Shane Kelly

I've tried to order them before but Duclos needs to custom fit them to the lens so, if you don't want to send them in, your other best option is the cinevate gear.cinevate You have to also order the correct spoke. here's the lengths for zf's: 28mm, circumference 8", spoke length 5/8" - nylon tipped. 35mm. circumference 8",s poke length 5/8" - nylon tipped. 50mm, circumference 8", spoke length 5/8" - nylon tipped. 85mm, circumference 9", spoke length 5/8". 100mm, circumference 9.5", spoke length 1/2". Also the step up rings that you should get are 77mm. This gives you an outside diameter of 80mm which fits nicely into a mattebox and means that you can buy one set of 77mm filters. Regards, Shane.

The original lens mount is pretty sloppy. Optitek has a new mount that has a PL style locking mechanism. It solves all of these problems and allows control of lenses without an iris ring. A great piece of equipment.

They are reworked versions of the zeiss zf lenses. I have a set of the zf's and they are really sharp. As far as I know they use the same glass as the stills lenses but rehoused them in a more film-friendly way and made them focus in the proper direction (as pl lenses ). The stop is not constant across the line and the wides are especially slow. If you are just using them on the Letus, them I would buy the zf's. If you want to use them on a full frame Red in the future, then the compact primes will serve you well. pro's - reasonable price for Pl mount lenses -should make really sharp and pretty images ( if the zf line is anything to go by) - small compared to other PL primes. - proper "movie" style lens and correct focus rotation. con's - you can get the same image with the zeiss zf line for a lot less money - t-stop is not consistent across the line. Although that's mainly only a problem on the wider lenses. I have the zeiss zf 25,35, 50, 85 and the 100mm and use my nikon 17-35mm 2.8 for the wider angles. I use these both on my letus and my Red camera. I fitted lens gears from zacuto to all the lenses and can use a follow focus. check out this page http://web.me.com/ducloslenses/Duclos/ZeissZF.html best of luck, Shane.

I use them on my red camera and really like them, they are a good lower cost alternative to pl primes. They do have varying stops and the 18 is, in my opinion, too slow and expensive - the nikon 17-35 is a better alternative for this focal length. They are all metal construction and feel really solid. The focus is really well dampened and feels like a pl lens. They have a longer focus throw than most other stills lenses out there which makes it better for focus pulling. I put zacuto zipgears on mine and can use a follow focus with them. If you buy a set from ducloslenses.com they can remove the click-stop in the iris ring and will install follow-focus gears and 80mm fronts. Here's a jpg shot from the 100mm on the red, 4khd. files.me.com/skellycinematography/krktyn

I don't know if they're putting one on there yet but monstercine sells one. all the best, Shane.

Thanks Stephen, seems to be pretty standard then.

Just wondering. On the barrel of an angenieux 20-120 that I have it says 6x20 L2. Does anyone know what the L2 stands for or is it on every 6x20 ever made? serial number of the lens is in the 1295000's. Thanks, Shane.

Hi Matt, thanks for the info. Mine seems to be in good shape, I have a PL mount coming from Viktor at spbsale.com in the next few weeks so I'll be able to tell how it tracks etc. The one thing that interested me with the lens was how free the zoom and focus rings spin - like there is hardly any dampening or grease in there at all. Is this your experience? Have you used the macro function on this lens? Thanks, Shane.

Olex, It's the 35 opf 18-1. the 20 -120. It does have a small screw-in filter holder in the rear ( about 34mm in diameter ). Maybe this was just intended for gel filters? and Bruce, thanks, that's good to know.

Hi all, I recently acquired a Lomo opf18-1 zoom lens. The lens has a rear filter holder. Does anyone with this lens have a set of these filters? I would assume that you would need to keep a clear filter in the holder in order to keep the back focus correct. You used to have to do this with the angenieux 5.9mm lens but maybe it's not an issue with the zoom. Anyone have the answer to this? Thanks, Shane.

Looks a little suspicious: optimo on ebay ....or a good deal

Tim, It's actually the HVX ccd that is off centre, not so much the ground glass. Different HVX's display different amounts. On the Brevis I had to raise the unit as much as possible with the set screws to get it centred, we'll see what the extreme will do.

Thanks Aaron, I'll be able to test it out myself next week when my extreme comes in and will post the results. Shane.

Aaron, I've tried a brevis on my Hvx and had some issues with the ccd in the camera not being centered. Is this an issue with the extreme? Is there any x/y adjustment on the mount or is it needed at all? Thanks, Shane.

Adam, I just got a matrox MXO box at NAB for this purpose and for colorcorrection. It's under $1000 and can even do a center cut from widescreen material. You connect the MXO to the monitor out on your powerbook and it outputs a SDI,component, s-video or composite signal to whatever deck you choose. It may not pay back on this project but should in the future. It is a great product. Best of luck, Shane.

Hi all, I have a couple of lenses that I want to convert to Pl, they are a OKC11-50-1M from 1991 and a OKC14-75-1M from 1991. I want to know if anyone has had their lenses converted and if so, who did the work. Anatoly at slowmotion said that I would not be happy with a conversion but he may have just been trying to sell me some Elites (which I would love to have btw.). I know that these later lenses came in PL mount as well so, can anyone answer why a conversion by a lens tech would be a problem? all the best, Shane.

If you have to invoice a lot or even a few times a month, have a look at Blinksale.com. I've been using the site for about a year now and really like it. It's basically an online billing system allow you to send invoices, keeps track of everyone that you bill, when the invoice is due and sends reminder emails if the payment is overdue. It's about $10 a month. I highly recommend it. Shane.

well the dvd player won't have any inputs. If the tv has component inputs, use the 3 wire component cable that came with the camera and set the camera video display output to 1080i ( this won't effect what is recorded ). You will need to extend the cable as it's only about 4ft long. All the best, Shane.

I'm looking for russian Ekran or CKBK lenses preferably in PL mount and non- anamorphic. Thanks, Shane

Rafael, thanks,that's exactly what I needed to know. I'm only interested in the later lens series anyway so that is good news. Shane.

Then go to Dvxuser.com and their HVX forum. Anyting you need to know re the HVX you can find it there. Shane.

Adam, I mean to change the mount on the lens, not on the camera. for example, if I wanted to use a Konvas lens in oct-19 mount on an arriflex camera I would have to change the rear mount *on the lens*. This is what I want to find out if it's possible. Thanks, Shane

Yea, just pulled mine out of the drawer and realised what a user friendly meter it was. I liked the ND switches but didn't like the fact that the dials could be easily bumped- I used to tape mine. Shane.

This has probably been discussed before but is it possible to convert a lens in OCT-19 mount to PL. I don't mean with an adapter but rather replacing the OCT-19 mount on the lens ( not the camera body) with a new Pl-mount. Has anyone done this? Is there a date of lens manufacture that went to interchangeable mounts? Thanks everyone. Shane.

Thanks, Olex Very informative answer. I guess I should have asked what is your favourite Lens? Shane