I thought this may be of interest to you. My friend and I just put together a set of Leica R primes for DSLR Cinema on 5DII and 7D. All mods were done by Duclos Lenses in L.A. http://ducloslenses.com/Duclos_Lenses/Main.html.
We had the following done -
80mm Front Rings:
Machined from aluminum, these adaptors screw into the existing filter threads of the lens and provide a uniform 77mm filter thread. Includes Zeiss 80mm front cap.
Solid Focus Gear:
Made from solid delrin, each gear is custom cut to ensure a seamless, slip free, smooth focus movement. Industry standard 32-pitch works with almost any follow focus or motor.
De-clicked Aperture:
Removing the click stops and dampening the control ring with Zeiss lubricants allow precise aperture selection and movement similar to motion picture lenses.
ManWearPants wrote:
Can I ask why 77mm filter thread. Is this the filter standard used in the film industry?
No idea, but 77mm is not common in the film industry.
Screw-in filters are never used except maybe 40.5mm or 48mm for the rear of long Canons or Nikons.
The common sizes are:
4" x 4.565"
4.565" x 4.565"
6.6" x 6.6"
138mm Round Drop-In
6" Round Drop-In
A bit out of fashion, but still used sometimes is:
4" x 4"
4 1/2" Round Drop-In
Series 9 (83.5mm) Drop-In
ManWearPants wrote:
Is the Elmarit 28 a version II with built-in hood and the Cron 90 pre-Asph ? I am wondering how the built-in hood is being removed from these lenses?
Can I ask why 77mm filter thread. Is this the filter standard used in the film industry?
Can Leica R produce anamorphic flare? What are the reasons you choose Leica R for your filming and not others?
The 28 is the Elmarit V1 so no built in hood. The 90 is pre asph and the built in hood is still there, just can't extend. All the fronts are just very strong threaded rings that have common size. This is critical to using the lenses with a mattebox. The 77mm thread is just a nice bonus in case you are shooting small scale production and you are using something like a Singh ray vari-ND to cut down light. We went with all lenses from an approximate time period so they would be better matched. The idea of the set is to have a nice round image with great matching color and not worry too much about ultimate sharpness etc the newest versions would have created. We also wanted all lenses that would work on full frame with no mirror clearance issues. If we need ultimate speed or sharpness we can use EF primes for that (or rent). The other thing to consider is that once we get to a certain budget level on a project we move off 5DII and onto something like an Arri Alexa or Red Epic with PL mount lenses (often Cooke S4s) and that stuff is all rental.
Good to see they will be dual purpose, the Leica fanatics will be able to sleep at night.
They will be a good investment for your company, I have a feeling that when the 5DIII is released,
they will be worth more than what they are now.
I would say they get more use now for stills. Working with adapters and different thread diameters made shooting them on 5DII a real PITA. Now they have nice solid mounts, consistent lens caps etc. The only thing that is annoying is de-clicked aperture. You have to guess when stop flash metering. You can't count clicks.
Wow, awesome setup. I have a few C/Y Zeiss lenses that are setup in a similar way - focus rings and 77mm threads on the front - without the de-click. These small mods make video shooting much easier.
