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Complete Set of "Character Lenses?"


Oliver Daniel
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In terms of lenses - I like Rollei QBM and Dog Schidt. It is possible to cine mod Rollei QBM? 

 

QBM's will be pretty easy to add gearing to.  One problem is that the f1.4 fast lenses (35, 50 and 85) are almost always hft coated which is rollei's own flavour of *t coating.  co developed by rollei and zeiss I believe.   also, the majority of the rollei 35mm and 85mm f1.4's are 3 blade apertures which will deliver a different defocus rendering than the rest of the set.  That said, the 85mm f1.4  '3 blade' is one I really want to add to my collection if I ever have the cash.

 

for now I use:-

25mm distagon f2.8 (non HFT)

35mm distagon 2.8 (non HFT)

50mm planar 1.8 (non HFT)

50mm planar 1.4 (HFT)

85mm Sonnar f2.8 (non HFT)

135mm f2.8 (non HFT)

 

The 50mm f1.8 non hft is imo slightly nicer than the faster sharper f1.4 version due to the lack of modern HFT coatings.  You wont find the f1.4 version without the hft coatings unfortunately.

 

 

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Here's a set I'm slowly collecting / modifying.

Pentax SMC Takumars:

  • 17mm f4
  • 24mm f3.5
  • 35mm f2
  • 50mm f1.4 - 7 element
  • 50mm f1.4 - 8 element
  • 55mm f1.8
  • 85mm f1.8
  • 105mm f2.8
  • 135mm f2.5
  • 200mm f4

I've de-clicked them, had 3d printed focus and aperture gears fitted and lightly grub screwed, shimmed them all for infinity focus with EOS adapters, and have 80mm fronts on all but the 17mm. Yes, they're a bit slow at either end, but with an A7s, plenty of fun to be had.

 

SMC TAKUMAR SET.jpg

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Here's a set I'm slowly collecting / modifying.

Pentax SMC Takumars:

  • 17mm f4
  • 24mm f3.5
  • 35mm f2
  • 50mm f1.4 - 7 element
  • 50mm f1.4 - 8 element
  • 55mm f1.8
  • 85mm f1.8
  • 105mm f2.8
  • 135mm f2.5
  • 200mm f4

I've de-clicked them, had 3d printed focus and aperture gears fitted and lightly grub screwed, shimmed them all for infinity focus with EOS adapters, and have 80mm fronts on all but the 17mm. Yes, they're a bit slow at either end, but with an A7s, plenty of fun to be had.

 

SMC TAKUMAR SET.jpg

​Please tell me more about the 3d printed focus and aperture gears? How do I go about getting them for my own set of lenses?

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QBM's will be pretty easy to add gearing to.  One problem is that the f1.4 fast lenses (35, 50 and 85) are almost always hft coated which is rollei's own flavour of *t coating.  co developed by rollei and zeiss I believe.   also, the majority of the rollei 35mm and 85mm f1.4's are 3 blade apertures which will deliver a different defocus rendering than the rest of the set.  That said, the 85mm f1.4  '3 blade' is one I really want to add to my collection if I ever have the cash.

​You are right, I find it so hard to hard non-HFT Rollei lenses. Especially the 25mm. Looking everyday. 

It's cool to see what everyone is doing with their glass. I do love flawed vintage lenses, there is definitely some kind of tangible emotion coming from those barrels. Nikon released a 43-86mm which is meant to be their worst lens ever. I think it's great! 

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​You are right, I find it so hard to hard non-HFT Rollei lenses. Especially the 25mm. Looking everyday. 

 

​As it happens the majority of the 25mm distagons are non hft I have found!  Of all the lenses in the system, the 25mm is the crown IMO.  

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Distagon-25mm-F2-8-f-Rolleiflex-QBM-/161491656495?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive&hash=item2599a71f2f

When I get dso lens users asking about wide alternatives I tend to point them towards this lens.  It's the best vintage and non multi coated wide angle lens (for sharpness).  

15706935630_58fe998d2c_o.jpg

 

This is full frame on the A7R.  It's the only vintage lens I own that really delivers resolution suitable for the A7R  

 

 

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I meant in my last post "hard to find", not "hard to hard." I obviously need to look harder, my eyes go fuzzy with all the letters and numbers. 

The general vote with my crew is to go Sigma ART in Nikon mount for the clinical, modern set. Corporate work and photography. Just don't know about 85mm though? 

I'm going to pick up these Rollei's, also Rich check your emails for FF58 queries :) 

What is a really good very wide lens option? I love the effect of using a wide to get a close-up and having a massive background out of focus, with some distortion. The SLR Magic 12mm on MFT is "magic" in achieving this look, the image gets bendy and almost fisheye like with its macro-like abilities. 

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​Please tell me more about the 3d printed focus and aperture gears? How do I go about getting them for my own set of lenses?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seamless-Follow-Focus-Gear-for-Iscorama-54-Lens-/261668990574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cecafee6e

This seller can custom make them for you - just get in touch with him and provide the dimensions he needs - they're pretty much a perfect fit, I grub screw them in place so that there is no slippage at all.

 

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JaeM: why did you decide to go with Pentax over anything else?

They're bloody well made - solid enough to hold my Iscoramas
They're also less common as a set than Zeiss and Leicas, which local DPs have in abundance near me.
Plus they're characterful and cheap, and reasonably consistent.
I've got a wide range of Helios, Tair, Zenit bla bla blas that make a 'set', but they're very wacky, and not consistent at all.

Cameras are for christmas, Lenses are for life.

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They're bloody well made - solid enough to hold my IscoramasThey're also less common as a set than Zeiss and Leicas, which local DPs have in abundance near me.
Plus they're characterful and cheap, and reasonably consistent.
I've got a wide range of Helios, Tair, Zenit bla bla blas that make a 'set', but they're very wacky, and not consistent at all.

Cameras are for christmas, Lenses are for life.

​Agreed, lenses are for life!

I've got a set of Rokinon Cine DS lenses, and a good chunk of the way towards having a pre-AI Nikkor set which provides a very different feel to the modern Rokinon lenses. 

Now looking about for a 3rd set to gradually getting started with building slowly a 3rd set, having them being fairly well matched in low across the set is important to me. 


Minolta Rokkors / Lecia R / Rollei QMB are the main three I'm looking at currently, but open to and searching out other options as well. 

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