Played with a pre-production sample briefly earlier this year on a GH4 and Sony A7. One word....spectacular. And if the then stated price range holds, this is a home run....

Previous video is from

http://3d-kraft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=169&catid=40&Itemid=2

Just an update on this lens,

I've shot some downloadable files with skin tones and also comparing the the Zeiss CP 50mm as well. There are DNG stills, as well as 4K ProRes 4444 files from URSA

In my view this lens is really very good and just needs to be rounded out with a full set in other focal lengths ! Feel free to download here, and I'd love to hear your thoughts and what kinds of difference you see...

https://johnbrawley.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/50mm-lenses-compared-plus-4444-prores-for-the-ursa/

JB

Here's a little update on the development of lens and it's price structure. When Andrew was in the US last spring, he spent some time with Roger C of LensRentals testing the original prototype. While it showed great results (as mentioned I played with it briefly and yes it was good) Andrew felt it needed to be improved. When he subsequently met John Brawley in Australia, based on the feedback there (the need for witness marks, 300 degree focus rotation, a focus ring shield) a second prototype was developed and shown at Photokina with a slightly increased price. That prototype had an aluminum PL mount and when concerns were voiced about its durability, the design was changed to a titanium mount. This is why the price of a fully specified cinema lens along with the apochromatic nature of the optics with first class IQ is a bargain, IMHO.

Hello @MaxR

I think the really interesting is to look at the evry fine detail in the DNG's and compare the Zeiss to the APO. You'll notice on very fine detail like the fine hairs on Maddy's camera right shoulder and underarm aren't resolved as well or at all by the zeiss....

This is a stellar lens I think for the money.....

JB

Hello @maxr.

Couple of things. The DNG's are grabbed from a clip of hundreds of DNGs that went though the same focus pulling regime as the ProRes files... It depends on which point in the sequence I grab as to how much is in focus I suspect...I could load the DNG's I spose, but it would be a lot more than 15Gb !

It's also not unusual for lens makers to LIE about their stops to make them seem to perform better usually their wide open values.... Focal length can vary as well. A less than 1/3 stop variation doesn't surprise me.

Or in other words, does it gather more light os is one at T4 and one not ?

It could also be something to do with flaring. I deliberately added a bare Kino tube in shot to test for veiling flare. It may well be that one lens is flaring more than the other, which causes the overall exposure to shift.

I preferred the warmed look of the APO, as I like it for skin tones and I also tend to light warm. And again, it's not unusual for lenses to be of a different colour. The Cookes and the Panavision Primos are also well known for a warmer look...I'd say it's in pretty good company....

I also think you over-sharpened poor Maddy in her final result but maybe you're looking for sharpness....?

JB

I think you can still have sharp without the need to use any sharpening.

These are both from C1 and PS as default with the default sharpening turned down.

http://flic.kr/p/qEtD5q

And

http://flic.kr/p/q14aLj

It might also be your grade that is adding to that harsher more "processed" look ? And the debayer ?

Hello @Maxr,

Sorry here's the C1 file

https://flic.kr/p/qXpAK8

All good, like you say personal taste...

jb

Here's a little update Andrew from SLR Magic has allowed me to share. I want to share as much as I can remember from my phone call with Andrew so hopefully it's relevant to those of you who are interested in these lenses.

For anyone going to NAB, Andrew will have a booth and will be there. I invite anyone interested in these lenses to go see them. Andrew is a very knowledgeable and open guy and he really love to talk lenses. He cares about his products and making them the best they can be. They have some pretty cool announcements for NAB, whcih I won't share, but he's what I can...

Here's a picture of a pre-production 32mm lens.

www.flickr.com/photos/johnbrawley/40047075535

I haven't shot with this copy yet, but this means SLR Magic are very close to going into production with this lens. After this they're working on the 18mm and the 135mm to fill out the set.

I also received an updated version of the 25mm to replace my copy. It developed an issue with the focus bumping sometimes at close focus and Andrew tells me he's totally updated the helicoil design and has already updated a few customers copies. Anyone who sees this issue should be able to arrange to have it fixed. I didn't want to let go of my 25mm as I was in the middle of a job so he's sent me a second one and I'm now sending mine back.

I also recently did a blind test of CP2's, Panavision Primos and the SLR Magic APO's.

Watch the below link and don't read the description if you want to guess which is which and which you like.

You can see this little bump in this video. The first lens, the "A" is the SLR Magic 25mm.

What's cool is that SLR Magic went and immediately addressed the issue and have re-designed the lens to make sure it doesn't happen again. I've just finished a 6 month TV series using them day in and day out and this has been the only issue with them, even though they've been on prestons / motors with clamp on's all this time.

Here's a couple of clips all shot with SLR Magic lenses.

www.flickr.com/photos/johnbrawley/40047076045

Andrew also sent me copies of their new E mount, MFT and EF adaptors.

www.flickr.com/photos/johnbrawley/40941422171 www.flickr.com/photos/johnbrawley/40047075035

This means you can use your APO primes on any of the above mounts and with the SLR Magic adaptors they've kept the tolerances very tight so the witness marks should line up perfectly without having to actually re-shim the mounts / lenses, though you can do that if you need to.

As a bit of a surprise, Andrew also sent me some brand new ND filters that he's been working on.

Many would already be familiar with the Variable ND's they make, which many rate as one of the best made and offering very good IR protection as well. Some of you may know I shoot a lot of MFT lenses on Olympus, DJI and Blackmagic MFT cameras so I use a lot of smaller lenses with screw in ND's.

Lately I've mostly been using the Hoya / Kenko PRO screw in ND's as they seem the most neutral. Andrew tells me he decided to make these after he decided to buy some Hoya Pros for his own work and was firstly forced to buy them from three different countries because no one stocked the full set and he THEN found that the deeper stop copies had more than 2/3 of a stop variation in exposure from where they should be.

Well SLR Magic have done their own take on ND filters. They've aimed to be less than 1/3 of a stop variation and to sell them together as full sets.

They make a set of N3, N6, N9, N1.2 and N1.5 (1-5 stops) and a second box of N1.8, N2.1, N2.4, N2.7 and N3.0 (6-10 stops) and each set is only $399. Pretty decent deal.

I don't want to come off as a shrill, but I really like what these guys are doing and I especially like how responsive they are to feedback from us that use these lenses. In lieu of them having better marketing I'll try to let as many know as I can about what they're up to.

JB