The Most Popular Cinema Lenses (Part 6): Zeiss, DZOFilm, Leica, Angénieux
INTRODUCTION
The choice of which cinema lens to select for your shoot is a pretty important one. Each lens varies not only in a practical and ergonomic sense, but also in the kind of look that they produce.
So, in part six of this series, I’ll go over four more popular cinema lenses that are used in the high end film industry, break down the images they produce, their practical design and what kinds of filmmaking they are useful for.
DZOFILM VESPID RETRO
Starting with something a bit unusual, the Vespid Retros are a limited edition set of seven prime lenses. They are modelled on the same optical and mechanical construction of the original Vespid prime set that preceded it.
They come in a pretty standard set of primes, ranging from 16mm to 125mm focal lengths with a stop of T/2.1, except for the 16mm which has a T2.8 aperture.
The Retros cover a 46mm image circle, which means they can cover all of the recent Vista Vision, Full Frame and LF digital cinema sensors without vignetting.
Despite this coverage, they come in a very compact, lightweight form factor, which makes them a good choice for cinema rigs that need balancing, such as gimbals. They come with a standardised 80mm front diameter across the range of primes, which makes it easy to quickly swap out a mattebox when changing lenses. All the lenses, except the 16mm also feature a 77mm filter thread which can be used to attach screw-in filters.
They come with a PL mount, but it’s also possible to swap out the mount to a Canon EF mount. This means that they come with all the modern features that make them quick and easy for camera assistants to work with - just like the original Vespid primes.
So what makes them different from the original Vespids? Well they come with a bit of a party trick. The glass is finished with a golden coating. This coating produces warm, amber flares that haze up the lens when you point it at a direct light source. They resolve fine details, but also offer a subtle softness. All of this combines into what they call a ‘retro’ or ‘vintage’ look.
This warm, dreamy look is good for more experimental applications, like shooting dream or flashback sequences, or for capturing films where you want to play with light and texture.
For example, I recently rented these primes out on a music video shoot, which I lit with lots of backlight in order to get maximum flares for a more dreamy, cosmic musical performance.
And, well, they’re silver, which looks kind of cool.
ANGENIEUX OPTIMO 15-40MM & 28-76MM
Now, let’s move away from primes and take a look at a pair of popular zoom lenses.
The Angenieux Optimo 15-40mm and 28-76mm are a pair of lightweight zooms with a 2.7x zoom ratio. This means that the longest focal length is 2.7 times longer than the widest focal length in the zoom range.
The reason I pair these two zooms together is because they are constructed to an identical weight and size, and are often rented as a pair as interchangeable wide angle zooms that can cover from wide to medium focal lengths, while maintaining a high degree of optical quality and an aperture of T/2.6.
With an image circle of around 31mm, these lenses are designed to cover ever so slightly wider than Super 35 size sensors. But won’t cover the full width of large format sensors, like the Alexa Mini LF.
At 1.92kg these zooms are lightweight enough to be used on a Steadicam, a gimbal or handheld on the shoulder. The zoom and focus happens internally in these lenses which means they have a constant lens volume.
In other words the lens barrel doesn’t extend and twist as it might with some vintage lenses. This means a balanced, stabilised rig like a gimbal will remain balanced even if the lens is ‘zoomed’ during a take.
In terms of the look, they have a good degree of contrast and no vintage softness or aberrations. Basically it’s a good, sharp, clean zoom. The Optimo range retains homogeneity of colour, contrast and resolution across the range. This makes it easy to use multiple zooms in the range on the same shoot, without worrying about optical differences in quality or colour.
On the wide 15mm end the lens also has minimal distortion.
As mentioned, these lenses are perfect for anyone who needs a wide angle zoom on a Steadicam and gimbal, to make quick and easy adjustments to focal length or zoom the lens in a shot.
They are also used by solo operators in documentary situations - for example, I recently used these lenses in a handheld build with an Amira to shoot a doccie-style commercial. Zooms also save time swapping out lenses, and are often carried on long form jobs to accompany a set of primes.
ZEISS STANDARD SPEED
The Zeiss Standard Speeds, sometimes also called the Zeiss T/2.1s, are a set of lightweight primes. They were originally manufactured somewhere between the late 60s and mid 70s by Carl Zeiss for Arri to be paired with their Arriflex cameras.
They originally came in 5 focal lengths, 16mm, 24mm, 32mm, 50mm and 85mm focal lengths. However, later Mk II versions of these lenses in the 1980s included additional focal lengths.
The Mk II versions of this lens are the ones most commonly found at rental houses and feature a similar build and coating as the faster T/1.3 Zeiss Super Speeds. For this reason they are often used by rental houses to ‘build out’ or add extra focal lengths to a Super Speed lens set, especially on the longer end with the 100mm and 135mm focal lengths. But also for DPs that like focal lengths in between the traditional ones, like a 40mm.
A mechanical difference between the Super Speeds and the Standard Speeds is that the actual glass inside the housing of the T/2.1s is pretty tiny - around the size of another vintage prime set from the same era - the Cooke Speed Panchros. While the glass used for the Super Speeds takes up the entire housing.
Regardless, the T/2.1s are still able to cover Super 35 size sensors without vignetting. Because of their small glass elements, these lenses are very light, yet still solidly constructed and easily usable by camera assistants - as long as they have been well maintained and calibrated by the rental house.
What I love about these lenses is the look. It is a very comparable look to the Super Speeds as, from what I can gather, the T/2.1 Mk I and Mk II sets both have the same T* multicoating on the glass as the Super Speeds.
Because of the older optical design of these lenses they have some vintage characteristics. For example, when shot with a wide open aperture they have lower contrast than modern lenses, like the Cooke S4s or Master Primes. This gives the images more of a washed out feel.
These old lenses have a simple, symmetrical lens design which produces beautiful bokeh which is slightly swirling. When I’ve shot with them I’ve found the Standard Speeds, especially the 40mm, to have really beautiful, creamy, slightly off kilter, oval bokeh - which I actually prefer to the Super Speeds. Despite their age, these primes are still quite sharp when you hit the focus sweet spot.
So, if you’re looking for compact cinema prime lenses that don’t have to have a super fast aperture, with a vintage, slightly low contrast look, and very pretty bokeh, then the Standard Speeds are an often overlooked choice which are worth considering.
LEICA SUMMICRON-C
Moving from the past back to the present, let’s take a look at a modern set of spherical primes - the Leica Summicron-Cs.
In the same way that the Zeiss Standard Speeds are a slower aperture version of the Zeiss Super Speeds, the Summicron-Cs are a slower aperture version of the much more expensive Summilux-Cs. However, at T/2 they are still fast enough for most shoots.
They come in a set of 11 focal lengths from a 15mm up to a 135mm.
With a 36mm image circle the Summicrons cover an enlarged Super 35 size sensor, but won’t cover most full frame or large format cameras without vignetting.
One of the big advantages of the Summicrons is their build. For modern cinema lenses with a fast stop they are very compact and lightweight, but still have a long focus throw. This means they have lots of well spaced distance markings that 1st ACs can use to more accurately program focus distances into a handset and pull focus.
The 18mm to 100mm focal lengths lenses are also all the same physical length at exactly 101mm. This small, standardised sizing makes them perfect for rigs that need balancing, like drones, gimbals or Steadicam.
The images that these lenses create are pretty typical of sharp, modern cinema glass. They have authentic colour rendition, good contrast, even wide open, and render fine details with crisp, sharp edges. This look is consistent across the entire set.
Therefore these lenses are well suited to productions shooting on a Super 35 camera, that want a reliable, versatile set of standardised, compact lenses that produce a crisp, consistent, modern look with a fast aperture.
And for those that need all of the above but are wanting to shoot in very low light conditions or are looking for just a tad more depth of field - the T/1.4 Summilux-Cs are also a viable choice.