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Anybody have experience with Elite S16 lenses?


Raymond Zrike

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There’s very little info about these lenses online and zero test videos. They’re supposedly very similar to the Optar Illuminas optically, possibly even identical, even though they seem to be developed by two different companies? Certain places act like they’re interchangeable while some act like the Elites are much better or vice versa. The Elites Mk IV and III do seem to have better build quality, but that's not much of a concern to me.

My main question: how sharp are these lenses closed down one stop versus the Zeiss Super Speeds? I'm interested in them as a super-16 prime set that is somewhere between the Super Speeds and the Ultra16 lenses in quality.

Any serviceability concerns? I had an Optar Illumina 16mm serviced by AbelCine without a problem (although it was a bit expensive). I plan on asking Duclos on Monday.

Would be very grateful to anybody who shares any work that they have shot with the Elite S16 lenses!

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The Elites and Illuminas apparently share a common optical ancestry, Lomo I believe but I could be wrong. They are T1.3 lenses. They behave similarly in use with an apparent sweet spot of T2 to T2.8. The test was shot with IR and ND filters so the lenses could be set to T4. In the last T-stop to wide-open, the lenses flare.

For what it may be worth, here is a clip of a test with a mixture of Elites and Illuminas on a SI2K although the clip title does not mention Elites.  The Illumina set consisted of 8mm, 9mm, 12mm, 16mm, 25mm, 50mm. The Elites in the mix were 35mm Series 3 which is physically comparable to the Illuminas and 85mm Series 4 which has a more modern body. 

CP Ultra T* lenses which are T1.3 lenses, 9mm, 12.5mm, 16mm, 25mm perform well and have slightly more apparent sharpness at the wide apertures. The 12mm specimen I have is excellent. Except for the 9mm, they are Super16mm capable. The 9mm can be modified but goes rather soggy at the corners when wide-open. 

Depending upon their age, condition and how recently serviced, the image from the CP Ultras may walk in a circular motion during focus pulls, most noticeably on the longer lenses. These lenses were made for Cinema Products by Kowa in Japan.

Note that the circular flare in some of the images was due to a mattebox donut falling out and causing internal reflection and is not a lens artifact.
 

 

Edited by Robert Hart
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I can't find the article anymore but I thought at least since the MK IV, the Optica Elites are optically different to the Optar Illuminas. I also find them mechanically more refined than the Illuminas. I have a set of three Elites (12, 20, 35), and when shooting wide open they are softer, and in high contrast scenes they show purple fringing (chromatic aberration).

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14 hours ago, Robert Hart said:

CP Ultra T* lenses which are T1.3 lenses, 9mm, 12.5mm, 16mm, 25mm perform well and have slightly more apparent sharpness at the wide apertures.

Those Cinema Products lenses seem to be even rarer. Can't find anything about them online. Maybe I'm not using the right search terms? Also, I'd assume they only used the CP mount which wouldn't really be useful to me. Would love to see them in action though!

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I had a look for myself. The CPs seem to have disappeared. There were quite a few on eBay a few years ago. They were available in CP-Mount and ARRI Standard/B-Mount when I collected mine. I obtained PL-Mounts from Ken Hale at Whitehouse AV. The available  lenses may have been scooped up after CP-Mount to M/3-Mount adaptors became available. They were handier in some ways than the Optars because they have 52mm filter mounts in the fronts like stills Nikons and can accept close-up dioptres or in my instance a cinemascope adaptor which was not an outstanding success. 

 

Edited by Robert Hart
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