the best long-range zooms to combine with Ultra Primes

[Faraz Fesharaki]

Hello everyone,

 

I was just wondering if someone has tested or already combined the Angénieux OPTIMO 24-290 OR 28-340 with Ultra Prime Lenses? Do they match good together? What should one consider by use of filters and lighting if one wants to combine these lenses? What are generally the good long-range zoom options to combine with Ultra Primes from both economical and aesthetic point of view?

 

Thanks!

 

[Dom Jaeger]

So many movies and series from the last 20 odd years have used Angenieux Optimo zooms combined with Zeiss Ultra Primes (or Master Primes). It's a very, very common pairing: Lord of the Rings movies, Twilight series, Bond movies, TV shows like Homeland, etc etc. Almost every big budget movie from the 2000s that wasn't exclusively Panavision or anamorphic probably included an Angenieux 24-290 along with either Ultra Primes or Cooke S4s as part of the gear list. In the last 10 years there have been many new lens lines introduced, and a surge of interest in vintage lenses, but the Zeiss Angenieux combination is still very common.