Thanks for this review! I’ve gotten a 50mm 1.2, 24 mm, and an 85mm AIS. Do you use a matt box? When focusing out (focus ring pulls lens in) I notice the focus ring tension goes up considerably. The rings seem to be oiled, but still have much more resistance than new Nikon lens with a focus by wire system. Is this normal? Should I have the lens looked at? Any advice is appreciated!
@guidedvisionsmedia6 ай бұрын
Get a swing matte box not a clamp on
@TwangThang57 Жыл бұрын
How do you deal with the moving focus housing while using a follow focus? I often get slipping/ratcheting on my AI and AIS lenses if doing fast or long pulls. No problems with other lenses with fixed housing.
@dukebozikowski38012 жыл бұрын
I got a different question. How do you find film work in philly. I have always had to go to NYC.
@johnnybaudelaire49542 жыл бұрын
great work
@RetroRocketStudios2 жыл бұрын
How is the focus breathing on the 85mm?? We want to get a set and cinevise the too!
@tammyhoward28113 жыл бұрын
Very nice program nephew.
@AIBEKNEO3 жыл бұрын
I want myself a set of lenses from nikon ai ais like cinema lenses. Should I apply for ai or ais? Is there a big difference in the quality of the optics? Tell me please
@marklindsey1995 Жыл бұрын
The optics are usually identical. The S in AiS will allow your camera to meter more accurately under certain conditions (need to enter non-cpu lens); but especially if you CPU modded your lenses.
@AIBEKNEO Жыл бұрын
@@marklindsey1995 stroke rotation focus more than a ai
@stagelinedpro3 жыл бұрын
0:17 starts rapping
@gwem19793 жыл бұрын
Been looking at this for some vintage zeiss. I’m in the uk and luckily there is a company in london that can declick and dampen the aperture, add focus rings, convert to an ef mount and provide front diameter external 80mm and internal 77mm as well as caps and rear caps for about £300
@glebmazur98923 жыл бұрын
So you went for vintage zeiss or nikkors?
@gwem19793 жыл бұрын
@@glebmazur9892 got a nice zeiss distagon 25mm f2.8 off ebay already modded to an ef mount, declicked aperture and focus gear for about £400. First one but pretty happy with it
@glebmazur98923 жыл бұрын
@@gwem1979 I recently got small set of CZ rolleis, they are pretty good! Distagon 25 2.8 West Germany non hft; Distagon 35 2.8 West Germany; Planar rollei 50 1.8 Singapore; Voigtlander color-ultron 50 1.8 Singapore; Sonnar 85 2.8 West Germany non hft. 25 2.8 + viltrox on GH5s: fex.net/ru/s/r3betc9 All converted to EF (sadly, wider ones cant focus infinity with any adapter because of focal flange), 85 is absolutely gem, but its pricey! Cant recommend them in low light situations( Otherwise they`re great built and perfect optical performance.
@gwem19793 жыл бұрын
@@glebmazur9892 i find the image out of the zeiss just that much better than the regular canon lenses. I can’t quite put my finger on why exactly but its enough to have convinced me to get more vintage lenses and convert them
@glebmazur98923 жыл бұрын
@@gwem1979 can’t say i like canon lenses (the only thing i like is speed in modern ones), but I really should try to get out this zeiss lenses more and understand what exactly i need. I am on m4/3 and right now my clients want to see clean look, but for personal and artistic projects i can use zeiss and this 4 focals cover my needs;)
@joeyzhao4653 жыл бұрын
how is the breathing of these lenses?
@Imhotep3974 жыл бұрын
Obviously it’s been a while, but did you shoot test footage you can upload? Also, what six lenses (focal length/aperture) and how well do they cut together? Photo companies change lens coatings all the time that introduce color variance that can make color matching a pain in the ass for video.
@heroaomedia4 жыл бұрын
Woah - this was awesome! Great job! Wish you guys had more content
@jerrysommer53794 жыл бұрын
Wow, this was an awesome commercial. Great shots and the editing 👌
@Poorboyjono4 жыл бұрын
What camera system do you run the lenses on. I have trouble fitting a follow and mattebox on those lenses as they are so small and short. They are so close to the lens mount its hard to fit all that stuff on the front
@issacroberto85353 жыл бұрын
You probably dont care but if you guys are stoned like me atm you can stream pretty much all of the new movies and series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last couple of weeks :)
@maxkase81663 жыл бұрын
@Issac Roberto definitely, I have been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :)
@aram.v4 жыл бұрын
$1500 is worth it
@DavidBerglund4 ай бұрын
Yeah. I thought it would be much more expensive. I just need to find someone that does this in Europe. Preferably in Sweden or not too far, like northern Germany. Any ideas?
@headcanon48474 жыл бұрын
I would NOT suggest putting grease into your lens to dampen aperture. Please use something like self-adhesive felt instead. I can only imagine hybrid shooting on a warm day and splattering grease all over your sensor....
@roughcuts30514 жыл бұрын
Hey, apologies for the late reply. Just to throw it here so others can see - the kind of grease used inside of lenses is used because it doesn't become viscous in warm climates or harden in cold temperatures, although many lens apertures do still stiffen up a bit in extreme cold. I'm not a grease expert(and don't think that's something I wanted to pursue), but did a lot of research on this before purchasing this particular grease. It's what lens manufacturers use from their factory, so if you have any kind of cine lens chances are there's a grease similar to this inside. Also, I did try the route you suggested before redoing them with the grease, and the results are MUCH better using the proper grease. The felt sticks and doesn't offer nearly as smooth o a solution. Cheers!
@homelessboy924 жыл бұрын
Nice Work.
@ludolek4 жыл бұрын
Hi, don't forget : precisious.fr based in France.
@ineoeon89254 жыл бұрын
Beautiful. I got goose bumps by watching this.
@GreatWaterCircus4 жыл бұрын
Very cool idea.... I'm a photographer and came to the realisation that my old Nikon lens are as good as they ever were... so why chase new ever changing technology for very small gains. And I would have to say, the old lenses have character that the new lenses lack.
@rickmagnellphotographyfilm91925 жыл бұрын
As all of my lenses are Nikon this is brilliant! I'll be looking in to this for sure!
@yeet19915 жыл бұрын
Did the same with m42 lenses. Most of them are russian so I didn't have to declick all of them.
@weibelfilm70095 жыл бұрын
Hey, I just bought the same Nikon ais lenses and I'm halfway through de-clicking them. I have a problem with my 35mm 1.4 (same as yours). Compared to the others the 35mm 1.4 is built differently, I couldn't get the ring to stick with the aperture. I have searched for the de-click for the specific lens and you are the only one that hopefully has the right knowledge for me. I really need your help on this one, Thanks.
@SteveT__0014 жыл бұрын
Hey did you ever get the answer to this? I am considering a 35/1.45 myself for conversion.
@yoshiii97045 жыл бұрын
Great Video, thanks for the info! 1. Can you actually pull focus accurately with f1.4 aperture? (assuming you have someone to pull focus with moving subject and or camera) or do you find yourself using f2 in making films? p.s. I am considering an 85mm f2 / f1.4 for film-making 2. Do you find the focus throw too short on these ais lenses to pull focus? (i.e. can they somewhat be used as "cine" lenses?) Thanks a lot!
@patrickhamilton24195 жыл бұрын
Hi. Great video. Thank you. I’m going through the same process of modding a set of ai-s lenses. Can you please explain the aperture ring dampening in a little more detail. Did you wrap either plumbing tape, felt or something similar around aluminium contact surface before you applied the grease? Or is the grease alone enough to fill the void and remove the slight rattle that occurs once the metal clicking tab is removed. I’ve used just felt and not happy with the result. Any help much appreciated.
@roughcuts30515 жыл бұрын
Hey Patrick! I didn't do anything to the aperture rings other than adding the grease. It works perfectly. I had actually read about people using plumbers tape, felt, electrical tape, etc. Prior to purchasing the grease mentioned in the video, I tried all three methods and while it did dampen the aperture ring and stop it from spinning, it was clunky, sticky, and the smoothness varied widely from lens to lens. Some felt OK, other stuck at certain points when spinning. I would strongly recommend going the grease route. It was an "ah-ha" moment the very first lens I put it in. Although the tiny tubes of grease on Leitax's are expensive for what they are, I'd recommend buying 2 to be sure you can liberally coat the inside of the aperture and make it hold enough but still be nice and smooth. I'd also advise against using other types of grease as they can drip, especially if shooting in hot weather, which you don't want for obvious reasons. Hope that helps.
@patrickhamilton24195 жыл бұрын
Great. Really appreciate you sharing the results of all your testing - it’s saved me and many others a lot of time (and money getting the mods done professionally). I have 8 rings to dampen so I’ll take your lead, pick up a couple of tubs of mentioned grease and let you know how it works out. Thanks again.
@patrickhamilton24195 жыл бұрын
Hi, the leitax grease has arrived and I’m ready to start. How much did you apply to each aperture ring? Is your recommendation of 2 tubes for each individual lens or will this amount sufficiently spread across everything? In your case 6? Thanks for your help thus far.
@bravenyeo5 жыл бұрын
Hey man! How did u apply the grease?
@Blisterfilms5 жыл бұрын
Would also like to know!
@TheAndemas6 жыл бұрын
What's the set of lenses?
@The145416 жыл бұрын
Please upload your shoot using those nikkor glasses. Would love to see them in action
@davetinoco3 жыл бұрын
This is a video I did with the Nikkor 28mm f2.8. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZZuqk7mBibfVd6w.html
@uriasimango48946 жыл бұрын
Did you use the Cine-modding vintage Nikon AI-S ?
@andinbriwel10926 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this info! With the mirrorless cameras especially, more and more people are realizing what great results can be achieved by adapting well cared for manual lenses from the 70's and 80's. Some newer lenses might score better with shots of technical charts, but to get a better result in real-life situations you'd really need to spend allot more, like 10x more, at least for now.The ebay values for the lenses I've had for years is suddenly skyrocketing! $2,500 or less invested now for a full set of primes, or $1,500-$15,000 PER LENS to get a barely-noticeable, "better," result. My clients don't care what lens I carry, they care how their finished video looks... and these SLR primes look fantastic. Yeah, I'll stick with my adapted SLR primes for most work and build my "real" cine lens kit over years, one lens at a time :)
@troyphillips10775 жыл бұрын
Andin Briwel looking to do the same thing. And the vintage micro contrast look you get from the old Nikkor lenses is epic . I have the 28mm ais and the 105 f/2.5 non ai with such a nice long throw. Want the 85mm f/1.4 ais for that insane bokeh next .
@humblepie99066 жыл бұрын
I just sent my Nikon 28mm and 50 Ais lens to Duclos for Cine-Modding. I currently use them with my Nikon D700 for photography and they are some beautiful lens.
@roughcuts30516 жыл бұрын
Absolutely! Great look for the money. I think they'll be going up in price in the coming years as lenses that cover full frame start becoming more valuable as sensors get larger.
@humblepie99066 жыл бұрын
I strongly agree! I already have a few AiS lens( 28mm,35mm,50mm,105mm),im thinking of getting the 20mm or 85mm? I also have some Leica-R (28mm,50mm early 1980's). FullFrames are getting more affordable. The new fullframe Sony A7 iii is only 2,000 us dollars. Now is the time to look and invest in certain older lens. I'm getting each modded and C.L.A by lens repair company here locally. I've done my research as to why certain lens " pop" and others don't. Not all vintage lens are the same.
@MaxamillianStudio6 жыл бұрын
Did you use your Cine-modding vintage Nikon AI-S lenses for this shoot?
@ineoeon89254 жыл бұрын
He used brains and class.
@stuartwhite14446 жыл бұрын
Nice job buddy! I have a cine-modded 7 set of Nikon AI's here in London and I ADORE them! 20 / 24 / 35 / 50 / 85 / 135 & 180mm - here's a film I shot on the F55 with them - kzread.info/dash/bejne/fYxk17CJds2uiso.html
@roughcuts30516 жыл бұрын
Great piece Stuart! I definitely see the look of these lenses in there. I think I'll add the 135mm to my set too, I've heard good things.
@stuartwhite14446 жыл бұрын
The 135mm f2 is incredible. The 180mm f2.8 is the one Kubrick adapted to PL mount and used it on his 35mm cameras!
@roughcuts30516 жыл бұрын
Ah man...ya got me now. Looks like I'm getting the 180 too. :)
@andinbriwel10926 жыл бұрын
stuart white your film looks great! I'm afraid people today spend allot more energy stressing over technical specs than storytelling. No moviegoer goes to the cinema and afterwards say's, "Gee, I would have enjoyed that story allot more had it been filmed with Zeiss primes instead of Nikons." If it's technically botched it can sure be distracting and take anyone out of the story, but if a lens can get the subject it focus you can tell your story just fine, maybe even better if the lens's character enhances the look some.
@Shiomega6 жыл бұрын
Was the grease used to dampen the aperture a silicon based one found from Leitax site?
@roughcuts30516 жыл бұрын
Hey Theofanis! Sorry, just seeing this. Yes, it is. The way the Leitax site is laid out it doesn't let me link directly to the product.
@sknemani7 жыл бұрын
Tell me something! You said you spent about $2500 for all the lens and parts needed to cinemod them yourself. Isn't it easier to just buy the Rokinon Cine DS lens set for about the same price? Did you research that option? Is there a reason you did not do that?
@RScott3067 жыл бұрын
Good question! I own a few of the Rokinon Cine DS lenses(this video was actually recorded with the 35mm). They're fine for a a lot of applications, but they don't have a ton of character. For instance, I really dislike the way they flare - usually just a white streak coming out of the corner of the frame. The look a bit clinical to me. All lenses are not created equal. These older Nikkor lenses have great glass, a very pleasing look to their flare, with beautiful warmth and character to their look. And it's not always desirable to have that character for every project, but to my eye the qualities of these are more pleasing. Getting a similar look in something like Cooke lenses would cost tens of thousands of dollar, and right now I'd rather rent that level of cinema lens when the project calls for it over investing that much up front. I'll be doing some tests of these so it would probably be useful to put a video together with those tests.
@sknemani7 жыл бұрын
I do agree with that. Rokinon's are indeed a bit characterless when compared to some of that vintage glass or the high end cine lens. Now taking a detour; because you seem to be good at opening up lens and checking them out, I am hoping you might be able to throw some light on an issue I am facing with one of my Rokinon cine ds lens. I have a Rokinon Cine DS 24mm nikon mount lens. When the lens is NOT mounted on my Nikon d750, the aperture ring functions well and works like it should. Once the lens is mounted on the d750, no matter what setting I try for the aperture ring, it slows turns back to the widest opening automatically i.e. T1.5. I turn the aperture ring to T4, it slowly turns back to T1.5. I turn it to T12, slowly turns back to T1.5. This only happens when the lens is mounted on the camera. When NOT mounted, it stays put. I do not see this happening with any of my other Rokinon Cine DS lens, that leads me to think this is an issue with only this particular lens. Almost like some spring tension is pulling/pushing it back. I don't understand why this is happening or what to do to fix it. Would you be able to give some suggestion or explain why this could be happening? I do not want to spend hundreds again to fix it, instead want to try and fix it myself. But don't know how to.
@ashleyandra42116 жыл бұрын
So I have the Nikon D750. Do you think getting a Rokinon 85 mm Cine lens is worth it for filming ?
@The145416 жыл бұрын
Try nikkor glass, i love my 35mm and micro 55mm. And i regret so much for selling my 80-200 :(
Пікірлер
👌
Thanks for this review! I’ve gotten a 50mm 1.2, 24 mm, and an 85mm AIS. Do you use a matt box? When focusing out (focus ring pulls lens in) I notice the focus ring tension goes up considerably. The rings seem to be oiled, but still have much more resistance than new Nikon lens with a focus by wire system. Is this normal? Should I have the lens looked at? Any advice is appreciated!
Get a swing matte box not a clamp on
How do you deal with the moving focus housing while using a follow focus? I often get slipping/ratcheting on my AI and AIS lenses if doing fast or long pulls. No problems with other lenses with fixed housing.
I got a different question. How do you find film work in philly. I have always had to go to NYC.
great work
How is the focus breathing on the 85mm?? We want to get a set and cinevise the too!
Very nice program nephew.
I want myself a set of lenses from nikon ai ais like cinema lenses. Should I apply for ai or ais? Is there a big difference in the quality of the optics? Tell me please
The optics are usually identical. The S in AiS will allow your camera to meter more accurately under certain conditions (need to enter non-cpu lens); but especially if you CPU modded your lenses.
@@marklindsey1995 stroke rotation focus more than a ai
0:17 starts rapping
Been looking at this for some vintage zeiss. I’m in the uk and luckily there is a company in london that can declick and dampen the aperture, add focus rings, convert to an ef mount and provide front diameter external 80mm and internal 77mm as well as caps and rear caps for about £300
So you went for vintage zeiss or nikkors?
@@glebmazur9892 got a nice zeiss distagon 25mm f2.8 off ebay already modded to an ef mount, declicked aperture and focus gear for about £400. First one but pretty happy with it
@@gwem1979 I recently got small set of CZ rolleis, they are pretty good! Distagon 25 2.8 West Germany non hft; Distagon 35 2.8 West Germany; Planar rollei 50 1.8 Singapore; Voigtlander color-ultron 50 1.8 Singapore; Sonnar 85 2.8 West Germany non hft. 25 2.8 + viltrox on GH5s: fex.net/ru/s/r3betc9 All converted to EF (sadly, wider ones cant focus infinity with any adapter because of focal flange), 85 is absolutely gem, but its pricey! Cant recommend them in low light situations( Otherwise they`re great built and perfect optical performance.
@@glebmazur9892 i find the image out of the zeiss just that much better than the regular canon lenses. I can’t quite put my finger on why exactly but its enough to have convinced me to get more vintage lenses and convert them
@@gwem1979 can’t say i like canon lenses (the only thing i like is speed in modern ones), but I really should try to get out this zeiss lenses more and understand what exactly i need. I am on m4/3 and right now my clients want to see clean look, but for personal and artistic projects i can use zeiss and this 4 focals cover my needs;)
how is the breathing of these lenses?
Obviously it’s been a while, but did you shoot test footage you can upload? Also, what six lenses (focal length/aperture) and how well do they cut together? Photo companies change lens coatings all the time that introduce color variance that can make color matching a pain in the ass for video.
Woah - this was awesome! Great job! Wish you guys had more content
Wow, this was an awesome commercial. Great shots and the editing 👌
What camera system do you run the lenses on. I have trouble fitting a follow and mattebox on those lenses as they are so small and short. They are so close to the lens mount its hard to fit all that stuff on the front
You probably dont care but if you guys are stoned like me atm you can stream pretty much all of the new movies and series on instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last couple of weeks :)
@Issac Roberto definitely, I have been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :)
$1500 is worth it
Yeah. I thought it would be much more expensive. I just need to find someone that does this in Europe. Preferably in Sweden or not too far, like northern Germany. Any ideas?
I would NOT suggest putting grease into your lens to dampen aperture. Please use something like self-adhesive felt instead. I can only imagine hybrid shooting on a warm day and splattering grease all over your sensor....
Hey, apologies for the late reply. Just to throw it here so others can see - the kind of grease used inside of lenses is used because it doesn't become viscous in warm climates or harden in cold temperatures, although many lens apertures do still stiffen up a bit in extreme cold. I'm not a grease expert(and don't think that's something I wanted to pursue), but did a lot of research on this before purchasing this particular grease. It's what lens manufacturers use from their factory, so if you have any kind of cine lens chances are there's a grease similar to this inside. Also, I did try the route you suggested before redoing them with the grease, and the results are MUCH better using the proper grease. The felt sticks and doesn't offer nearly as smooth o a solution. Cheers!
Nice Work.
Hi, don't forget : precisious.fr based in France.
Beautiful. I got goose bumps by watching this.
Very cool idea.... I'm a photographer and came to the realisation that my old Nikon lens are as good as they ever were... so why chase new ever changing technology for very small gains. And I would have to say, the old lenses have character that the new lenses lack.
As all of my lenses are Nikon this is brilliant! I'll be looking in to this for sure!
Did the same with m42 lenses. Most of them are russian so I didn't have to declick all of them.
Hey, I just bought the same Nikon ais lenses and I'm halfway through de-clicking them. I have a problem with my 35mm 1.4 (same as yours). Compared to the others the 35mm 1.4 is built differently, I couldn't get the ring to stick with the aperture. I have searched for the de-click for the specific lens and you are the only one that hopefully has the right knowledge for me. I really need your help on this one, Thanks.
Hey did you ever get the answer to this? I am considering a 35/1.45 myself for conversion.
Great Video, thanks for the info! 1. Can you actually pull focus accurately with f1.4 aperture? (assuming you have someone to pull focus with moving subject and or camera) or do you find yourself using f2 in making films? p.s. I am considering an 85mm f2 / f1.4 for film-making 2. Do you find the focus throw too short on these ais lenses to pull focus? (i.e. can they somewhat be used as "cine" lenses?) Thanks a lot!
Hi. Great video. Thank you. I’m going through the same process of modding a set of ai-s lenses. Can you please explain the aperture ring dampening in a little more detail. Did you wrap either plumbing tape, felt or something similar around aluminium contact surface before you applied the grease? Or is the grease alone enough to fill the void and remove the slight rattle that occurs once the metal clicking tab is removed. I’ve used just felt and not happy with the result. Any help much appreciated.
Hey Patrick! I didn't do anything to the aperture rings other than adding the grease. It works perfectly. I had actually read about people using plumbers tape, felt, electrical tape, etc. Prior to purchasing the grease mentioned in the video, I tried all three methods and while it did dampen the aperture ring and stop it from spinning, it was clunky, sticky, and the smoothness varied widely from lens to lens. Some felt OK, other stuck at certain points when spinning. I would strongly recommend going the grease route. It was an "ah-ha" moment the very first lens I put it in. Although the tiny tubes of grease on Leitax's are expensive for what they are, I'd recommend buying 2 to be sure you can liberally coat the inside of the aperture and make it hold enough but still be nice and smooth. I'd also advise against using other types of grease as they can drip, especially if shooting in hot weather, which you don't want for obvious reasons. Hope that helps.
Great. Really appreciate you sharing the results of all your testing - it’s saved me and many others a lot of time (and money getting the mods done professionally). I have 8 rings to dampen so I’ll take your lead, pick up a couple of tubs of mentioned grease and let you know how it works out. Thanks again.
Hi, the leitax grease has arrived and I’m ready to start. How much did you apply to each aperture ring? Is your recommendation of 2 tubes for each individual lens or will this amount sufficiently spread across everything? In your case 6? Thanks for your help thus far.
Hey man! How did u apply the grease?
Would also like to know!
What's the set of lenses?
Please upload your shoot using those nikkor glasses. Would love to see them in action
This is a video I did with the Nikkor 28mm f2.8. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZZuqk7mBibfVd6w.html
Did you use the Cine-modding vintage Nikon AI-S ?
Thanks for this info! With the mirrorless cameras especially, more and more people are realizing what great results can be achieved by adapting well cared for manual lenses from the 70's and 80's. Some newer lenses might score better with shots of technical charts, but to get a better result in real-life situations you'd really need to spend allot more, like 10x more, at least for now.The ebay values for the lenses I've had for years is suddenly skyrocketing! $2,500 or less invested now for a full set of primes, or $1,500-$15,000 PER LENS to get a barely-noticeable, "better," result. My clients don't care what lens I carry, they care how their finished video looks... and these SLR primes look fantastic. Yeah, I'll stick with my adapted SLR primes for most work and build my "real" cine lens kit over years, one lens at a time :)
Andin Briwel looking to do the same thing. And the vintage micro contrast look you get from the old Nikkor lenses is epic . I have the 28mm ais and the 105 f/2.5 non ai with such a nice long throw. Want the 85mm f/1.4 ais for that insane bokeh next .
I just sent my Nikon 28mm and 50 Ais lens to Duclos for Cine-Modding. I currently use them with my Nikon D700 for photography and they are some beautiful lens.
Absolutely! Great look for the money. I think they'll be going up in price in the coming years as lenses that cover full frame start becoming more valuable as sensors get larger.
I strongly agree! I already have a few AiS lens( 28mm,35mm,50mm,105mm),im thinking of getting the 20mm or 85mm? I also have some Leica-R (28mm,50mm early 1980's). FullFrames are getting more affordable. The new fullframe Sony A7 iii is only 2,000 us dollars. Now is the time to look and invest in certain older lens. I'm getting each modded and C.L.A by lens repair company here locally. I've done my research as to why certain lens " pop" and others don't. Not all vintage lens are the same.
Did you use your Cine-modding vintage Nikon AI-S lenses for this shoot?
He used brains and class.
Nice job buddy! I have a cine-modded 7 set of Nikon AI's here in London and I ADORE them! 20 / 24 / 35 / 50 / 85 / 135 & 180mm - here's a film I shot on the F55 with them - kzread.info/dash/bejne/fYxk17CJds2uiso.html
Great piece Stuart! I definitely see the look of these lenses in there. I think I'll add the 135mm to my set too, I've heard good things.
The 135mm f2 is incredible. The 180mm f2.8 is the one Kubrick adapted to PL mount and used it on his 35mm cameras!
Ah man...ya got me now. Looks like I'm getting the 180 too. :)
stuart white your film looks great! I'm afraid people today spend allot more energy stressing over technical specs than storytelling. No moviegoer goes to the cinema and afterwards say's, "Gee, I would have enjoyed that story allot more had it been filmed with Zeiss primes instead of Nikons." If it's technically botched it can sure be distracting and take anyone out of the story, but if a lens can get the subject it focus you can tell your story just fine, maybe even better if the lens's character enhances the look some.
Was the grease used to dampen the aperture a silicon based one found from Leitax site?
Hey Theofanis! Sorry, just seeing this. Yes, it is. The way the Leitax site is laid out it doesn't let me link directly to the product.
Tell me something! You said you spent about $2500 for all the lens and parts needed to cinemod them yourself. Isn't it easier to just buy the Rokinon Cine DS lens set for about the same price? Did you research that option? Is there a reason you did not do that?
Good question! I own a few of the Rokinon Cine DS lenses(this video was actually recorded with the 35mm). They're fine for a a lot of applications, but they don't have a ton of character. For instance, I really dislike the way they flare - usually just a white streak coming out of the corner of the frame. The look a bit clinical to me. All lenses are not created equal. These older Nikkor lenses have great glass, a very pleasing look to their flare, with beautiful warmth and character to their look. And it's not always desirable to have that character for every project, but to my eye the qualities of these are more pleasing. Getting a similar look in something like Cooke lenses would cost tens of thousands of dollar, and right now I'd rather rent that level of cinema lens when the project calls for it over investing that much up front. I'll be doing some tests of these so it would probably be useful to put a video together with those tests.
I do agree with that. Rokinon's are indeed a bit characterless when compared to some of that vintage glass or the high end cine lens. Now taking a detour; because you seem to be good at opening up lens and checking them out, I am hoping you might be able to throw some light on an issue I am facing with one of my Rokinon cine ds lens. I have a Rokinon Cine DS 24mm nikon mount lens. When the lens is NOT mounted on my Nikon d750, the aperture ring functions well and works like it should. Once the lens is mounted on the d750, no matter what setting I try for the aperture ring, it slows turns back to the widest opening automatically i.e. T1.5. I turn the aperture ring to T4, it slowly turns back to T1.5. I turn it to T12, slowly turns back to T1.5. This only happens when the lens is mounted on the camera. When NOT mounted, it stays put. I do not see this happening with any of my other Rokinon Cine DS lens, that leads me to think this is an issue with only this particular lens. Almost like some spring tension is pulling/pushing it back. I don't understand why this is happening or what to do to fix it. Would you be able to give some suggestion or explain why this could be happening? I do not want to spend hundreds again to fix it, instead want to try and fix it myself. But don't know how to.
So I have the Nikon D750. Do you think getting a Rokinon 85 mm Cine lens is worth it for filming ?
Try nikkor glass, i love my 35mm and micro 55mm. And i regret so much for selling my 80-200 :(