare characteristic. I think they're pretty cool for the price point. Here's a quick test I shot with them a while back:

http://vimeo.com/38388287

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Those flares are pretty "rainbow" colored and modern, and breaks down into unusual circular patterns at some points. Looks cool for a hip-hop video, but I'd be nervous having that look all the time. Not as mild and organic as I'd generally like. But horses for courses: what may not work for me, may be great for someone else.

Be curious to know more about their similarity to RPP's....
 
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