Possible to retrofit Rokinon primes for Arri standard?

[Peter Welander]

After recently pondering ways to get more recent lenses for older Arri cameras, particularly 35 mm, that have their original bayonet or standard mounts, I was trying to imagine the potential for retrofitting more current lenses with older mounts. Naturally such a thing has obvious commercial limitations, but if it could be done it would open up some options for BL1's and 2C's that haven't been retrofitted.

 

Yesterday I was reading an article in the current issue of Pro Moviemaker and there is a compare and contrast article looking prime lenses in general. One of the points it makes is that Rokinon's Xeen series has lots of mounts available, including PL. It says, "The mounts are described as 'interchangeable by a technician,' although it must be done by well-informed laypeople with an understanding of basic lens calibration. The ability to do this quickly greatly increases the utility and therefore potential profitability of the lens, especially as a rental item."

 

To my thinking, the Arri standard mount (and even the bayonet) is about as simple a mount as there is and it doesn't seem all that far fetched to think a competent machinist could make the part(s) needed so these lenses could be retrofitted for older cameras. (Again commercial considerations are a major element, but let's stick with the theoretical side for a moment.)

 

Has anybody done mount switches on these lenses? How hard is it? Is it a one-size-fits-all so one mount can be used on multiple lenses in the series? Opinions on Rokinon lenses in general? They certainly seem priced right.

 

Thanks.