SALT II results... (Part 1,2,3,4 Bokeh, Breathing & Flare and Part 5: Impressions)

[Patrick Grossien]

Yes. regardless of the manufacturer. There will always be variation in manufacturing and assembly. The difference is how much variation there is.
The worst lens off a Canon L assembly line can be horrible whereas the worst lens off of a Angeneiux Optimo assembly line is just slightly less than perfect.

Thank you so much. Its just good to know that I have to take that into account when buying a lense.

So that also means that the 50mm could have been a bad apple? Or did you guys get the chance to check a different 50?

[Clint Lealos]

This is one of the best lens tests I have ever seen and I think the community has benefited greatly from all your efforts. I have a very tiny tip for Nikon owners that don't want the Nikon focus direction. I recently sold 6 ARRI FF2's on Reduser and almost every one contained a nifty Nikon reversal gear that attached to the FF2 making the focus direction "normal". These little gears were made by Samcine in the 70's and 80's, but I'm sure there are some floating around. Its a very simple device that could easily be replicated by any machine shop. In the attached photo the small piece with the white gear is what I'm talking about. I wish I had a better picture, because I think it is a very clever solution that has been overlooked and needs to be revisited. Hopefully, someone will find this useful :)

[Matt Uhry]

This is one of the best lens tests I have ever seen and I think the community has benefited greatly from all your efforts.

Thanks Clint, we all really appreciate hearing positive feedback.

Matt Uhry
www.mattuhry.com

[Steve Gibby]

we all really appreciate hearing positive feedback.

Then here's some more:

Very nice work Matt, Evin, and whoever else was involved!

Hard to believe its now been well over four years since our L.A. Red Test event (12/07).

[Brian Pascale]

+1. Good information. I went with still glass because of price and size. If I start making feature films I will seriously consider cine glass.

This is one of the best lens tests I have ever seen and I think the community has benefited greatly from all your efforts. I have a very tiny tip for Nikon owners that don't want the Nikon focus direction. I recently sold 6 ARRI FF2's on Reduser and almost every one contained a nifty Nikon reversal gear that attached to the FF2 making the focus direction "normal". These little gears were made by Samcine in the 70's and 80's, but I'm sure there are some floating around. Its a very simple device that could easily be replicated by any machine shop. In the attached photo the small piece with the white gear is what I'm talking about. I wish I had a better picture, because I think it is a very clever solution that has been overlooked and needs to be revisited. Hopefully, someone will find this useful :)

[Phil Holland]

Just a note on Leica R lenses. I noticed when I went on my crazed hunt for Leica glass a few years ago the difference between the 90's and 80's (and earlier) lenses. All of my Leica R lenses are from 1996 and I'm very happy with them. I went through several different vintage 90s was able to see a difference in contrast, chroma, and CA.

If I was recommending the first two Leica R lenses for anybody to get:

The Summicron 90mm f/2

(here's a distortion chart for the 90mm)


And the Elmarit 60mm f/2.8 Macro:

(here's a distortion chart for the 60mm)

All of them are fair to good performers with the 180mm and up primes getting into the "scary awesome" zone.

Another lens to look at is the Voigtlander 40mm f/2 SLII. Wide open it's not the best thing on earth. It got a unique feel, built very well, and is extremely compact.


(here's a distortion chart for the 40mm)

While not officially supported by Red's Canon AI mount as of 03.01.2012, I can confirm that the EF version indeed works on the Epic and Scarlet just fine.

[Evin Grant]

I'm pretty sure the last generation 28mm Elmarit ROM is a new and very sharp design.

[paul engstrom]

Thanks for the test fellas!

[Jacek Zakowicz]

I always wonder why anybody would use a macro lens designed for, uh, macro photography and optimized for close up work for normal distances. There are lenses designed for normal work....
And BTW I know how these lenses look -I've projected lenses for 25 years- it's my business....

[Evin Grant]

The reason that the Macro lenses are sometimes preferred is their performance often times exceed that of their normal distance cousins, of course focus scales are usually abbreviated in the far distances though. Also some focal lengths (60mm specifically) are hard to come by in non macro.