Mohammed Tahir Posted Wednesday at 04:49 PM Posted Wednesday at 04:49 PM Can anyone recommend modern lenses that are super-sharp and contrasty to use with Super 16mm? Preferably PL mount. They can be for purchase or rental. They'll be used on an ARR SR2 S16 camera. I suppose the other thing to consider is that SR2's viewfinder arm pivots just above the lens mount. Not sure if that gets in the way of some lenses. Thanks!
Luis Hartmann Posted Wednesday at 08:19 PM Posted Wednesday at 08:19 PM I think Master and Ultra Primes work well with 16, but they usually don't fit on the SR because of the described VF problem. Some lenses do, some barely, most don't. Gotta try yourself. Maybe Sigma Arts are an option? Those should also be fairly cheap to rent.
Premium Member Tyler Purcell Posted Wednesday at 08:53 PM Premium Member Posted Wednesday at 08:53 PM The 16mm Ultra primes are very good. I've had mixed results myself, but a lot of the material I've scanned that was the sharpest was with the ultra primes, so they are clearly the best, and I'm fairly certain they fit the SR's no problem. The for sure fit the SR3.
Sam Risley Posted Thursday at 06:06 AM Posted Thursday at 06:06 AM Luis and Tyler, have you guys ever used the super 35 Ultra Primes on a 16mm camera? They seem to be much easier to get hold of. If so did you have any issues?
Luis Hartmann Posted Thursday at 08:15 AM Posted Thursday at 08:15 AM 2 hours ago, Sam Risley said: Luis and Tyler, have you guys ever used the super 35 Ultra Primes on a 16mm camera? They seem to be much easier to get hold of. If so did you have any issues? Yeah, in my circles it's quite common for people to use the Ultra Primes with the 416. Good results.
Gautam Valluri Posted Thursday at 08:17 AM Posted Thursday at 08:17 AM 1 minute ago, Luis Hartmann said: Yeah, in my circles it's quite common for people to use the Ultra Primes with the 416. Good results. As far as I know, the 416 was designed to be able to take 35mm lenses.
Jon O'Brien Posted Thursday at 11:43 PM Posted Thursday at 11:43 PM (edited) I don't know whether you're looking for top cine or more humble lenses but I can tell you a Tokina 11-16 with PL mount will fit on an Arri SR without bumping into the viewfinder just above the lens mount. At least, the one I have fits. No footage to show yet but soon hopefully I will post some. Getting there. I'm told it's a sharp lens. The Canon 8-64 isn't a modern lens but it works well with an SR and it's pretty sharp. Edited Thursday at 11:45 PM by Jon O'Brien
Mohammed Tahir Posted Friday at 12:16 AM Author Posted Friday at 12:16 AM Thanks for the replies. From my understanding it was the Master Primes that may not fit but the Ultra Primes should be ok. The SR3 has the same type of VF as the SR2.
Mohammed Tahir Posted Friday at 12:22 AM Author Posted Friday at 12:22 AM 36 minutes ago, Jon O'Brien said: I don't know whether you're looking for top cine or more humble lenses but I can tell you a Tokina 11-16 with PL mount will fit on an Arri SR without bumping into the viewfinder just above the lens mount. At least, the one I have fits. No footage to show yet but soon hopefully I will post some. Getting there. I'm told it's a sharp lens. The Canon 8-64 isn't a modern lens but it works well with an SR and it's pretty sharp. Yes, I been looking at the Duclos re-housed Tokina 11-16 PL mount lens. I'll be very interested in seeing some footage. Please keep me informed.
Luis Hartmann Posted Friday at 10:45 AM Posted Friday at 10:45 AM 10 hours ago, Mohammed Tahir said: Thanks for the replies. From my understanding it was the Master Primes that may not fit but the Ultra Primes should be ok. The SR3 has the same type of VF as the SR2. IMG_3092.HEICIMG_3088.HEIC Went ahead and tried it out, atleast all the way to the 16mm the UPs fit. 1
Premium Member Tyler Purcell Posted Friday at 05:33 PM Premium Member Posted Friday at 05:33 PM On 7/2/2025 at 11:06 PM, Sam Risley said: Luis and Tyler, have you guys ever used the super 35 Ultra Primes on a 16mm camera? They seem to be much easier to get hold of. If so did you have any issues? I only used the 16mm set of Ultra Primes, I haven't used the 35mm set. The main reason is simply wider angle shots. It's nice to have a fast S16mm designed 8mm lens for instance.
Robin Phillips Posted Friday at 06:07 PM Posted Friday at 06:07 PM the arri / zeiss Ultra 16s are going to be the sharpest hands down, followed by master primes. weirdly, the zeiss LWZ.2 is nearly as sharp as the Ultra 16s, and will clear the viewfinder on the SR3. Ultra 16s will fit an SR3, Master Primes wont (I think they technically will if you put the viewfinder in a vertical position that makes it unusable). Regular Ultra Primes work fine, but they're not as sharp as the Ultra 16s. That being said I have no issue using a 40mm UP in leu of the U16 35mm if I really want that smidge narrower field of view. Originally they only released the U16s from 6mm to 14mm, assuming that users would simply use the regular ultra primes to round out their lens set. Not long after they rounded out the U16 set with longer focal lengths.
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted Saturday at 04:53 AM Premium Member Posted Saturday at 04:53 AM Ultra 16s, Cooke SK4s and the odd wide angle by Optex and Century were about as good as it got with S16 primes. But the enduring appeal of Zeiss Super Speeds (S16 ones) is not to be dismissed. Optar Illuminates and Elites were also not bad, approaching Super Speed quality. Many S16 lens sets were intended to be filled out with 35mm lenses for longer focal lengths. Lots of good zooms were made for S16 too. The Canons (8-64, 7-63, 6-66 etc), or Cookes (10.4-52 or 10-30) or Zeiss 11-110 or Angenieux 7-81, 11.5-138 were all good in various ways.
Robin Phillips Posted Saturday at 05:26 PM Posted Saturday at 05:26 PM 12 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said: Ultra 16s, Cooke SK4s and the odd wide angle by Optex and Century were about as good as it got with S16 primes. But the enduring appeal of Zeiss Super Speeds (S16 ones) is not to be dismissed. Optar Illuminates and Elites were also not bad, approaching Super Speed quality. Many S16 lens sets were intended to be filled out with 35mm lenses for longer focal lengths. Lots of good zooms were made for S16 too. The Canons (8-64, 7-63, 6-66 etc), or Cookes (10.4-52 or 10-30) or Zeiss 11-110 or Angenieux 7-81, 11.5-138 were all good in various ways. having owned an optex 8mm and an optar illumina 7mm, the optar was MUCH sharper. those optar and elite lenses are pretty remarkable if you dont want zeiss glass.
Mohammed Tahir Posted Saturday at 08:52 PM Author Posted Saturday at 08:52 PM Just to make sure I got this right: ZEISS/ARRI Ultra 16s Primes were made for S16 and ZEISS/ARRI Ultra Primes were made for S35? Luis - the lens that you tried is a 16mm ZEISS/ARRI Ultra Prime S35 lens which just about fits under the VF? I'm only going by pictures that I've seen but they seem to have the same barrel diameter, so I'm wondering if they all fit.
Robin Phillips Posted Saturday at 11:11 PM Posted Saturday at 11:11 PM Ultra 16s are a super 16 lens set exclusively. Ultra Primes are super 35 formatted lenses, but they're sharp enough to use the 16mm and up for super 16 work. Arri's ads for the U16s initially said to use the UPs for your longer focal lengths Ultra Primes and U16s have the same size housing, and the UPs will clear an SR3 viewfinder with no problem. have done it before.
Premium Member Dom Jaeger Posted yesterday at 01:07 PM Premium Member Posted yesterday at 01:07 PM 19 hours ago, Robin Phillips said: having owned an optex 8mm and an optar illumina 7mm, the optar was MUCH sharper. those optar and elite lenses are pretty remarkable if you dont want zeiss glass. We had an Optex 5.5mm at the last rental house I worked at, which was a pretty good super wide angle I recall.
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