New Zeiss 'vintage' Supremes

[Stuart Brereton]

Just got back from an industry open house in Hollywood. Had a great chat with Snehal Patel of Zeiss. He was showing off the new Zeiss Supreme FF lenses, and well as some lightweight zooms. I mentioned to him how much I love shooting with old Standard & Super speeds, and he told me that Zeiss is planning a new range of FF lenses in 2019 which will have the same mechanics as the Supremes, but have very similar glass and coatings to Superspeeds. He didn't say if it will be the exact optical formula and T* coatings, but described them as looking very close. There will also be an expanded range of focal lengths beyond the usual 18 - 85mm. If this happens, I can't wait to test them, as this would be pretty much my perfect lens set.

[Dom Jaeger]

Like Cooke re-making Speed Panchros, it makes sense for Zeiss to bring out some "new" Super Speeds. These classic lens formulas are always sought after, but let down by the vintage mechanics and lack of spare glass elements and parts. Making them FF will also open up the Super Speed look to a whole new range of cameras. I just hope they don't clean up all the old wide open aberrations too much!

[Miguel Angel]

Sounds like a set of lenses that I would love to use!

 

Thanks for sharing the news!

 

Have a lovely day!

[Stuart Brereton]

I just hope they don't clean up all the old wide open aberrations too much!

I hope so too. Superspeeds look their best between wide open and t2.8. If you get rid of that, what's the point?

[Max Field]

Wonder what they'll cost.

[Stuart Brereton]

Wonder what they'll cost.

I would imagine the price will be on a par with the current range of Supremes, which will make them an expensive alternative to the original superspeeds, but if you're shooting FF and want that look, they'll be a great alternative to shooting with rehoused Zeiss Contax or Hasselblad lenses.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

Just used the Supremes on an Alexa LF job. They're nice, but very clean and "German precision". I'd use them again for jobs where you'd maybe use Master Primes or Ultra Primes.

[Stuart Brereton]

So, as an update to my original post, it seems that the 'Vintage' Supremes won't be an exact copy of the Super Speeds, but instead will offer a 'unique vintage look'. What that means, apparently not even the sales department know yet, or if they do, they're not telling :)

 

Still very interested to see them.

[Miguel Angel]

Used the Supremes and the LF on a job (together with the Master Anamorphic lenses) the other day and I loved the way the Supremes looked.

 

It seems to me that they are softer than the Master Primes, which really surprised me because I was expecting a bit more of hardness (it that makes sense), really liked them!! :)

 

Have a lovely day!