Jump to content

Re-house-ing lenses


Recommended Posts

  • Premium Member

Generally no, since C mount lenses seat 17.52mm from the film plane which would place them too deep inside the mount of either of those options (Aaton mount has a 40mm flange depth and Arri is 52mm). It also depends if you want to use the lens on a reflex camera, where clearing the mirror/shutter becomes an issue. However some longer focal lengths or lenses that were designed for multiple mount options might be convertible (Angenieux's retro-focus 5.8mm for example came in C mount or Arri B as well as other mounts, as did certain Kinoptiks and Cookes).

 

You could contact True Lens Service in the UK or P&S Technik in Germany or GL Optics in China or possibly Duclos in the states.

 

Many C mount lenses aren't worth the effort IMHO. What lenses did you have in mind?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ideas about re mounting a C mount on a 15-150 have come up before...

http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=50129

 

Jean-Louis is a current member and may have some insights. So may Dom now that he knows what lens you are thinking of.

 

If you were searching online, the term "re-house" would take you down a different rabbit hole.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Those old Angenieux zooms often came in a variety of mounts, including C mount, Arri Standard, Arri Bayonet, Eclair CA and others. The 15-150 seems to mostly come in C mount but I'm sure I've seen a B mount version. Definitely capable of being remounted, but it could be expensive, since it would probably be a custom job these days.

 

Someone was selling a PL mounted version here last year:

http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=74624

 

As Greg said, lens re-housing is a different question, usually involving a full exchange of the lens mechanics. You just need the mount changed, which is much simpler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

TLS as mentioned are the gold standard. They make wonderful conversions. But it takes years to get it done with them and it costs a fortune, so not for those who are in a hurry or light of wallet. Also, for one-off lenses that have not been done before, the engineering costs here in the West are just not competitive. You'll pay way much more for a conversion that for buying a brand new lens, in many cases. But, if you want to go down that route, then your best option is Nan at GL Optics in China. They'll convert anything and do one-offs. I just had my set of vintage 60's Lomo sphericals (don't think a set has been converted before) done by GL Optics and they did a great job on them. Had to send the 28mm back to get it re-engineered as it vignetted a bit, but other than that very happy with the workmanship. Just to give you an idea, it's about $2.5-$3K/lens to convert an old set in China. You can triple that cost at least if you want to do it here in the West.

 

There's a new player that converts here in Los Angeles called Zero Optik. Their conversions look great, but not sure of the cost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member

Haven't really shot with them yet, just tested them. But I love the lenses - they have a look that reminds me of the old 60's Schneider Xenons, which I love.

 

Yes, they would be able to fix that and rehouse it. Iris's are pretty easy to free up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • Site Sponsor

Hi Larry,

I just happened across your post looking for something else.....

Why don't you contact Paul Hillman here at Visual Products. He's done many, MANY of those through the years and we had parts made specifically for those lenses so should have something in the drawer to sort you out.

Our number here is (440) 647-4999

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...