lomo lenses?

[Zakaree Sandberg]

does anyone have footage or stills taken from lomo glass?

[Evin Grant]

I know someone who does.:whistling:

[Matt Uhry]

What lenses are of interest in particular Zak ?

I've got a few, but also know where most of the bodies are buried.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

[Mathias Erichsen]

I´d love to see that too... :)

Mathias Erichsen
www.resonablefilm.no

[Kip Kubin]

http://www.vimeo.com/2855207

Here's a quick lens/flair/build 18 test on my 35mm square front.

or you could just watch Solaris.

I don't own any non anamorphic Lomos though.

Kip

[Rob Gardner]

I think you can't count on some kind of universal lens test from LOMO's. They come in all kinds of condition and ages. You need to evaluate the ones you want based on age (the newer the better) condition (wear and ease of mechanics) sharpness (particularly as relates to the mounts and columnation (SP?)) and whether or not they have been cleaned and adjusted in the States. Some of these lenses are great when you get them, some really need to go to the lens hospital, but the basic glass is usually very good (if clean and reasonably late model) and the mechanics and lubrication can be brought up to standards by Duclos and others. But a bad Lomo lens, with fungus and bad mechanics, is only good for a paperweight.

[Matthew Duclos]

I'm considering changing the name of the company from Duclos Lenses to "The Lens Hospital". ;)

GFIROb is right. Lomos come in all sort of build quality and condition. They are extremely expensive to repair as most of the screws and parts will break or fall apart upon service.
Lomo did not consider serviceability when they built these lenses. They can be beautiful optical pieces, but the mechanics almost always need several hours of work to get them up to speed.

[Bérenger Brillante]

Hi

a quick link for footage :

http://vimeo.com/3183007

Lens : 28mm f1.2 35OKC-10-28-1M #870009 CKBK

I will post soon a small presentation video, with the french actress Louise Bourgoin, shot with all my lomos, as well as some stills from a 1940'type short movie (when the shooting is finished), normally on monday.

I agree Lomos are optically nice, but it is a pain to have mechanics work well.

[Rob Gardner]

I'd have to say, as a follow-up, that after our LOMO's (primes and zoom lens) were released from the Duclos Lens Hospital, they performed really well, and while the service was not what you would call cheap, the total cost of the lenses-purchase, PL mount and Duclosize-was still very reasonable compared to the other options for used Cine lenses (including the cost of the new Red lenses).

So we're happy and we love the cute little hospital gowns that the lenses are wearing when Duclos ships them back...
Rob Gardner

[Nick Gardner]

I can post some stills later this week. Ekran speeds, Lomos, and the 25-80 ekran zoom.

Cheers,

Nick

[Thomas Patrick C.]

Don't know if this helps you, but here is a 75mm lomo, ckbk, 1989.


http://themessagemovie.net/oldsite/images/frame-grabs/A005_C008_10165S_0169%5B1%5D.jpg

[Zakaree Sandberg]

thanks thomas, smooth image

[Constantine Philips]

I like lomos.

It is sharp but smooth ! Fantastic

[Mathias Erichsen]

Wow! :) That looks great.
I just got a set of 18, 24, 28, 35, 50, 75 and 150mm great looking late 80`s lomos, but have not been able to try them out properly. Hope they perform close to this 75mm...

Mathias Erichsen
www.resonablefilm.no

[Matthew Duclos]

Ive been bombarded with emails from people wanting to service Lomo lenses.
I thought I could use this thread to kinda give people a heads up.

Lomo lenses range quite a bit in age and style. Most of them being acquired were built in the 70's and a few from the 80's. This makes them nice and cheap and many people are taking advantage of that (good for you). But that doesn't change the cost of labor when servicing the lenses. Rob was right, it is costly to service Lomos. This is mostly due to their poor build quality. While servicing, the set screws tend to break off and require even more time to remove. Many of the components inside the Lomo lenses are hand made (not in a good way) and don't always fit correctly. Don't get me wrong, they are great lenses. But they are very costly to maintain. I'll give you an example... I just serviced a Zeiss 35mm MkIII Super Speed and billed the customer for 4 hour.
I also recently serviced a Lomo anamorphic that we billed the customer 8 hours.
So... my point is, they are cheap to buy, but costly to maintain. And they do produce nice images ;)

[Rob Gardner]

I'll second what Mathew said, but I would add that our experience with Duclos is that their service, while expensive, gave us lenses that were virtually new and performed extremely well and even with that painful cost, were still, in the end, much more affordable than anything else. They do a very, very thorough job (which you must pay for, dearly) but if the original lens itself had good glass (no fungus or scratches) little use (which is usually the case with a lens in the 1989 to 1991 time frame when the Soviet Union was melting down and few films were being made) and no physical damage (from being dropped or shipped badly) you will come out in the end with a fine, true cine lens, functioning very well. And if there is a big problem with the lens, Duclos will let you know before they do any work. You get a full report on the lens before they do anything.

Long term, eventually the lenses will have to be serviced again (as all lenses do) and they are built of aluminum on aluminum (rather than steel and brass) so they will wear over time, but I think it would be a lot of time between Duclos visits (unless they were dropped). Compared to a Nikon lens, they are built like a T-72 tank (with similar workmanship to the T-72, if you have ever seen one).

I should also say that we use them (together with two Cooke zooms and Ekran speeds) as our primary lenses now. Our clients (we produce television documentaries for PBS and cable) have no idea what kind of lenses we use and wouldn't know an Ultra Prime if it bit them on the ass. All they care about is how the footage looks. We have two Red's and we have replaced our Varicam system with them (though we kept one of our Varicams). So we use them in a fully professional environment, almost always with a first assistant cameraman to pull focus. And they have done a great job for us.

I think that LOMO's and Ekrans are the only way to buy a set of professional cine lenses for less than $10,000 a set, but finding them, selecting them and shipping them safely back to you is part of the process, as is having them admitted to the lens hospital, in my opinion.
Rob Gardner

[Babu Kantamneni]

Hi matt,
What would it cost to change oct 19 to PL on these lenses and how difficult it is.
Thx,
babu

[Mathias Erichsen]

I hope there will be an OCT19 mount for the S35... Or else I´ll have to change them to PL. Guess that is kind of expensive?

Mathias Erichsen

[Nick Gardner]

Hi matt,
What would it cost to change oct 19 to PL on these lenses and how difficult it is.

Hi, Getting these lenses PL mounted in the states is expensive. If you have the Lomo standard speeds from a Kinor 35H or C series camera, you can purchase PL mounts which bolt on in place of the OCT 19 mounts. These are a couple hundred bucks each. The lens should still be sent to a lens tech for collimation.

Ekran speeds and older lomos need to go to St. Petersburg for PL mounts. www.spbsale.com

If Duclos does your PL mounts, they will be really nice.

nick

[Bérenger Brillante]

18, 24, 28, 35, 50, 75 and 150mm

not all of them will be as good as the 75mm. IMHO the 75mm is the best Lomo. Sharp, good contrast, pleasing colors, well built (compared to the others, i mean)

The lomo I don't recommend is the 22 t2. It's not t2, but t2.4, it's soft, and flare easily. I've never seen a 24mm, so i suppose you speak about the 22.

[Mathias Erichsen]

Yes, sorry it is 22mm... hmmm, may use it as an effect-lense. If I ever need a soft look with lots of flare :)
Do you think the lomos will cover the s35mm (30x15) sensor in the up comming S35?
Thx for the info

[Matthew Duclos]

Converting the Lomo lenses from Oct-19 (or other) is rather difficult.
I'll use a Zeiss B-mount speed for comparison. Zeiss made the rear housing on their speeds all the same, so one conversion mount works the same on the entire range of a given series. The Lomos, on the other hand, are all different. Some require heavy modification and custom parts, and some are simple to just slap a new mount onto.
It's very hard to determine a price for converting them as each lens is different.
It's always easier to give an idea of price if we have the lens in our shop and can actually take measurements and consider dimensions. I've seen some Lomos that came from Russia with mounts that look as if they were forged in an easy bake oven...

[Thomas Patrick C.]

The lomo I don't recommend is the 22 t2. It's not t2, but t2.4, it's soft, and flare easily. I've never seen a 24mm, so i suppose you speak about the 22.

I have 12 lomos and the 22mm t2.4 from 1989. They range in quality but I only paid around $2200 for all of them. I did use them side by side with the Zeiss Superspeeds and found them quite comparable far as image.

Does anyone have any experience with www.spbsale.com? I'm not thrilled about sending lenses over seas.

[Rob Gardner]

Yes, I have had good experiences with www.spbsale.com, though it does mean shipping your lenses to St. Petersburg and back. I would also emphasize that all LOMO's are not necessarily worth the time and money it takes to bring them up to current professional standards. I think this is really only worth it if the lenses are very late model and in very good shape. The older ones are usually pretty raggedy. Chosen carefully they are a good deal, but many of them are only good for target practice with your 22...
Rob Gardner

[Thomas Patrick C.]

Yes, I have had good experiences with www.spbsale.com, though it does mean shipping your lenses to St. Petersburg and back. I would also emphasize that all LOMO's are not necessarily worth the time and money it takes to bring them up to current professional standards. I think this is really only worth it if the lenses are very late model and in very good shape. The older ones are usually pretty raggedy. Chosen carefully they are a good deal, but many of them are only good for target practice with your 22...
Rob Gardner

Thanks.

I have 6 very good ones, t1.4, 1.5. So I may take a chance and send them off.

[Rob Gardner]

Sounds like you have Ekran speeds. Those are better than LOMO's.

[Thomas Patrick C.]

Sounds like you have Ekran speeds. Those are better than LOMO's.

CKBK lens

[Nick Gardner]

As promised, stills here

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?p=382886#post382886

Nick

[Michael Panfeld]

Thanks.

I have 6 very good ones, t1.4, 1.5. So I may take a chance and send them off.

you bought 12 Lomos for 2200 and six of them are speeds? That's $183 each for a cinema lens. Wow, you are a lucky bastard. I'd say that today's asking price for that set would be about $9,000. What is your secret?

[Michael Panfeld]

Don't know if this helps you, but here is a 75mm lomo, ckbk, 1989.


http://themessagemovie.net/oldsite/images/frame-grabs/A005_C008_10165S_0169%5B1%5D.jpg


That is a stunning image. I see some strange things going on in a few of the strands of hair, but look at how sharp yet creamy her skin is around her nose and eyes. Wow!

[Michael Panfeld]

I hope there will be an OCT19 mount for the S35... Or else I´ll have to change them to PL. Guess that is kind of expensive?

Mathias Erichsen

Jim has clearly stated that the only mounts will be Canon, Nikon, PL, and the RED mounts for the Scarlet. He said that he expects third party vendors to fill in the gaps. So someone is going to make a lot of $$ if they sell, a RED approved OCT19 mount for the Scarlet/Epic.

Currently, Douglas Underahl sells an unapproved OCT19 mount for the RED One. It uses a plate he makes, bolted on to the front half of Cinevate's OCT19 mount for the Brevis adapter. Its too bad its not approved. Its also too bad that the only folks making OCT19 mounts are 35mm adapter manufacturers. They have no incentive to make a RED/Scarlet/Epic adapter because that would take away sales of their core products.

I also spoke with someone at Visual Products, who makes the BNCR mount for the RED. They have no plans to make a BNCR mount for the Scarlet/Epic or to make an OCT19 mount for any RED product, even though the mounts are nearly identical. (My personal guess is that they have not sold that many and can't justify the investment in this economy).

I have to ask though, with regard to Douglas Underahl's OCT19 mount, how would RED know that an unapproved mount has been slapped on for a week or two, such that the warranty is now voided?

[Thomas Patrick C.]

That is a stunning image. I see some strange things going on in a few of the strands of hair, but look at how sharp yet creamy her skin is around her nose and eyes. Wow!

Thanks texasmfp,

I think the strands were from a tight Indian braid she had in her hair just prior.

Here are a few more. First is a 500 asa, wide open 200mm, CKBK, t3.4. Sun has disappeared, it was dark out 15 minutes later.

http://themessagemovie.net/oldsite/red/red-samp2.jpg


This is a 50mm, t1.4


http://themessagemovie.net/oldsite/red/red-samp3.jpg




Hope these can help on the lomo/ckbk/ekran mystery.

[Rudi Herbert]

Those are truly tunning images in my book Thomas, wow! Now, could someone please shed some light on a brief introduction/history on the Lomo & Ekran lenses, i.e.: How many lenses are there, which are better, from what to what year were they produced, etc, etc? I have a couple of contacts in Russia within the film industry and I could have them hunt down for me a couple of sets of these lenses for me, but I wanna have some more concrete information on them first before committing to them...

[Michael Panfeld]

Those are truly tunning images in my book Thomas, wow! Now, could someone please shed some light on a brief introduction/history on the Lomo & Ekran lenses, i.e.: How many lenses are there, which are better, from what to what year were they produced, etc, etc? I have a couple of contacts in Russia within the film industry and I could have them hunt down for me a couple of sets of these lenses for me, but I wanna have some more concrete information on them first before committing to them...


There are probably more russian lenses that have ever been offered by Cooke, Kinoptik, and Arri combined. There are too many to list. Not only do you have every focal length, but most have a whole series of models in each length that go up to 10th or 11th edition. There are also several brands (Lomo, Ekran, as well as their predecessor company names like CKBK and Leninknap). There are standard speeds as well as superspeeds. There are square front anamorphics and round front anamorphics. There are series of zooms. There are two main mounts - OCT18 and OCT 19. Finally there are two styles, one for the Konvas cameras and one for the Kinor 35 cameras.

In general, you want OCT19 mounted lenses of the latest vintage (last made in 1992). You will find Russian optics going back as far as the 1950s, however.

If you do establish some contacts, please clue me in. There are a few particular lenses that I am looking for. Cheers

[Rob Gardner]

Texasmpf is right.

Some information about Russian lenses can be found at:

http://rafcamera.com/movie-cameras-lenses-c-27_29.html

But really, it the lenses are not from the very late '80's or early '90's they are probably not worth the trouble, with the exception of square front anamorphics, which have their own charm. Ekrans are generally better built than Lomo's and the housings for Kinors are generally better than those for Konvas (easier to put gears on).
Rob Gardner

[Fredrik Callinggard]

Here you go guys - start browsing

http://www.geocities.com/kinor35/lenses/lens.htm

[Fredrik Callinggard]

you bought 12 Lomos for 2200 and six of them are speeds? That's $183 each for a cinema lens. Wow, you are a lucky bastard. I'd say that today's asking price for that set would be about $9,000. What is your secret?

Perhaps buying when demand is less :w00t:

[Nick Gardner]

There is a lot of info on Lomos on the cinematography forum.

Also here,

http://www.geocities.com/kinor35/lenses/lens.htm

In general, when the Soviets came out with the Kinor 35 series of cameras, they were designed with a super 35mm gate, so all the lenses made for those cameras covered super 35. I would say that it's worth your time to look for late 80's to early 90's lomo and Ekran primes. The Ekrans are the fast ones at t-1.4-1.6

The lenses made for the Konvas 2m if they are from the same time period, have the same glass and optical design, but they have a different housing. The Kinor lenses all have the same size front housing, and most focal lengths have the gear in the same spot. They will have 50 pitch gears on them to work with the Kinor FF (these are held on by 3 screws and easily removed).

As far quantity of lenses made, I have no idea, but it was a lot. Keep in mind that the Soviets ran all their factories on a quota system. They had to make so many of such and such a month. Then somebody would decide the the Ministry of Hay Bailing Sciences needed a 35mm motion picture package to make training films, and there it sat for ten years till somebody found it and sold it. Soviet warehouses were mostly built out of pre poured slabs of concrete that fit poorly and often leaked badly. That is why there are plenty of "Brand new, never before bin used" lenses full of fungus. Also, the fancy aluminum cases they came in had foam in them that is as hard as plywood. So a lot of lenses look really beat up just from traveling in their cases.

A note on history, The Soviet Union went away in 91. I have seen Lomos with serial numbers indicating that they were made in '92. Then lenses that were made by Ekran (the 25-80 zoom) made in 94, and then later the same lens was marketed by Elite.

I have been in touch with the folks at both Lomo and Elite, but no one has ever answered any of my questions regarding the history of Soviet cinema lenses.

Cheers,

Nick

[Thomas Patrick C.]

you bought 12 Lomos for 2200 and six of them are speeds? That's $183 each for a cinema lens. Wow, you are a lucky bastard. I'd say that today's asking price for that set would be about $9,000. What is your secret?

Its not as glamorous as it sounds, I did get some good lenses when I was buying them more than 2 years ago, but also got some not as good "as described". Dealing with the Russian dealers selling these lenses is taking a chance. My best LOMO I believe is a 1979 100mm t3.1 I paid $50 for. I have another 28mm t1.4 I paid $550 for and it fell apart when I opened the box. Its still apart.

[Mathias Erichsen]

I got my 7 lomos for about $1000. lubed and all good to go :)
Do you know if they only cover a 16x22mm frame or will they cover a wider area like s35 too?

Mathias

[Michael Panfeld]

I got my 7 lomos for about $1000. lubed and all good to go :)
Do you know if they only cover a 16x22mm frame or will they cover a wider area like s35 too?

Mathias

I've got quite a few and have sent the first batch to Bernie at Super 16. He said that all the ones he has gone through so far will cover S35 (and then some!). Most of my lenses are 80's/90's though.

I have to agree with Nick. You are taking a chance with overseas sellers. Some know lenses and can accurately describe them. Some either don't know or worse, carefully craft the description around what's bad. Takes experience.

I've got a spreadsheet that includes info on almost every cinema lens made, including a very long list of russian lenses. I posted on reduser looking for help in finishing the list, but got no response other than someone who wanted to simply get the info. I've also seen a new web site dedicated to cinema lens info. So keep your eyes peeled.

[Thomas Patrick C.]

I've got quite a few and have sent the first batch to Bernie at Super 16. He said that all the ones he has gone through so far will cover S35 (and then some!). Most of my lenses are 80's/90's though.

I have to agree with Nick. You are taking a chance with overseas sellers. Some know lenses and can accurately describe them. Some either don't know or worse, carefully craft the description around what's bad. Takes experience.

I've got a spreadsheet that includes info on almost every cinema lens made, including a very long list of russian lenses. I posted on reduser looking for help in finishing the list, but got no response other than someone who wanted to simply get the info. I've also seen a new web site dedicated to cinema lens info. So keep your eyes peeled.

texas,

Do you know if Bernie make mounts or can convert the OCT-19 to PL?

I sent him an email as well.

[Michael Panfeld]

texas,

Do you know if Bernie make mounts or can convert the OCT-19 to PL?

I sent him an email as well.

He has a lathe, but has basically stayed away from fashioning a mount from scratch (I asked him about mounting some Super Baltars I have). To be honest, he sounds like he (happily) has too much work just CLAing lenses and converting cameras to S35, etc, to deal with making a mount (which is very time consuming and expensive).

If you buy a PL mount, he can put it on and collimate it.