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05-28-2019, 04:33 PM   #1
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Pentax Lenses for a feature film cinematography

Hello,
and thank you for reading.

As of now I am in preproduction of a feature film, I was looking in to buying a Zeiss Contax lens set, and modifying it with cine mod for filming, but I love what Pentax lenses produce, and I need your help on putting together a set that will be my weapon of choice for this film.

The camera that i will use is Black Magic Production Camera 4K, with a DSMC mount, so technicly I can buy a Pentax 6X7 mount or Pentax K, but my idea was to get a Canon EF positive mount and get Pentax M42 lenses with adapters (Because I'm planing also to get other M42 lenses as well)

80% of the script is Outdoors, and during the Day
20% of the script in Indoors, and during the Night (Tight spaces)

The camera crops the field of view with a crop factor of 1.70 so wide lenses are a must and very important, but I need a full range of lenses to have a full set that I can use on other feature films.

*To fight a crop factor I was thinking buying screw on wide angle filters.

Please help me to make a decision, put together a full lens set, and make a Pentax Look feature film,
Thank you,
Gleb.

05-28-2019, 05:02 PM - 1 Like   #2
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Tricky! Pentax lenses were never designed with cinematography in mind. The apertures are not click-less and the lenses may display focus breathing.
05-28-2019, 05:20 PM - 3 Likes   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by photoptimist Quote
Tricky! Pentax lenses were never designed with cinematography in mind. The apertures are not click-less and the lenses may display focus breathing.
I am going to send the full set to a 3rd party like Duclos Lenses, Focus Optics or Sim Mod, to declick the aperture, add focus rings for both aperture and focus, as well as step up rings to 77mm so they all can use same filters & accessories.
05-28-2019, 05:29 PM - 2 Likes   #4
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Sounds like a great project. Good luck!

05-28-2019, 05:50 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Sandy Hancock Quote
Sounds like a great project. Good luck!
Thank you
05-28-2019, 06:05 PM - 2 Likes   #6
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Any of the M series lenses would work great for this.

Or the Pentax 67 medium format lenses.

The trick will be finding the focal lengths you require, in the wider aperture versions, that aren't scarce or very expensive (for the fast wider angle lenses).

Browse through the Pentax Lens Reviews section of the forum. There is a very comprehensive listing of (just about) every Pentax lens produced. That should be a good staring point for finding out what was made that will meet your needs.

Don't leave out the M42 Takumar lenses. Plenty to choose from there too.
05-28-2019, 06:18 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Racer X 69 Quote
Any of the M series lenses would work great for this.

Or the Pentax 67 medium format lenses.

The trick will be finding the focal lengths you require, in the wider aperture versions, that aren't scarce or very expensive (for the fast wider angle lenses).

Browse through the Pentax Lens Reviews section of the forum. There is a very comprehensive listing of (just about) every Pentax lens produced. That should be a good staring point for finding out what was made that will meet your needs.

Don't leave out the M42 Takumar lenses. Plenty to choose from there too.
I was thinking about Pentax medium format lenses, but the field of view question pops up.
If the lens image circle is made to cover a medium format camera than on super 35mm the crop is going to be even more significant, right?
(Super 35 sensor already gives a crop of 1.7 compare to the full frame, and we are talking medium format lenses)

05-28-2019, 06:28 PM - 1 Like   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by UnFstudio Quote
I was thinking about Pentax medium format lenses, but the field of view question pops up.
If the lens image circle is made to cover a medium format camera than on super 35mm the crop is going to be even more significant, right?
(Super 35 sensor already gives a crop of 1.7 compare to the full frame, and we are talking medium format lenses)
Yes.

I'm thinking the Pentax lenses made for 35mm full frame will work the best for you.

As for other M42 lenses, the Soviet lenses have some interesting offerings. I have an Industar 61LZ, a 50mm f2.8 thread mount. It does a nice job of rendering, has great bokeh (in the middle of the range it makes 6 pointed stars of highlights), and the aperture ring is clickless. So all it would need is an adapter, and focus and aperture ring mods for cinematography.
05-28-2019, 08:02 PM - 1 Like   #9
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The only Full Frame lens I know of that gives you a Clickable apertue lock option is the Kerlee 35mm f/1.2 (more info here https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/dzoptics-kerlee-35mm-f12.html)
05-28-2019, 10:40 PM - 1 Like   #10
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I had come across some post somewhere a year or so ago, wanting to do something similar. So, I went looking.... and came across this.In a full frame M42, or K mount - 15mm is the widest they went. It's somewhat sought after since it was designed by Zeiss' chief designer Prof. Glatzel, when Pentax and Zeiss had some sort of partnership - back in the 70's.

Wouldn't you need the lenses measured for transmission and get a T stop figure for each?

Came across this also....
05-28-2019, 11:57 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by disconnekt Quote
The only Full Frame lens I know of that gives you a Clickable apertue lock option is the Kerlee 35mm f/1.2 (more info here DZOptics Kerlee 35mm f/1.2 Lens Reviews - Miscellaneous Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database)
Thank you for the lens suggestion, but declicking the lenses is not a problem at all, the idea is to make a full set that will have a constant look to all the lenses within the set.

---------- Post added 05-29-19 at 12:00 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by Racer X 69 Quote
Yes.

I'm thinking the Pentax lenses made for 35mm full frame will work the best for you.

As for other M42 lenses, the Soviet lenses have some interesting offerings. I have an Industar 61LZ, a 50mm f2.8 thread mount. It does a nice job of rendering, has great bokeh (in the middle of the range it makes 6 pointed stars of highlights), and the aperture ring is clickless. So all it would need is an adapter, and focus and aperture ring mods for cinematography.
Yes I do love Industar, Helios, Tair & Mir lenses, actually I am also putting a set of Russian lenses to compare to a Pentax one, but it is only a back up option.

---------- Post added 05-29-19 at 12:06 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
I had come across some post somewhere a year or so ago, wanting to do something similar. So, I went looking.... and came across this.In a full frame M42, or K mount - 15mm is the widest they went. It's somewhat sought after since it was designed by Zeiss' chief designer Prof. Glatzel, when Pentax and Zeiss had some sort of partnership - back in the 70's.

Wouldn't you need the lenses measured for transmission and get a T stop figure for each?

Came across this also....
Thank you so much for the links, I already am a fan of what vintagelensesforvideo.com is posting on his website, and actually have put a list of intresting Zeiss Contax lenses based of of this website. Sharegrid is my to go place for equipment rentals, so I will definetly try the cine lens cet out. For the 15mm lens, I actually found it for sale, but the price is the same as owning a full pentax lens set, but the images it produces are very nice.
05-29-2019, 12:45 AM - 1 Like   #12
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The Takumar 15mm/3.5 and 20mm/4.5 are the wide angles that come immediately to mind. Both come in two versions that are optically identical but have different coatings: the earlier Super Takumar versions give a slightly less contrasty and less saturated rendering, while the later Super Multi Coated versions produce a "punchier" look. I personally use Takumars for my stills photography because of their ability to give an analogue style look on a digital camera, and I'd imagine that you should get a similar rendering style on 4K too.
05-29-2019, 01:10 AM - 1 Like   #13
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How would you manage the EOS to M42 mount? Many adapters struggle to focus to infinity.
05-29-2019, 07:40 AM - 1 Like   #14
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Well if you want a Pentax "Cinema" lens then there's really only one choice, the K28/2. Pentax's version of the Zeiss "Hollywood" Distagon 28/2.

Phil.
05-29-2019, 08:00 AM - 2 Likes   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Dartmoor Dave Quote
The Takumar 15mm/3.5 and 20mm/4.5 are the wide angles that come immediately to mind. Both come in two versions that are optically identical but have different coatings: the earlier Super Takumar versions give a slightly less contrasty and less saturated rendering, while the later Super Multi Coated versions produce a "punchier" look. I personally use Takumars for my stills photography because of their ability to give an analogue style look on a digital camera, and I'd imagine that you should get a similar rendering style on 4K too.
Great point!

It also implies that if the goal is to have a similar "look" across the collection of lenses, then they should all be lenses of similar eras with similar coatings.
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