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Hello, you often can find old Kinoptik lenses, for example the Apochromat 25mm, in Cameflex, C-mount or other mounts for very, very high prices. What do you think about this lenses ? How is their quality and their 'look' compared to other lenses like Zeiss etc ? Why are this lenses so expensive ? Micha

Hello, I have the opportunity to get a (super16 converted) Canon 11-165mm (PL) for a very reasonable price. I previously used the 10-100 Angénieux on my Super16 SR2 but was somewhat disappointed with the image quality (in terms of contrast and sharpness). The man at the lab put it simply (but perfectly): "It was ok in the 80s, but it simply doesn't meet today's expectations of focus, contrast and all-over look." I was wondering if anybody had experiences with this lens, or even footage (16mm) that could be shared. I am not sure if testing the lens is of great use to me, since my only reference is the Angénieux and I guess it won't be hard to "beat" it. Will one be able to tell the difference between images from this lens and those aqcuired with primes on Super16mm? Will this lens meet our 'modern' expectations? Thank you and a good day to all.

I'm really interested in the ways cinematographers are using differential focus today. For several years now, I've been seeing more and more sequences on film and TV where very shallow DOF is used and, almost inevitably, the actor's movements will take him/her in and out of the plane of sharpest focus during the scene. Increasing use of steadicam and handheld seems to add to this. In the past, in general, I think shots like that would call for a retake or an edit to cover what was once considered a mistake -- but now it seems that DPs (or directors?) are making an aesthetic out of this. I'm just wondering if someone here might be able to point me to any technical, industry, or even academic discussions of this issue -- how DPs go about it, when is a shot a keeper and when not, etc.? Apologies if this seems like a naive question, but I just haven't been able to find anything searching on my own. Thanks for any input.