Good Glass

[Scott Bryant]

This is kinda open-ended but oh well. I've always assumed that Ziess glass was the absolute pinnacle of optics for 16mm film, but then again i'm not super knowledgable yet haha. It seemed like Ziess glass was something i should work at acquiring at some point. What kind of lenses do you guys/gals like?

[Tim Carroll]

The Zeiss glass is certainly nothing to sneeze at, they make great lenses. Though I have only had the opportunity to use the Mk1 series primes and zoom.

 

I am very partial to a set of Cooke Kinetal lenses I picked up a few years ago. They are old, but the image they put to film is really beautiful. I like them so much I am building custom mounts so I can use them on my "Aaton Mount" Super 16 LTR (the 12.5mm, 17.5mm, 25mm and 50mm all cover Super 16. The 9mm will not.)

 

Not too crazy about the old Schneider glass. Some of the older Zeiss Distagon lenses that pre-date the Mk1 Super Speeds can be nice if they were well cared for.

 

Haven't had the opportunity to use any of the latest Zeiss and Cooke lenses, but I'm sure they are spectacular.

 

-Tim

[Guest Ian Marks]

Hey, Tim - it's great to read something positive about the look produced by older (and more affordable) glass. I'm a little fuzzy on the mounts you're building - how do they differ from the usual Aaton to Arri adapters that are out there?

[Tim Carroll]

Hey, Tim - it's great to read something positive about the look produced by older (and more affordable) glass. I'm a little fuzzy on the mounts you're building - how do they differ from the usual Aaton to Arri adapters that are out there?

 

The Cooke Kinetal lenses are of the older/original ARRI Standard mount design in that when you focus the lens, the whole barrel of the mount turns. All the ARRI to Aaton adapters (commonly available) work by grasping the barrel of the mount with set screws to hold the lens into the adapter. This prevents the barrel of the mount from turning, ergo, you cannot focus the lens.

 

-Tim

[Robert Houllahan]

I am very partial to a set of Cooke Kinetal lenses I picked up a few years ago. They are old, but the image they put to film is really beautiful. I like them so much I am building custom mounts so I can use them on my "Aaton Mount" Super 16 LTR (the 12.5mm, 17.5mm, 25mm and 50mm all cover Super 16. The 9mm will not.)

 

 

I had a complete set for a arri m that I sold to get my ltr54 I thought the cookes were great glass. I would be interested in seeing what your mount looks like if you were to make a few more.....

 

 

-Rob-

[Matt Pacini]

I have a set of CP Ultra Primes that are just ridiculously sharp and fast.

Much cheaper than Zeiss glass. Hard to find though. It took me about a year to assemble my set.

I love them though!