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David Mirand

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  1. By the way...if you need to contact us, please do at: Illuminas35.com
  2. My name is David Mirand and I represent Lomo Illumina lenses. Mr Howden's monetary issue was caused by one of our dealers. That issue was rectified by Illumina central in order to satisfy the client. It was the right thing to do. The dealer was reprimanded for his actions, and it will not (and hasn't) happened again. Now, I understand Mr Howden was angry and he managed to fill several forums with his complaint. He was right to do so. It is not an that has ever happened since. The way this thread is labeled, and a lot of prosumer misunderstanding of high speed cinema primes is damaging. Now, regarding the quality of the lenses. I believe Mr. Howden had the MKI Illumina lens. Yes, it had some issues. That model was discontinued a long time ago, back in 2012. The model that is being sold now is the MKII. It's a good lens....so much so that Werner Herzog/Peter Zeitlinger used it on their last film with Nicole Kidman, James Franco and Robert Pattinson: "Queen of the Desert." Here are Peter Zeitlinger's own words: ​PETER ZEITLINGER - DOP of "Queen of the Desert" by Werner Herzog: All the film was shot 90% on Illuminas, we also used the Angenieux Optimo zoom lenses and a Canon long lens. As I am just a user, not an expert in optics and optical physics, I judge just the character of the image. I don't like the technically clean undistortive reproduction of the world, such lenses are good only for VFX work to my opinion. We used the Illuminas also for VFX work even the producers wanted to convince us to use different lenses. We worked with Illuminas to get a more natural not a technical look. Those are great sensitive lenses with a big personality when wide open. They are light weight which is important to me for handheld and gimbal work. Also robust and mechanically good which was important in the desert. I think the lenses are the right workhorses for my needs. The bokeh is very nice when wide open, which I tried to achieve by changing the shutter or using ND filters. With highlights they tend to create a very green flare, which is so clean in colour that you can decide which colour you choose in the grading process by keying in the post. We could key the flare and transform the colour if we needed to a different colour in order to macth the colour composition and harmony of the image. Sometimes I turned it a bit towards blue, sometimes towards magenta. The flares where very important in the film "Queeen of The Desert". Not that much as an esthetic effect but more as the poetic depiction of the sun as a character which is so important and merciless in the desert. I used the High Dynamic Range feature of the RED Dragon camera. Thus the particular flare of the Illumina lenses helped us to create those magnificent flares and glares around the sun. Usually I use Plugins for creating the right shapes of the flares. In this case the beauty of the Illumina lenses where the better and natural choice. I don't do technical tests and hardly ever go on a lens projector. So my choice is rather emotional and the overall impression when seeing the picture in the cinema. Illumina's lenses are not as “round” in the focus as for example Cook lenses, but much lighter and smaller. I added sometimes a bit softness in the post with a second film layer which I blurred a bit and added 15 to 20% to the “sharp” image. I think the Illumina's have the right balance between a personality and character on the one hand and the technical merciless of sharpness on the other hand without killing the actors face because of looking deep into the pores of the skin. -Peter Zeitlinger, DOP If that isn't convincing, please read the SALTIII Lens Shootout: https://thecinelens.com/2013/02/07/salt-iii-high-speed-prime-wfo-results/ I can assure you the price is lower than Master Primes, only because they are made in Russia. They still carry a 1 year warranty that is longer than just about any other cinema prime. The quality is superb! Over 140 sets have been sold worldwide. Approximately $7,200 USD/lens for a T1.3 is a crazy deal. We're just not a very well known brand, and we are just starting proper marketing of the lenses. Originally we relied on forums like these to get the word out. Now it's a whole new world in cinema primes, as you all know. If you want Arri and Cooke to rule the high end cine prime market, by all means, let them create a monopoly. I can assure you that they will raise prices until only rental houses can afford them. We really try to make it possible for many people to get their hands on a T1.3 lens. The competition will still come from the bottom. Companies like Sigma and Tokina are great, but it's not a proper cinema lens. Lomo Illumina lenses can now be purchased at Hot Rod Cameras in Los Angeles and Vocas in Amsterdam. Buy Illumina...we promise to support you, and make you happy. Forgive our past mistake toward Mr. Howden David Mirand Marketing Coordinator Lomo Illumina Lenses
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