ARRI VARIABLE PRIME LENSES VP2 & VP3

[Rich Steel]

Hi folks,

 

Can anyone shed light on the performance of the VP Lenses. I've just won a VP2 and a VP3 on ebay and what I paid for them seems overly reasonable. The winning bids were $10K (US) for each. They are brand new and never been used and were sold by a reputable Arri agent. I thought those things retailed at around $30K (US), am I wrong on this one or have I just done the deal of the century???

 

Many Thanks

 

Rich Steel

 

Steadicam Owner/Operator

[Max Jacoby]

I can't comment on the price of the VPs, but their optical performance is top notch. I once tested them against Cooke S4s and Zeiss UltraPrimes and the VPs were sharper than both these prime lenses. Their stop of T2.2 means you can use them just where'd use primes, although they are a bit heavy.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

They are zooms, though. Whatever Zeiss wants to call them.

[Eric Steelberg ASC]

I don't agree with them being as sharp as the S4s or the Ultra Primes...at least MTF. But to the eye yes I would agree, though contrast is closer to Ultra Primes. I used some on some interviews for a documentary. I like the performance but man are they huge and heavy. Like Primo Anamorphics. My problem with them was the amount of breathing they showed to the point where I began to veto certain rack focus moves because I was unhappy with the focal length changing so much. But if you're not doing big racks, they're fine.

 

You're not going to want them anywhere near your steadicam though.