Lomo 20-120mm 35OPF18-1

[Alexander Waldman]

I just received this kickass lens, and tested it out briefly on a friend's RED One (haven't gotten a PL mount for my Scarlet yet). I have to say, I'm very impressed with the image quality--nice and sharp but still creamy and organic. Very old-school Cooke.

However, after the test I noticed what appears to be a small chip on the zooming element:

I made sure to have the seller tape the zoom and focus rings in the middle of the range to prevent this kind of damage in shipping.

I didn't notice it having any effect on the image when I had the lens on the camera, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it again since I noticed it. Can anyone who has experience with these lenses weight in on this? The mechanics seem to be in great shape, and I'm about to send it over to Bernie at Super16 for some TLC, but I'm wondering if this is the kind of thing that's repairable/would a repair even be worth it? Or should I try to find a new lens altogether? Thanks!

[paolo perelli]

Hi Alexander,

where did you buy it from? and how does it compare to standard 80's Lomo (oct 19) if you hade a chance to test them?

[Bérenger Brillante]

Don't want to hijack the thread but i have one for sale (with a spare unit) if someone is interested.

[Zac C]

I would love to see some examples of it on your scarlet.

And Berenger, how much are you trying to sell one for?

[Alexander Waldman]

Hi Alexander,

where did you buy it from? and how does it compare to standard 80's Lomo (oct 19) if you hade a chance to test them?

Hi Paolo,

I just got this one off of Ebay, actually! This one was manufactured in 89, and aside from that small lens defect appears to be in really good condition. (Currently, it's over with Bernie at Super16 for evaluation, cleaning, and repairs if necessary.) I've never actually used standard 80's Lomos myself, but I've seen quite a bit of footage with them. In my opinion, the 20-120 is actually a bit sharper than standard Lomos, but still has that organic look to it. I would place its sharpness somewhere between series 3 Cooke Speed Panchros and S4s.

[Alexander Waldman]

I would love to see some examples of it on your scarlet.

And I'd love to show them to you! But you might be waiting a little while as the lens is currently away for repairs and evaluation. I'll be sure to post some when it comes back.

[Andy White]

Ahh - so you bagged the bargain from Ebay recently - I was surprised it went at that price :)

I have one of these (with the rear ana adapter), and it's a nice lens. Overall, IMO, a bit sharper than some prime Lomos, but a lot depends on the condition of the prime it's being compared against. I don't think it's as creamy as a Cooke, but it's nice.

Just a shame it won't work on 5K (it portholes), but it's a nice lens (although the zoom action is a bit naff - not as smooth as similar old Angies/Cookes etc).

On repair, you'd need to get another for spares and that depends on price/market (etc)... but you should test it when it comes back, it might not be that visible (hard to tell what the damage is). These lenses are notorious for damage in shipping (as they have a very loose zoom)... so I don't think this has been done in transit, as it would have probably been smashed if it was postal damage.

I remember a thread where Bérenger received one that was smashed (this is a while ago).

[paolo perelli]

Alexander,

many thanks for your response, very precise and informative. Yes I know of Bernie for Lomo repairs, he must be a great guy too.
Some days ago I was talking to Olex of Olex Camera Services in Russia, he is a well know expert about LOMOS in general and he wrote lots of post on Cinematography.com on this thread.
He is under the impression that zoom can compare to primes only in a certain range, so if yours is 20-120 it will be roughly performing as well as a prime from 35/40 to 100/105.

It would be good if, along some pics, you could test the above too.. meaning top check sharpness all across the zoom range (as you say you do not have primes to compare!)

Cheers!