Monday, January 2, 2012

Something Old Something New

There is a certain joy and empowerment attached to a piece of gear with karma and such has been the case with a lens I received from my dear friend and fellow DP, Roberta Findlay.

I use a Sony PMW-F3 for much of my work.  The F3 is a large sensor, state-of-the-art digital camera and I am currently mating it with a lens that is over 40 years old.  The lens, an Angenieux 25-250 3.2 zoom lens, was also state-of-the-art, somewhere around 1970, right around the time it was used to create a string of low budget horror flicks including the cult classic "Snuff".

When I first received the lens, it was a bit stiff and I immediately brought it over Du-All camera in Manhattan for service. A place you just have to visit if you've ever, seriously used a super-8 camera,  Although my lens was certainly, no longer state-of-the-art, the crew at Du-All treated it with the utmost respect and within a couple of days, they had cleaned, lubricated and collimated the lens to properly work with my camera.  It was like new.


I took it out to my favorite spot overlooking Manhattan for a test drive and the results where no less than amazing.

Like classic guitars and microphones, lenses, each have a personality all of there own.

In the days when I used to shoot with 4x5 and 8x10 cameras, it was not uncommon to own three of the same focal length lens, each from a different manufacturer and use each for a different, desired result.  For example, Nikon lenses were cold and clinical, while Schneider lenses had a bit more warmth  and roundness.  Warmer still were lenses from Goertz or Kodak.

If I was photographing a new bottle for Clinique, I would use the Schneider, but if it was a beauty shot of a model's face, I would definitely use the Goertz.  No need proving how sharp a lens could be there.

And although a lens might not be critically sharp, that doesn't mean the image is soft, either.  When you are speaking in terms like "roundness" or "creaminess", it's not just about technical accuracy.  Many shooters are finding the quality of older lenses from Cooke, Zeiss, Nikon, Pentax and others are giving them the look they desire.

Now, I know that there are issues with using older technology.  At T4.0, this lens is very slow, especially considering I have to stop down to at least 5.6 to get a decent image.  (Fortunately, the F3's low light sensitivity works in my favor there).  The lens "breathes", which means the focal length might appear to slightly change when focusing, but for most of my NYC filming, this is not an issue.  And finally, it is heavy, which necessitates rails and lens support provided by a rig from Genus.

Still, all of this becomes secondary after seeing the stunning images the lens delivers.


If you ask The Edge or any other well known guitarist why they travel with 20 different guitars, they will tell you that each has a unique sound and personality and so it goes with lenses.  There will also be an added boost if one of those guitars was owned by some legendary character making it special to the artist and so it is with Roberta's lens.

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