Tag: Speed

Canon EF, Lenses, News, PL, Sigma, Sony E

Sigma Fills Out Nicely with 14mm and 135mm Cine Primes

by Matthew Duclos2 Comments on Sigma Fills Out Nicely with 14mm and 135mm Cine Primes
Sigma Fills Out Nicely with 14mm and 135mm Cine Primes

Sigma has just announced the development of a 14mm T2 and 135mm T2 prime lens. Based on the Sigma ART line of optics, these two new primes will join the already impressive 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm . This news comes as no surprise to anyone who follows Sigma. The photo version of these lenses which were released earlier this year, seem like they were designed specifically to join the Sigma Cine family. They’re a welcome addition and render the Sigma Cine Primes a powerful option for cinematographers.  Continue reading “Sigma Fills Out Nicely with 14mm and 135mm Cine Primes” →

Tutorial

What’s in a Name? A Guide to Zeiss Super Speeds

by Matthew Duclos17 Comments on What’s in a Name? A Guide to Zeiss Super Speeds
What’s in a Name? A Guide to Zeiss Super Speeds

One of the most frequent questions we receive at Duclos Lenses from all over the world is in regards to the different versions of the Zeiss Super Speeds. Sticking to just the 35mm format (not 16mm format) version of Zeiss’ high speed primes, we’ll discuss some of the basic differences in an attempt to clarify some common misconceptions around the heritage of illustrious prime lenses. Continue reading “What’s in a Name? A Guide to Zeiss Super Speeds” →

Review, Tutorial

Are Rokinon Primes Right For You?

by Matthew Duclos117 Comments on Are Rokinon Primes Right For You?

lineupRokinon just released their new Cine-DS line of cinema prime lenses with color matched optics and uniform focus and iris gears – but what’s the difference between these new lenses and the older lenses in the lineup and which ones will work well for you? Wether you’re just getting into cinematography or you’re tired of wrestling with your L Series or or crummy kit lens, there’s a better solution available. In this post we’ll take a look at the new DS line of lenses from Rokinon and how they’ll work with a range of different cameras. Continue reading “Are Rokinon Primes Right For You?” →

News, Review

TLS Cooke Speed Panchro Re-housing Project

by Matthew Duclos8 Comments on TLS Cooke Speed Panchro Re-housing Project
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The complete line-up including the 18mm, 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm.

The gentlemen at True Lens Service (TLS) in the UK displayed a fully functional prototype of their 18mm Cooke Speed Panchro at IBC last year which garnered a respectable amount of interest. But what about the rest of the set? If you’re not familiar with the Cooke Speed Panchros, they’re basically the standard by which other prime lenses were measured between the 1930’s and 1950’s. George Eastman estimated that approximately 90 percent of 16mm films shot during that time in America were using Cooke Speed Panchros. There have been several revisions of the Panchros in Series II and III which can be a bit confusing, kind of like Cooke as a company in general. Surely you’ve seen “Taylor, Hobson” “Taylor, Taylor & Hobson” “Rank, Taylor & Hobson” or just plain “Cooke”. They’re all the same lineage with an extremely rich history in photographic optics and industrial revolution. Cooke was a true innovator in their infancy and continues to produce motion picture optics that push the boundaries of quality. Enough with the history… The Speed Panchros are relevant here because they are notorious for producing beautiful images that are simply not duplicated in post production. They have a character to them that defined the “Cooke Look” and gave thousands of films a warm romantic feel that cinematographers, directors, and colorists strive to reproduce with lackluster results (most of the time).

Continue reading “TLS Cooke Speed Panchro Re-housing Project” →

News, Review

Zeiss CP.2 & CZ.2 Video Showcase

by Matthew Duclos2 Comments on Zeiss CP.2 & CZ.2 Video Showcase

A lot of folks want to see actual footage instead of just numbers when it comes to the practical look and feel of a particular lens. And as usual, Zeiss delivered. Here is a small collection of short videos that feature different primes and even a few zooms that Zeiss currently offers. The first video is a “Sizzle Reel” with a lot of quick takes from different scenes using different lenses. Zeiss used a range of focal lengths including the 15mm T2.1, 21mm T2.9, 25mm T2.1, 28mm T2.1, 35mm T2.1, 50mm T2.1, 85mm T2.1, 100mm T2.1 CF, 135mm T2.1, and lastly the 70-200mm T2.9 and shot a nice panning shot and a static rotating shot with each focal length. Take a look and gather all you can from this collection of results.

CP.2 Sizzle Reel – © 2012 Carl Zeiss AG

Continue reading “Zeiss CP.2 & CZ.2 Video Showcase” →

News, Review

SALT III – High Speed Prime “WFO” Results

by Matthew Duclos7 Comments on SALT III – High Speed Prime “WFO” Results

Welcome to the 2013 Southland Alternative Lens Shootout “Wide F%$@*^G Open” Edition. This was a coordinated effort between the following individuals: Will Keir, Phil Holland, Matt Uhry, Matthew Duclos, Jeff Whitehurst, Evin Grant, Ryan Patrick O’Hara, Luke Edwards, Charlie Pickle and myself. I’d like to begin by thanking our Sponsors who not only donated their time, but their facilities, insurance services, and their lens sets: Continue reading “SALT III – High Speed Prime “WFO” Results” →

News, Review, Tutorial

Do Your Speeds Need to be Super?

by Matthew Duclos1 Comment on Do Your Speeds Need to be Super?

I’ve touched on Zeiss’ success over the past decade, all based on their old Zeiss ZF and ZE line of lenses. The ZF lenses started to become extremely popular with the VDSLR revolution and low point of entry into the world of motion picture acquisition. The ZF lenses were updated and replaced with the ZF.2 line which made using them on modern Nikon cameras easier and more feature rich. Zeiss proceeded to take those same internals and implant them into bigger better housings in the form of Compact Primes, their first new cinema lens in quite a while. The compact primes were good but they had a few problems. The speed from one lens to another was inconsistent and the mounts were fixed. Zeiss addressed both of these issues by limiting the entire range to T2.1 with the exception of the already slower 18mm, 21, and 25mm and introducing their interchangeable mount system. This pleased most users that wanted a versatile set with consistent aperture throughout the set. But where did those faster primes go? Continue reading “Do Your Speeds Need to be Super?” →