Lens selection quandary (Zeiss vs. Cooke Kinetal)

[Skyler Carrico]

Hi all,

I'm gathering equipment for a documentary project I'll be shooting with my ACLII and am curious of peoples thoughts on a lens quandary I've been struggling with...

At the moment, I have only a TS to Arri-S adapter and a Zeiss 8mm Arri-S lens which I love.

I'd like to have additional prime Arri-S lenses in the 12mm range and in the 16-18mm range. The best options seem to be:

Cooke Kinetal 12.5mm + Cooke Kinetal 17.5mm

Cooke Kinetal 12.5mm + Zeiss 16mm

For consistency I'd love to stay 100% Zeiss but there seems to be no way to get ahold of a combined Arri Bayonet+Standard mount... Unless miraculously, anyone here might have one they'd be willing to part with. 

So my question is, how different aesthetically (i.e., in terms of "look") is the Cooke Kinetal glass compared with the Zeiss glass? Assuming coating/haze/fungus etc. are all in equally good shape, would switching between scenes shot with each render noticeable differences aesthetically? Would I be better off trading out the 8mm Zeiss for a 9mm Cooke, so as to have a full Cooke set?

 

Edited January 19 by Skyler Carrico

[Khyber Jones]

I can only compare Zeiss super speeds and my set of Kinetals but the looks are quite different. The Kinetals are much warmer - although some of this may be due to yellowing. I have a later serial Kinetal and it's a bit cooler and brighter so if you can find later models they'd probably match closer. Still the Kinetals are a bit softer, less contrasty, and have slightly more falloff/vignette. I prefer the look. The Zeiss are more contrasty, cooler, and consistent across the frame. I have some test frames I can share if I can find them. Schneider Kreuznach Arri-S lenses might match a little closer to the Zeiss in terms of color temp but I haven't used them in some time.