Noctilux?

[Leo Ticheli]

Maybe this is a really crazy idea, but does anyone know if it could be possible to remount a Leica Noctilux f1.0 to PL mount for use on the Red camera?

I remember Stanley Kubrick remounted some old Canon f.95 lenses for shooting by candlelight on Barry Lyndon. Absolutely beautiful and a very shallow depth of field wide open.

I'm not a big fan of stills lenses on motion picture cameras because of the follow focus problems, but if this is at all practical, it could be a beautiful "signature" lens.

Good shooting and best regards to all,

Leo

[Sanjin Jukic]

Noctilux is very nice. But as Jim mentioned film has dynamic range roughly 13 stops. The RED currently has 11.3 11.3 stops. Maybe from tomorrow will get even more (work in progress)!? LET'S JIM GET THE RED CLOSER TO THE FILM DYNAMIC RANGE. Then you could think about Kubrick and candlelight etc...

[Leo Ticheli]

Perhaps it's a language barrier, because I have no idea what your response means to my question about mounting a Noctilux lens on a PL mount camera.

To expand on my original post, my goal is producing images with very shallow depth of field and a "painterly" bokeh.

The low light capability is certainly a plus, but not the primary reason for wanting to use the Noctilux or old Canon 50mm f.95.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

[Sanjin Jukic]

Here no language barriers at all. Only it is about an idea. Why you would need super fast lens? About "very shallow depth of field and a "painterly" bokeh". But you would like to shoot digital that is a bit different than analog or film. Again I will repeat that dynamic range of film is roughly 13 stops and the RED has now 11.3. Shoot FILM: Than you would experience ISSUES of the "Grain- If you like it, advantage 35mm film" and shoot RED: the "Resolution- advantage RED" that changing ALL ABOUT "very shallow depth of field and a "painterly" bokeh".

Just think logical. Now don't be angry, nobody is against you or your opinion. It is about discussion and do not mess a LANGUAGE issue. It is about a logic only. It is about a pure thinking beyond language. I hope you will get it finally.

[Hans von Sonntag]

Noctilux is very nice. But as Jim mentioned film has dynamic range roughly 13 stops. The RED currently has 11.3 11.3 stops. Maybe from tomorrow will get even more (work in progress)!? LET'S GET THE RED CLOSE TO THE FILM DYNAMIC RANGE. Then you could think about Kubrick and candlelight etc...

The Stanley Kubrick candlelight dinner should not be a problem even shot with f2.8...
In the 70ies filmstock was not as fast as today. Hence the extreme fast lens.

RED ONE is ASA 320 rated. I suppose you can get easily 640 ASA out of RED on location.

I found this particular scene in Barry Lyndon to soft, full of flares and barely any contrast. Nothing I would like to achieve. Shooting 1.4 on 35mm is always a risky thing, the focus gets very shallow. An major investment in a f1.0 lens seems to me not really on top of my list.

But fun to play with...

Greetings to Vienna,

Hans

[Sanjin Jukic]

Hans totally agree...

If you pass once Vienna give a call...

Greetings to Mülheim Ruhr

[Hans von Sonntag]

Perhaps it's a language barrier, because I have no idea what your response means to my question about mounting a Noctilux lens on a PL mount camera.

To expand on my original post, my goal is producing images with very shallow depth of field and a "painterly" bokeh.

The low light capability is certainly a plus, but not the primary reason for wanting to use the Noctilux or old Canon 50mm f.95.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo

Hi Leo,

interesting what you are after. Perhaps old Zeiss HS Primes are the right ones for you. 1.3 or 1.4, as far as I remember is their open aperture. I found them wide open pretty soft. They have this triangle aperture if I remember right. You can also use diopters additionally or split-fields. Arri/Zeiss have new Diopters in their portfolio, no need for macros.

I remember a medium longshot in an interior setting I shot with a 18mm Zeiss HS f1.4. I found it remarkable how soft the background got. Shooting wide open, especially wide angled can be a pretty un-seen thing.

Hans

[Evin Grant]

I remember Stanley Kubrick remounted some old Canon f.95 lenses for shooting by candlelight on Barry Lyndon.

Actually it was two 50mm f0.75 Zeiss lens originaly designed for NASA that Kubrick had permanently mounted onto two, two of a kind Mitchell optical printing cameras that four pin registration and supposedly the most rock solid movement ever made.

As far as a poor mans Kubrick cam, well the flange focal distance of leica M is very short so I don't see an adapter being possible. Red will have to make an actual Leica M mount. The Nikon NOCT Nikkor though is every bit as sharp and a very healthy f1.2. I know it's not a Leica with that buttery Wetzlar feel but it's an wesome piece of glass in it's own right.

[chuck colburn]

I believe they were Mitchell Standard rackover type cameras (2 pin registration). And if I remember right the lenses were f .7 We had the lenses at Century for a while to help with the fitting of the BNC mounts. Ed and the crew at Cinema products had to put a lockout on the rackover so that you could not rack the camera over untill you unscrewed the lens quite a few turns or you risked raming the rear optical group into the side of the aperture opening.

[Stephen Williams]

Hi Chuck,

If you want a trip down memory lane!
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/sk/ac/len/page1.htm

Stephen

Edit The Mitchell BNC + lenses are available to rent www.joedunton.com
They form part of the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition, that is in Zurich soon.

[chuck colburn]

Hi Chuck,

If you want a trip down memory lane!
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/sk/ac/len/page1.htm

Stephen

Edit The Mitchell BNC + lenses are available to rent www.joedunton.com
They form part of the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition, that is in Zurich soon.

Thanks Stephen,

Nice to see that photo of Ed. He was a true gentleman and just great to work for. No BS and he knew what he was talking about. It's sad that he's gone now. Left all of us much to soon.

Chuck

[Piotr Moty]

The Nikon NOCT Nikkor though is every bit as sharp and a very healthy f1.2. I know it's not a Leica with that buttery Wetzlar feel but it's an wesome piece of glass in it's own right.

Agreed! Btw Evin are you going to run a test of that lest by any chance?

Can't wait to try it out on the red.

[Sanjin Jukic]

The Stanley Kubrick candlelight dinner should not be a problem even shot with f2.8...
In the 70ies filmstock was not as fast as today. Hence the extreme fast lens.

RED ONE is ASA 320 rated. I suppose you can get easily 640 ASA out of RED on location.

I found this particular scene in Barry Lyndon to soft, full of flares and barely any contrast. Nothing I would like to achieve. Shooting 1.4 on 35mm is always a risky thing, the focus gets very shallow. An major investment in a f1.0 lens seems to me not really on top of my list.

But fun to play with...

Greetings to Vienna,

Hans

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/kubrick_lenses.jpg

Download and have a look on this excerpt from "Stanley Kubrick- A Life in Pictures" documentary movie about Kubrick work by Jan Harlan. There is a short overview that shows how genius and extraordinary Kubrick was. File about 32MB to download.

The link will be open to download in the next 24 hours.
ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/kubrick_lenses.mov

[Emanuel A.]

Thanks Sanjin. I hope I may download it. This community would not be the same without you.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Thanks Emanual. Sorry I did not still reply on your PMs. Just long waiting for the RED. Then we can see what is the best and the most affordable RED flyer. About the download a short video try out, it works well. I could extend even longer to open.

REMINDER!

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/kubrick_lenses.jpg

Download and have a look on this short excerpt from "Stanley Kubrick- A Life in Pictures" documentary movie about Kubrick work by Jan Harlan. It is a part that shows how genius and extraordinary Kubrick was. File about 32MB to download.

The link will be open to download in the next 24 hours.
ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/kubrick_lenses.mov

[Roberto B]

sanjin.. sankin.. i like this man too.. i remember that hype on dvxuser.. :detective2: it was the most funny événement impactant qui font parler et créent du buzz.. qu'ont eu lieu sur le territoire dvxuser.. je sais tu entends le français sanjin.. sanjin rocks.. you made my days there.. :w00t: made me laugh to the tears.. :)

good cinéphile taste too..

[Sanjin Jukic]

sanjin.. sankin.. i like this man too.. i remember that hype on dvxuser.. :detective2: it was the most funny événement impactant qui font parler et créent du buzz.. qu'ont eu lieu sur le territoire dvxuser.. je sais tu entends le français sanjin.. sanjin rocks.. you made my days there.. :w00t: made me laugh to the tears.. :)

good cinéphile taste too..

Merci pour le rappel, filmmaker's gang!

[Evin Grant]

Agreed! Btw Evin are you going to run a test of that lest by any chance?

Can't wait to try it out on the red.

Me neither, unfortunately they have been going for $2K+ on ebay lately so unless someone is willing to loan me one it's gonna be a while before I can test it. I jus got my 28mm 1.4 back from the shop though so that will be up soon.

[Emanuel A.]

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/kubrick_lenses.jpg

Download and have a look on this excerpt from "Stanley Kubrick- A Life in Pictures" documentary movie about Kubrick work by Jan Harlan. There is a short overview that shows how genius and extraordinary Kubrick was. File about 32MB to download.

The link will be open to download in the next 24 hours.
ftp://84.112.86.213/Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/kubrick_lenses.movThe link is down, Sanjin.

Cheers,
E.

[Sanjin Jukic]

Emanuel,

I am on cable and network is super busy, Saturday Night Fever on Internet, but is working, Swiss were faster and already downloaded all>>
MY Server REPORT>>
Sat May 5 19:34:56 2007 447 186.183.77.83.cust.bluewin.ch 35029423 /Library/FTPServer/FTPRoot/Movies/kubrick_lenses.mov b _ o a mozilla@example.com ftp 0 * c

Be patient and try out often, maybe later during a night could be better. Bandwidth is not in my hands.

[Deanan]

Me neither, unfortunately they have been going for $2K+ on ebay lately so unless someone is willing to loan me one it's gonna be a while before I can test it. I jus got my 28mm 1.4 back from the shop though so that will be up soon.

Evin, you can borrow mine as soon as I get it serviced.
I dropped it last year and the mount and barrel got tweaked.
It's my favorite lens bar none but at f1 it's not as sharp
and vignettes considerably (although probably less so inside
the 31mm circle).

Deanan

[Emanuel A.]

No worries Sanjin, I know. I've tried but there's no link till now.

[Sanjin Jukic]

No worries Sanjin, I know. I've tried but there's no link till now.

Emanuel as you could see below it is working but is very slow. Also I do have 3 files for download offer at the moment here on this forum. And network is very busy. By the way the first two reports on the list are mine from checking the links. So more patient you are more download you'll get.

http://www.sanjinjukic.com/extras/server-report1.gif

By the way some people from California, Canada, Switzerland etc already got it. I LOVE WWW NETWORK.

[Evin Grant]

Evin, you can borrow mine as soon as I get it serviced.
I dropped it last year and the mount and barrel got tweaked.
It's my favorite lens bar none but at f1 it's not as sharp
and vignettes considerably (although probably less so inside
the 31mm circle).

Deanan

I'll take you up on that offer Deanan, let me know when you get it out of the shop.
E.

[Piotr Moty]

I'll take you up on that offer Deanan, let me know when you get it out of the shop.
E.

I find it pretty sharp at 1.2

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/178/484990956_e0a8527011.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pm_photo/484990956/


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/157/418574840_d8f489e6da.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pm_photo/418574840/

Two different versions were used here ai (older version) and ai-s, I got rid of the ai-s recently as I prefer the ai version for the longer focus throw.

I think what really sets these apart from other lenses is sharpness at farther distances at 1.2
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/131/422881634_bf1c865226.jpg

Though is has some pretty interesting flare patterns!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/485024453_e45d091f3f.jpg

[luis bustamante]

I'll take you up on that offer Deanan, let me know when you get it out of the shop.
E.

excellent news! been dying to hear about this one in particular for a long time.

thanks a lot for your efforts and time, evin!

[Paris Remillard]

For EOS/Birger mount users there was the Canon EOS 50mm f/1.0 a few years ago and currently the 50mm f/1.2. I know nothing about the image quality of either, but since were on the topic...

[Emanuel A.]

Here's some on subject:

http://www.used-filmequipment.com/products/details.php?show=12:7024