There are two constants in my filmmaking tastes: a love for Zeiss vintage glass and anamorphic lenses. One of those two has remained mostly elusive.
Despite all the times that I’ve framed for a widescreen aspect ratio, I’ve only used true anamorphic lenses on two projects! The most recent came on Sarah Menescal’s music video for Stand By Me. For Jordi Matsumoto’s music video directorial debut, we agreed that it was #AnamorphicOrBust. While I came within inches of pre-ordering the newly released Atlas Orion Anamorphic lenses back in 2017, I didn’t use them until that project in June of 2021. They impressed me very much. Linus Sandgren FSF, ASC notably used them for Don’t Look Up.
After using my Angénieux EZ’s on a project in December, I decided that I wanted something more interesting visually in my arsenal. Thankfully, Lori Carson at Broadcast Video Warehouse accepted an even trade for a “B” set of Atlas anamorphics (32mm, 50mm, 80mm T2)! I’m thrilled at the prospect of shooting more anamorphic. I extensively wrote about my first experience with them and working with Common here.
On the other end of the spectrum, the decision to get a set of Mark II Super Speeds involved several sleepless nights. If you don’t know, the vintage glass–like the housing–market is on fire. Canon K35 glass is up exponentially and their FD counterparts recently joined them. The 24mm Aspherical FD is impossible to source save for one person in Japan asking for $28K on eBay.
While the lack of full frame support on the Super Speeds prevented them from being a simple decision to buy in 2022, it’s also kept their prices stable over the last few years. I’ve shot a majority of my features on Zeiss Super Speeds and they are often my first choice for projects. That’s what lead me to an affordable set of full frame cinevised Contax Zeiss lenses in February of 2018 . While it’s fun to imagine if I had bought Canon FD’s instead, they weren’t on my vintage radar back then.
After falling down a rabbit hole of research on the different types of Canon FD glass (L, Aspherical, S.S.C., etc.) and almost buying a set of Lomo Illumina Mk II lenses, I purchased a set of Super Speeds from Fred Salaff and his great team at FJS International. Upon closer inspection, they needed a lot of love and Paul Duclos and his team did a wonderful job servicing them. Check out the before and after photos:
My fellow Zeiss lovers need this blog post from Matthew Duclos explaining the full history of Super Speeds. I also love this lens tests from the folks at Old Fast Glass.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out about renting these great lenses, or any of my other gear! I can’t wait to utilize these tools on some interesting projects. In the comments below, tell me about your dream lens set? I think my next glass purchase will be the Cooke Panchro/i Classic FF lenses.
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