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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" ><generator uri="https://jekyllrb.com/" version="4.0.0">Jekyll</generator><link href="https://jden.me/blog/feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" /><link href="https://jden.me/blog/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" /><updated>2021-08-31T23:18:49+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/feed.xml</id><title type="html">jden redden</title><subtitle>the gospel according to jden</subtitle><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><entry><title type="html">The Ultimate Guide to Constructing a Contax Zeiss Cine Prime Set</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-constructing-a-contax-zeiss-cine-prime-set/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="The Ultimate Guide to Constructing a Contax Zeiss Cine Prime Set" /><published>2020-12-04T12:29:12+10:30</published><updated>2020-12-04T12:29:12+10:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-constructing-a-contax-zeiss-cine-prime-set</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-constructing-a-contax-zeiss-cine-prime-set/"><p>I’ve been slowly putting together my own Contax Zeiss cine prime set, and found myself making crazy Excel Spreadsheets as I try to piece together a nice set of primes from the Contax Zeiss range. In this post, I’ll show you all my working and show you how to build your own set of Contax Zeiss glass, and show you some sets that other people have put together.</p> <h2 id="why-contax-carl-zeiss">Why Contax Carl Zeiss?</h2> <p>During the mid-1970s, Carl Zeiss of West Germany partnered with Yashica in Japan to launch a new line of Contax SLR cameras. Together, the two companies created the Contax/Yashica (C/Y) mount. The partnership of the two companies produced a set of extremely high quality lenses built from Carl Zeiss designs. The lens were manufactured in both Germany and Japan, and with two different aperture varieties.</p> <p>The lenses have remained popular with collectors and film makers alike for the close resemblance to Carl Zeiss Super Speeds cinema prime lenses. The lenses carry a similar design, build quality, and aesthetic with the the Super Speeds that can go for several-to-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars per lens. Comparatively, Contax Zeiss lenses can be had for hundreds to low thousands.</p> <!--more--> <p>To learn more about these lenses <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPf67c3vUrFlNOERwjHyR2w">Media Division</a> has an amazing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUjUxKvXgpw&amp;vl=en">46-minute long video</a> comparing Contax Zeiss to Zeiss Super Speeds. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWl59qSh7ir80BZwzSZpPw">Mark Holtze</a> has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozHheBkS6LQ">popular video</a> on the Contax Zeiss lenses. And finally, over on <a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/forum.php">Red User</a>, <a href="http://www.smallgiant.tv/team">Nick Morrison</a> has an amazing <a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide">“Survival Guide”</a> going into great depth on each of the lenses.</p> <h2 id="the-contax-zeiss-taxonomy">The Contax Zeiss Taxonomy</h2> <p>Leveraging on an amazing resource over at <a href="https://www.apotelyt.com/camera-kit/zeiss-contax-catalog">Apotelyt</a> by Peter Walkenhorst, I was able to taxonomise the full range of Contax Zeiss prime lenses and put them into a nice table.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Focal Length (mm)</th> <th>Design</th> <th>Type</th> <th>f/1.2</th> <th>f/1.4</th> <th>f/1.7</th> <th>f/2</th> <th>f/2.8</th> <th>f/3.5</th> <th>f/4</th> <th>f/4.5</th> <th>f/5.6</th> <th>f/8</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>15</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>built-in</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>16</td> <td>F-Distagon</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>built-in</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>18</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>86*</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>21</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>82</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>25</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>28</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>28</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>35</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td>67</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>35</td> <td>Distagon</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>35</td> <td>PC Distagon</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>86</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>45</td> <td>Tessar Anniversary</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>45</td> <td>Tessar</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>49</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>50</td> <td>Planar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td>55*</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>50</td> <td>Planar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>55</td> <td>Planar Anniversary</td> <td>MM</td> <td>77</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>60</td> <td>Makro-Planar C (1:1)</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>60</td> <td>Makro-Planer S (1:2)</td> <td>MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>67</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>85</td> <td>Planar Anniversary</td> <td>MM</td> <td>77</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>85</td> <td>Planar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td>67</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>85</td> <td>Sonnar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>100</td> <td>Planar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>72</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>100</td> <td>Makro-Planar</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>100</td> <td>Makro-Planar (1:1)</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>100</td> <td>Sonnar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>135</td> <td>Planar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>72</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>135</td> <td>Planar Anniversary</td> <td>MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>135</td> <td>Sonnar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>135</td> <td>Sonnar</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>180</td> <td>Sonnar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>72</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>200</td> <td>Aposonnar</td> <td>MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>rear</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>200</td> <td>Tele-Tessar</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>67</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>200</td> <td>Tele-Tessar</td> <td>MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>300</td> <td>Tele-Apotessar</td> <td>AE</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>rear</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>300</td> <td>Tele-Tessar</td> <td>AE/MM</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>82</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>500</td> <td>Mirotar</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>rear</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>500</td> <td>Mirotar</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>82</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1000</td> <td>Mirotar</td> <td>?</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>rear</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><em>Note:</em> The numbers in the table reflect the lens’ filter diameter in millimeters. As you can see not all information is complete.</p> <p>From this table we can start to pull out lenses and put together different sets. Following on from my previous blog post about <a href="https://jden.me/blog/how-to-construct-a-vintage-cine-prime-lens-set/">constructing vintage prime sets</a> we will be building the set up progressively from starting from a Wide-Normal-Tele 3-lens set.</p> <h2 id="sensor-sizes-and-naming-conventions">Sensor sizes and naming conventions</h2> <p>I will be constructing simultaneous sets for 135 full-frame (135 FF), Super 35 (S35), Super 16 (S16), and Super 16 + 0.58x SpeedBooster (S16 + 0.58) sensor sizes.</p> <p>I will also be using the following naming conventions for the lens angle of view descriptions. To come up with these I’ve taken fairly accepted definitions for lens groups and given an approximate min-max focal length in 135 FF terms. From there I calculate the angle of view in degrees, and then with a bit of maths you can calculate the min-max focal lengths on various sensor sizes to achieve the same angle of view.</p> <p>Describing lens groups is a bit of art and a bit of science, so I know some of you may disagree with what I call a “Mid-Tele” for example, but for me that is a lens that has an angle of view between 29º and 43º.</p> <h3 id="135-ff">135 FF</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Group</th> <th>Min Focal Length</th> <th>Max Focal Length</th> <th>Min AoV</th> <th>Max AoV</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish-eye</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>20 mm</td> <td>175º</td> <td>94º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>15 mm</td> <td>175º</td> <td>111º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>10 mm</td> <td>24 mm</td> <td>130º</td> <td>84º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>20 mm</td> <td>35 mm</td> <td>94º</td> <td>63º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>24 mm</td> <td>35 mm</td> <td>84º</td> <td>63º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>35 mm</td> <td>50 mm</td> <td>63º</td> <td>47º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>35 mm</td> <td>60 mm</td> <td>63º</td> <td>40º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>55 mm</td> <td>85 mm</td> <td>43º</td> <td>29º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>85 mm</td> <td>100 mm</td> <td>29º</td> <td>24º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>100 mm</td> <td>135 mm</td> <td>24º</td> <td>18º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>120 mm</td> <td>185 mm</td> <td>20º</td> <td>13º</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td>185 mm</td> <td>1000 mm</td> <td>13º</td> <td>2º</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="s35">S35</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Group</th> <th>Min Focal Length</th> <th>Max Focal Length</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish-eye</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>14 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>11 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>7 mm</td> <td>17 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>14 mm</td> <td>25 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>17 mm</td> <td>25 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>25 mm</td> <td>36 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>25 mm</td> <td>43 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>40 mm</td> <td>61 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>61 mm</td> <td>72 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>72 mm</td> <td>97 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>86 mm</td> <td>133 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td>133 mm</td> <td>719 mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="s16">S16</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Group</th> <th>Min Focal Length</th> <th>Max Focal Length</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish-eye</td> <td>0 mm</td> <td>7 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>0 mm</td> <td>5 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>3 mm</td> <td>8 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>7 mm</td> <td>12 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>8 mm</td> <td>12 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>12 mm</td> <td>17 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>12 mm</td> <td>20 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>18 mm</td> <td>28 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>28 mm</td> <td>33 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>33 mm</td> <td>45 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>40 mm</td> <td>61 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td>61 mm</td> <td>331 mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="s16--058">S16 + 0.58</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Group</th> <th>Min Focal Length</th> <th>Max Focal Length</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish-eye</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>11 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>1 mm</td> <td>9 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>6 mm</td> <td>14 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>11 mm</td> <td>20 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>14 mm</td> <td>20 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>20 mm</td> <td>29 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>20 mm</td> <td>34 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>31 mm</td> <td>49 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>49 mm</td> <td>57 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>57 mm</td> <td>77 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>69 mm</td> <td>106 mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td>106 mm</td> <td>571 mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2 id="the-fastest-set">The Fastest Set</h2> <p>The fastest lenses in the Contax Zeiss set are f/1.2 which is super impressive for a family of lenses that started life in the 1970s. The f/1.2 lenses are Anniversary Editions, and came out in 1982 and 1996, respectively. There are only two f/1.2 lenses, 3 f/1.4 lenses, with most of the lenses sitting in the f/2.8 column.</p> <p>We can start to build some sets with the goal of having the fastest set of lenses for our sensor size.</p> <h3 id="135-full-frame">135 Full Frame</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Fastest</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> <th>11 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Plannar 100mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Our 3-lens set for 135 FF all feature quite fast apertures of f/1.2 and f/1.4. Going to the 5-lens set we introduce two f/2.0 lenses at the extremes, and the come to the 7-to-11-lens sets we fill out the groups with f/2.8 and one f/2.0.</p> <h3 id="super-35">Super 35</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Fastest</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> <th>11 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>The Super 35 set is slightly slower with a f/2.0 lens for our Wide coverage. The Contax Zeiss set doesn’t really have a lot of options in the wide-end of the spectrum (which we will see in S16), and no wider lenses than 28mm that are faster than f/2.8.</p> <h3 id="super-16">Super 16</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Fastest</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>N/A</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>We can really only manage the Normal- and Tele-end of the spectrum with a Super 16 sensor. We can cobble together a 5-lens set if we include the F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8 Fish Eye lens. Even with the Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2 the angle of view on a S16 sensor is extremely narrow.</p> <h3 id="super-16--058x">Super 16 + 0.58x</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Fastest</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>With the larger apparent sensor that the SpeedBooster provides, we can put together a more rounded set for S16 + 0.58. The 5-lens set is a little clustered with a 21mm, 25mm, and 28mm. You could easily forgo the Distagon 25mm f/2.8 for a 4-lens set. With the 9-lens set due to the Tele-weighted nature of the Contax Zeiss set we introduce a new lens group of “Super-Special-Tele” to include the Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0 for an extremely tight angle of view.</p> <h2 id="consistent-f28-aperture">Consistent f/2.8 aperture</h2> <p>With a large clustering of lenses at the f/2.8 wide-open, we can start to construct lenses with a consistent f/2.8 aperture across the set. Of course, this is not like having a consistent T-stop across a true cine-prime set, it is a nice enough approximation and makes for a pleasing set — that is also a lot cheaper to put together.</p> <h3 id="135-full-frame-1">135 Full Frame</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>f/2.8</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> <th>11 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>With a 135 FF sensor, you can get a consistent f/2.8 across the board all the way up to the 11-lens set.</p> <p>It should be noted that the Tessar 45mm f/2.8 is actually a pancake lens, and is probably not suited for film work. A more practical set would be to include the Planar 50mm f/1.7 or f/1.4 as the Normal lens in these sets.</p> <h3 id="super-35-1">Super 35</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>f/2.8</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> <th>11 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>In S35, we can keep f/2.8 consistent all the way to 11-lenses. There are two different 3-lens set options. The difference is in the Tele group, where you can choose from the Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 or Sonnar 85mm f/2.8. The first is a macro lens, with 1:1 magnification, it can definitely be used as a standard Tele, however, if you do not want a macro lens in your set, you can opt for the Sonnar 85mm f/2.8 which at 85mm is a lot wider than 60mm on S35.</p> <p>On the very narrow end, we again introduce the Super-Special-Tele to include the Sonnar 180mm f/2.8.</p> <h3 id="super-16-1">Super 16</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>f/2.8</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>N/A</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Again, for S16 without the wider-end being covered we can really only do a 3-(neé 2)-lens set, a cobble together a 5-lens set with a Fish Eye and macro lens.</p> <h3 id="super-16--058x-1">Super 16 + 0.58x</h3> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>f/2.8</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> <td>Tessar 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>With a S16 + 0.58 sensor, we have to include the Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8 as core to our set. We can go all the way to 9-lenses while maintaining f/2.8 throughout the set. As with last time, we end up with a clustering with 21mm, 25mm, and 28mm — once again dropping the Distagon 25mm f/2.8 can result in a nice 4-lens set.</p> <h2 id="f14-bonus-round">f/1.4 (bonus round)</h2> <p>We can construct a consistent f/1.4 set for 135 FF with 3-lenses, and supplement this set with two f/2.0 lenses to get to a 5-lens set.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>f/1.4</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>If you’re mainly shooting with 135 FF sensors, this is an extremely strong set to build. It is more affordable than trying to get the f/1.2 lenses, and covers a nice range of focal lengths. I would really recommend trying to build this set.</p> <h2 id="anniversary-edition">Anniversary Edition</h2> <p>If you’re a real collector, or if money is no option for you, putting together a set of Anniversary edition Contax Zeiss might be up your alley.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Anniversary</th> <th>4 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Tessar Anniversary 45mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 55mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 85mm f/1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Once again the Tessar Anniversary 45mm f/2.8 is a pancake lens. To turn this into a workable set, you might want to tack on the Distagon 35mm f/1.4.</p> <h2 id="bonus-sets-from-around-the-internet">Bonus sets from around the internet</h2> <p>As I’ve been learning about the Contax Zeiss lenses, I’ve seen various lens sets that have been put together by other filmmakers. I will include the some that I have found, if you would like yours to be included, get <a href="/contact">in touch</a> and I’ll add it.</p> <h3 id="media-division">Media Division</h3> <p>As I mentioned earlier, Media Division, put together a truly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUjUxKvXgpw">excellent video</a> comparing the Contax Zeiss to the Zeiss Super Speeds. In that video they constructed 3 sets of 3-, 7-, and 9-lenses.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Media Division</th> <th>3 Lenses</th> <th>7 Lenses</th> <th>9 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 15mm f/3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.0</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>The 3-lens set is identical to our f/1.4 3-lens set. The 7-lens set is very similar to our fastest 7-lens set, with Media Division going for the Sonnar 135mm f/2.0 over the Planar Anniversary 135mm f/2.0. The Sonnar designed lens is cheaper, and features an older optical design. The 9-lens set includes a zoom lens with the Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4.</p> <h3 id="nick-morrisons-contax-zeiss-survival-guide-sets">Nick Morrison’s Contax Zeiss Survival Guide Sets</h3> <p>In the <a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide">473-page</a> Red User thread started by Nick Morrison, he writes about a few different Contax Zeiss sets, that I will reproduce here for you.</p> <h4 id="the-contax-supers">The Contax “Supers”</h4> <p><a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide&amp;p=1491766&amp;viewfull=1#post1491766">Nick writes</a>, “These are the primes I’d recommend if you are willing to spend $$$. Except for the macro and the 21, these keep you at an f2 from 28mm to 135mm.”</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Supers</th> <th>8 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>Plannar 100mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h4 id="the-contax-standard-primes">The Contax “Standard Primes”</h4> <p><a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide&amp;p=1491767&amp;viewfull=1#post1491767">These primes</a> offer a more affordable range of primes that are all slower than the “Supers”, analogous to the <a href="https://www.thevisionhouse.com.au/equipment/lenses/zeiss/zeiss-standard-speed-mkii">Zeiss Standard Speeds</a>.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Standards</th> <th>8 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 18mm f/4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 100mm f/3.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>This set includes the Distagon 18mm f/4.0 a lens we haven’t so far in our sets.</p> <h4 id="the-contax-gimble-primes">The Contax Gimble Primes</h4> <p><a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide&amp;p=1491767&amp;viewfull=1#post1491767">Nick writes</a> that, “THESE primes in particular are almost identical in shape/size/weight […] Why is this important? Well in this age of gimbals, where lens size/weight is so important to balancing your rig, having a set of tiny LIGHT WEIGHT Zeiss primes that also happen to be evenly SIZED…is incredibly convenient.”</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Gimble</th> <th>8 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 18mm f/4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 85mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h4 id="the-contax-specials">The Contax Specials</h4> <p><a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide&amp;p=1491768&amp;viewfull=1#post1491768">These</a> primes are additional ‘special’ lenses to add to your set to give it something ‘special’, these include a Fish Eye a macro, and some longer lenses.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Specials</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td>F-Distagon 16mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>Makro-Plannar 100mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 180mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td>Tele-Tessar 300mm f/4.0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h4 id="the-contax-zooms-bonus">The Contax Zooms (bonus)</h4> <p>Finally, <a href="http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide&amp;p=1491769&amp;viewfull=1#post1491769">Nick provides</a> a set of zoom lenses from the Contax Zeiss line-up. The zooms are identified with the “Vario” moniker in the name of the lens.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Zooms</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 28-85mm f/3.3-4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 35-70mm f/3.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 35-135mm f/3.4-4.5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 80-200mm f/4.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>Vario-Sonnar 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="duclos">Duclos</h3> <p><a href="https://www.ducloslenses.com/blogs/cinemodjournal/zeiss-contax-prime-set">Duclos Lenses</a> blogged about their Contax Zeiss prime set of 4-lenses.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Duclos</th> <th>4 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>This set is appropriate for S35 in addition to 135 FF. I would add a longer lens to this set, maybe the Planar 85mm f/1.4.</p> <h3 id="gl-optics-re-housed">GL Optics (re-housed)</h3> <p><a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1221943-REG/gl_optics_10317_zeiss_contax_super_speed.html/overview">GL Optics</a> created a beautiful re-housed Contax Zeiss “Super Speed” set for cinema use — with PL mounts, iris and focus gears, and aluminium housing.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>GL Optics</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 25mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td>Sonnar 135mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>This set differs from the above “Supers” set with a Distagon 25mm f/2.8 instead of the Distagon 21mm f/2.8, and has a slower Sonnar 135mm f/2.8 over the Sonnar 135mm f/2.0.</p> <h3 id="407-local-co">407 Local Co</h3> <p><a href="https://www.sharegrid.com/newyork/l/140583">407 Local Co</a> offer a 5-lens set for rental ranging from 28mm to 100mm.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>407 Local Co</th> <th>5 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td>Plannar 100mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="matthew-canada">Matthew Canada</h3> <p><a href="https://www.sharegrid.com/newyork/l/146845">Matthew Canada</a> offers a 6-lens set for retail ranging from 21mm to 85mm.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Matthew Canada</th> <th>6 Lenses</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Fish Eye</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 21mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Wide</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Wide</td> <td>Distagon 28mm f/2.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Wide</td> <td>Distagon 35mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Normal</td> <td>Planar 50mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mid-Tele</td> <td>Makro-Plannar C 60mm f/2.8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tele</td> <td>Planar 85mm f/1.4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ultra-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Super-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Special-Tele</td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2> <p>I hope this post has been useful and that it inspires you to get out there and start building your own Contax Zeiss vintage cine prime lens set.</p> <p>I’ve still got a little go to fully complete my set, and I can’t wait to see it fully realised.</p> <p>Please get in <a href="/contact">contact</a> if you see any errors in this post, or if you have your own set that you’d like me to include, or even if you have some lenses you want to off-load to me.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="cinema" /><category term="vintage" /><category term="cine-prime" /><category term="cine" /><category term="lens" /><category term="lenses" /><category term="construct" /><category term="guide" /><category term="contax-zeiss" /><category term="zeiss" /><category term="contax" /><summary type="html">I’ve been slowly putting together my own Contax Zeiss cine prime set, and found myself making crazy Excel Spreadsheets as I try to piece together a nice set of primes from the Contax Zeiss range. In this post, I’ll show you all my working and show you how to build your own set of Contax Zeiss glass, and show you some sets that other people have put together.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">What if Australia had the Electoral College?</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/what-if-australia-had-the-electoral-college/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="What if Australia had the Electoral College?" /><published>2020-11-10T12:00:00+10:30</published><updated>2020-11-10T12:00:00+10:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/what-if-australia-had-the-electoral-college</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/what-if-australia-had-the-electoral-college/"><h2 id="who-would-be-australias-hypothetical-president">Who would be Australia’s hypothetical President?</h2> <p>The Electoral College is the voting method to elect the president and vice-president of the United States of America. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College">Electoral College</a> is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k">infamously</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/upshot/electoral-college-votes-states.html">a very</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/7/12315574/electoral-college-explained-presidential-elections-2016">bad</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k">electoral</a> <a href="https://www.nationalpopularvote.com">system</a> that often elects a president despite not winning the popular vote. It is a highly flawed system and is not at all likely to replace the system in Australia — but in-light of the <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/live-blog/2020-election-results-coverage/">Election Night that would never end</a>, we’ve all become experts in the Electoral College and I thought it would be fun to see what would happen if Australia adopted it.</p> <h3 id="how-does-the-electoral-college-work">How does the Electoral College work?</h3> <p>The Electoral College is a group of presidential electors that have the sole purpose of electing the president and vice-president. Each state <a href="https://www.270towin.com/states/District_of_Columbia">(and the District of Columbia)</a> has a number of electors equal to the number of congressional seats in that state — that is — one elector for every United States senator and one elector for every United States congressperson in the state. There are total of 538 electors (and thus electoral votes), made up of 100 Senate seats and 438 House of Representative seats, and an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes are required to elect the president and vice president.</p> <p>Generally, it is a winner-take-all method in each of the states (and D.C.), except for <a href="https://www.270towin.com/content/split-electoral-votes-maine-and-nebraska/">Maine and Nebraska</a> which have a one-elector-per-district method.</p> <h3 id="adapting-the-electoral-college-for-australia">Adapting the Electoral College for Australia</h3> <p>Australia has a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Australia">bicameral system</a> with an upper house, known as, the Senate, and a lower house, known as, the House of Representatives (the House).</p> <p>There are six states in Australia with two large territories that send members to the two elected chambers of the Parliament of Australia. Members of the House represent electoral division according to population, with a total of 151 seats in the House. The Senate has a fixed number of seats for each state and territories, with 12 seats for each state, and two seats for each of the territories — for a total of 76 Senators.</p> <p>Combining the 151 seats from the House and the 76 seats from the Senate, a hypothetical Electoral College of Australia would have a total of 227 electoral votes. Winning would require an absolute majority of 114 electoral votes.</p> <p>Interesting to note: the current Electoral College in the United States allows for an Electoral College <a href="https://www.270towin.com/content/electoral-college-ties/">draw</a>, as a result of an even number of electoral votes. A hypothetical Electoral College of Australia currently has an odd number of votes, and therefore rules out the possibility of a draw. In the next Australian election, there might be a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1920/Redistributions46thParl">return to 150 House seats</a>, in which case a draw could be a possibility in this made-up Electoral College.</p> <p>There are currently (in descending order): 47 House seats in New South Wales; 38 in Victoria; 30 in Queensland; 16 in Western Australia; 10 in South Australia; 5 in Tasmania; 3 in the Australian Capital Territory; and 2 in the Northern Territory.</p> <p>Finally, we can add the House seats to the fixed number of Senate seats and come up with our hypothetical Electoral College.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>NSW</th> <th>VIC</th> <th>QL</th> <th>WA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>TAS</th> <th>ACT</th> <th>NT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Senators</td> <td>12</td> <td>12</td> <td>12</td> <td>12</td> <td>12</td> <td>12</td> <td>2</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>House</td> <td>47</td> <td>38</td> <td>30</td> <td>16</td> <td>10</td> <td>5</td> <td>3</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Electoral Votes</td> <td>59</td> <td>50</td> <td>42</td> <td>28</td> <td>22</td> <td>17</td> <td>5</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>% of EV</td> <td>26.0%</td> <td>22.0%</td> <td>18.5%</td> <td>12.3%</td> <td>9.7%</td> <td>7.5%</td> <td>2.2%</td> <td>1.8%</td> </tr> <tr> <td>% of Population</td> <td>31.8%</td> <td>26.1%</td> <td>20.1%</td> <td>10.4%</td> <td>6.9%</td> <td>2.1%</td> <td>1.0%</td> <td>1.7%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Source: <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Members">Parliament of Australia</a></p> <p>One of the reasons for the Electoral College is to <a href="https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/in-defense-of-the-electoral-college">balance the power between large and small states</a>. You can see this in this hypothetical Electoral College, as New South Wales and Victoria, combined have 58% of the population of Australia, yet only 109 electoral votes or 48%. Thus some compromise from the smaller states is required to secure a majority in the Electoral College — although Queensland with 42 electoral votes is not <em>that</em> small.</p> <p>Tasmania is a real winner in the Electoral College with 17 electoral votes or 7.5% despite having only 2.1% of the population. The Northern Territory is fairly well represented in the Electoral College with 1.8% of the electoral votes and 1.7% of the population, although they only have two Senators as a territory not the 12 that the states have. Both New South Wales and Victoria (and to a lessor degree Queensland) lose influence in the Electoral College with Western Australia and South Australia picking up some of that lost influence.</p> <h4 id="paths-to-victory">Paths to Victory</h4> <p>With only 8 states and territories — compared to the 50 states (and D.C.) in the United States — Australia has a much smaller universe of possible paths to victory under the Electoral College.</p> <p>A winning path must include at least one of the three largest states: New South Wales (59 electoral votes), Victoria (50), and Queensland (42) representing 31.8, 26.1, and 20.1% of the population respectively.</p> <p>A party cannot win with New South Wales (59), Victoria (50), and the Northern Territory (4) — with the smallest number of votes available. This path would net a frustrating 113 electoral votes, representing 59.6% of the population — just one electoral vote short of a victory.</p> <p>Although a combination of New South Wales (59), Victoria (50), and the Australian Capital Territory (5) would secure the smallest possible majority of 114 electoral votes, representing 58.8% of the population.</p> <p>Victoria (50), Queensland (42) and South Australia (22) again would net 114 electoral votes, representing 53.1% of the population.</p> <p>The most minority rule path to victory would be Queensland (42), Western Australia (28), South Australia (22), Tasmania (17), and the Australian Capital Territory (5) for 114 electoral votes from just 40.4% of the population. That means 79.8% (59.6% from the other states, plus half plus 1 of the 40.4% required) of the population could vote against the a hypothetical president and still win the presidency through this minority rule bias present in the Electoral College.</p> <h4 id="complications-first-past-the-post-and-two-party-preferred">Complications: First-past-the-post and Two-party-preferred</h4> <p>Australia is different to the United States in that we have a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Australia">quasi multi-party system with two main ‘parties’</a> through a coalition. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_(Australia)">Liberal-National Coalition</a> is an alliance of centre-right political parties that form a Coalition that for most (not all) purposes can be viewed as one-party. On the other hand, there is the Australian Labor Party, which is the centre-left duality of the Coalition. Together, they form the two-party political system for Australia. The third largest party is the Greens which garner around <a href="https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/HouseDefault-24310.htm">10% of the popular vote</a>.</p> <p>There are two ways to map the Electoral College onto Australian politics. We can view the constitute parties within the Coalition as individual parties in their own right, or we can look at it as a two-party system.</p> <p>Strictly speaking the Electoral College <a href="https://www.unlv.edu/news/release/third-party-candidates-and-2020-election">does not cater to political coalitions</a> and goes on a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting">first-past-the-post</a> basis where the candidates with a plurality of the vote in a jurisdiction wins the electoral votes for that jurisdiction. Clearly, this first-past-the-post system disadvantages the Coalition in Australia, as the constitute parties will split the centre-right vote over multiple candidates.</p> <p>In practice, however, if an Electoral College-like system was implemented in Australia, it would be likely that the Coalition would collapse into one party or face all but certain failure in the Electoral College. This is a critique of the Electoral College and its <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/10/22/2013581117">tendency to introduce polarism</a>.</p> <p>Alternatively, we can view the two parties through the two-party-preferred system, where the Coalition is <em>essentially</em> viewed as its’ own party. With the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-party-preferred_vote">two-party-preferred system</a> we can view the Electoral College experiment in Australia as a more effective representative of the <em>actual</em> situation rather than the <em>theoretical</em> situation.</p> <p><strong>Note:</strong> We will use the result of the House popular vote for the basis of calculating the winner of each state and territory. There is an argument about perhaps adding or averaging the popular vote over both houses, however, for simplicity we will use the House popular vote.</p> <h3 id="electing-a-president-in-the-2019-federal-election">Electing a President in the 2019 Federal Election</h3> <p>The most recent Australian Federal Election occurred in 2019 where the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-17/live-coverage-election-results-2019-scott-morrison-bill-shorten/11118632">Coalition won the control of both Houses of Parliament</a> under Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Micheal McCormack.</p> <h4 id="results-after-the-2019-federal-election">Results after the 2019 Federal Election</h4> <h5 id="the-house-of-representatives">The House of Representatives</h5> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>NSW</th> <th>VIC</th> <th>QL</th> <th>WA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>TAS</th> <th>ACT</th> <th>NT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Coalition</td> <td>22</td> <td>15</td> <td>23</td> <td>11</td> <td>4</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Labour</td> <td>24</td> <td>21</td> <td>6</td> <td>5</td> <td>5</td> <td>2</td> <td>3</td> <td>0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Greens</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Other/Independent</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Source: <a href="https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/HouseDefault-24310.htm">AEC Tally Room</a></p> <h5 id="the-senate">The Senate</h5> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>NSW</th> <th>VIC</th> <th>QL</th> <th>WA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>TAS</th> <th>ACT</th> <th>NT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Coalition</td> <td>6</td> <td>6</td> <td>6</td> <td>6</td> <td>5</td> <td>5</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Labour</td> <td>5</td> <td>4</td> <td>3</td> <td>4</td> <td>4</td> <td>4</td> <td>1</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Greens</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Other/Independent</td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>0</td> <td>2</td> <td>1</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Source: <a href="https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/SenateResultsMenu-24310.htm">AEC Tally Room</a></p> <h4 id="first-past-the-post">First-past-the-post</h4> <p>If we take the top-of-the-line results and do not account for preferential voting the popular vote winner in each state and territory went as follows.</p> <p><strong>Note:</strong> Here the Coalition is separated out into the constitute parties.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>NSW</th> <th>VIC</th> <th>QL</th> <th>WA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>TAS</th> <th>ACT</th> <th>NT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Winning Party</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Liberal National</td> <td>Liberal</td> <td>Liberal</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Electoral Votes</td> <td>59</td> <td>50</td> <td>42</td> <td>28</td> <td>22</td> <td>17</td> <td>5</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Popular Vote</td> <td>34.6%</td> <td>36.9%</td> <td>43.7%</td> <td>45.8%</td> <td>40.6%</td> <td>33.6%</td> <td>41.1%</td> <td>42.3%</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Margin</td> <td>2.35%</td> <td>1.98%</td> <td>-17.02%</td> <td>-13.93%</td> <td>-5.19%</td> <td>2.98%</td> <td>9.77%</td> <td>4.75%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Source: <a href="https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/HouseDefault-24310.htm">AEC Tally Room</a></p> <p>Under this system Labour has a clear path to victory claiming the two largest states of New South Wales and Victoria and collecting the three smallest states and territories with an Electoral College victory of 135 electoral votes of the required 114 electoral votes to win.</p> <p>The full results are:</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>Liberal</th> <th>Liberal National</th> <th>Labor</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Electoral Votes</td> <td>50</td> <td>42</td> <td>135</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><img src="/content/images/2020/11/first-past-the-post.png" alt="First-past-the-post Electoral College Map 2019" /></p> <p>In this hypothetical Electoral College, Australia would have elected President Bill Shorten and Vice-President Tanya Plibersek with a plurality popular vote of 34.7% on a first-past-the-post basis.</p> <p>This result is not really reflective of the reality, as Labor is more likely to win a plurality before the effects of the Coalition’s alliance are accounted for due to the Coalition stratifying the centre-right vote.</p> <h4 id="two-party-preferred">Two-party-preferred</h4> <p>Most discussions of Australian politics revolves around a two-party-preferred system, where the effects of the Coalition are taken into account along with preferences from other parties. More specifically, in the House the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting">instant-runoff voting</a> system is used.</p> <p>Under the two-party-preferred system the results were:</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>NSW</th> <th>VIC</th> <th>QL</th> <th>WA</th> <th>SA</th> <th>TAS</th> <th>ACT</th> <th>NT</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Winning Party</td> <td>Coalition</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Coalition</td> <td>Coalition</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Electoral Votes</td> <td>59</td> <td>50</td> <td>42</td> <td>28</td> <td>22</td> <td>17</td> <td>5</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Popular Vote</td> <td>51.8%</td> <td>53.1%</td> <td>58.4%</td> <td>55.6%</td> <td>50.7%</td> <td>56.0%</td> <td>61.6%</td> <td>54.2%</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Margin</td> <td>3.56%</td> <td>-1.98%</td> <td>16.88%</td> <td>11.10%</td> <td>-1.42%</td> <td>-11.92%</td> <td>-23.22%</td> <td>-8.40%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Source: <a href="https://results.aec.gov.au/24310/Website/HouseDefault-24310.htm">AEC Tally Room</a></p> <p>In this case, the Coalition have the path to victory through: New South Wales; Queensland; and Western Australia, providing them with 129 of the 114 electoral votes required to win. Labor collects the second largest state in Victoria and collected the four smallest states and territories for 98 electoral votes.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>Coalition</th> <th>Labor</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Electoral Votes</td> <td>129</td> <td>98</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><img src="/content/images/2020/11/two-party-preferred.png" alt="Two-party-preferred Electoral College Map 2019" /></p> <p>In this hypothetical Electoral College, Australia would have elected President Scott Morrison and Vice-President Micheal McCormack with a majority 51.5% of the two-party-preferred vote. For those playing at home, they will know this was the actual result of the 2019 Federal Election with the Coalition winning a majority of the seats in the House.</p> <h4 id="does-it-match-the-popular-vote">Does it match the popular vote?</h4> <p>A criticism of the Electoral College <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1800_United_States_presidential_election">is</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824_United_States_presidential_election">that</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1876_United_States_presidential_election">it</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_United_States_presidential_election">sometimes</a> (especially in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_presidential_election">modern</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election">times</a>) elects a winner that did not win the popular vote. So how did our two versions of The Australian Electoral College go?</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th> </th> <th>Electoral College</th> <th>Popular Vote</th> <th>Match</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>First-past-the-post</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Labor</td> <td>Yes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Two-party-preferred</td> <td>Coalition</td> <td>Coalition</td> <td>Yes</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>The answer is pretty well. Under both scenarios the winner of the popular vote also was the winner of the Electoral College.</p> <h4 id="swing-states-and-the-tipping-point">Swing states and the tipping point</h4> <p>Under the first-past-the-post system, Queensland and Western Australia are very safe states for the Liberal National Party and the Australian Liberal Party respectively, and to a lesser extent South Australia is fairly safe for the Liberal party. On the other hand the Australian Capital Territory is a safe Labour state. The rest are all within 5%, and can be our swing states. Both New South Wales and Victoria are within 2.5%, with massive Electoral College wins available with 59 and 50 electoral votes respectively.</p> <p>The tipping point state — the state which takes Labor over the 114 threshold is Victoria won by 1.98%.</p> <p>Under the two-party-preferred system, Queensland and Western Australia are again very safe states for the Coalition with a combined 92 electoral votes. The Electoral College heavily favours the Coalition with 92 of 114 electoral votes held in very safe states with greater than 10% margins. Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory are safe Labor states.</p> <p>The tipping point state for the Coalition is New South Wales which was won by 3.56%.</p> <h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3> <p>The Electoral College is a horrible system for electing a president and should be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_abolition_amendment">abolished in the United States</a>. Biden is on track to win the <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-pretty-convincing-win-for-biden-and-a-mediocre-performance-for-down-ballot-democrats/">most votes every by a candidate</a> and have one of (if not the largest) popular vote victories of all time, yet for the last week, the world was hyper-focussed and was only talking about tens of thousands of votes in a few counties that ultimately decide the winner of the Electoral College.</p> <p>You can <a href="https://www.thearticle.com/australias-flawed-democracy">pick flaws in the Australian electoral system</a>, but is a much better way to elect a leader than the Electoral College. It was a fun little project though.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="politics" /><category term="electoral-college" /><category term="electoral-votes" /><category term="voting" /><category term="election-system" /><category term="voting-system" /><category term="election" /><category term="president" /><category term="vice-president" /><category term="parliament" /><category term="Australia" /><category term="United-States" /><category term="United-States-of-America" /><category term="who-would-win" /><category term="hypothetical" /><category term="maths" /><category term="first-past-the-post" /><category term="two-party-preferred" /><summary type="html">Who would be Australia’s hypothetical President?</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">How to construct a vintage cine prime lens set</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/how-to-construct-a-vintage-cine-prime-lens-set/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="How to construct a vintage cine prime lens set" /><published>2020-07-15T17:29:12+09:30</published><updated>2020-07-15T17:29:12+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/how-to-construct-a-vintage-cine-prime-lens-set</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/how-to-construct-a-vintage-cine-prime-lens-set/"><p>I recently purchased myself a vintage Nikon EL2 35mm film camera — I totally love it — and it came with a Nikkor AI 50mm f/2.0 lens. I decided to revive my lens collecting hobby and finally complete my Nikkor prime set — which I want to cine-mod. A few years ago, I picked up a BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, which came with a few Nikkor primes and a MetaBones BMPCC to Nikon SpeedBooster, and I fell in love with these Nikkor primes. They are absolute tanks, solid metal construction, engraved markings, amazing optical quality and relatively cheap to pick up these days.</p> <p>Even in Australia, there is a pretty good market for vintage Nikkors, and we are close enough to Japan that I have access to that huge secondhand market for relatively <em>okay</em> shipping. I will have another post going into detail about what lenses from the Nikkor AI/AI-S series you should pick up to put together into a prime set, but for now I want to write about how to construct a set of prime lenses. Starting from a basic 3 lens set to a massive 11+ lens set and specials that cover a wide range focal lengths.</p> <h2 id="what-is-a-cine-prime-set">What is a cine prime set?</h2> <p>When someone says the phase “cine prime set”, many filmmakers will immediately think of lenses like the Zeiss Super (Standard) Speeds, or Arri-Zeiss Master Primes, Cooke S4 Primes or maybe Leitz Summilux-C Primes. But what exactly is a cine prime set?</p> <p>Basically, it’s a set of 3 or more lenses of a fixed focal length (neé prime) that are designed specifically for cinema use. Usually, this means de-clicked and geared aperture rings, geared manual focus, marked T-stops, and usually an absolutely massive price tag. The most notable aspect cine primes or any primes used for cinema, is that they are prime lenses. Which means to get wide and telephoto shots you will need dedicated wide and tele lenses, and if you’re looking for anything in-between you will need a new lens for each focal length you wish to shoot.</p> <h3 id="why-not-just-use-a-zoom">Why not just use a zoom?</h3> <p>Zoom lenses have much more complex optical designs than primes, which means they require more optical glass elements — that will typically degrade image quality, reduce light transmission, increase weight, and introduce more optical artefacts. Therefore, traditionally cinema has relied on prime lenses for their superior image quality, simpler design, increased light transmission, and lower weight compared to their zoom counterparts. Zoom lenses of course are still utilised in cinema, but prime lenses are the real workhorses. And unlike in photography, filmmakers are often afforded the time to change a lens to get a different focal length, whereas a photographer may be better equipped with a zoom lens to cover a larger range of focal lengths for wildlife, sports, or street photography.</p> <h3 id="creating-a-set">Creating a set</h3> <p>To cover a wide range of focal lengths and field of views, we need to put together a set of prime lenses, but what lenses to choose? Well it depends on your budget, your field of view requirements, the story requirements, and what focal lengths are available in the lenses that you want.</p> <p>For example, if we take a look at the Arri-Zeiss Master Primes, there are 15 lenses ranging from focal lengths of 12mm to 150mm. The brand new Arri Signature Primes come in 16 focal lengths from 12mm to 280mm. The Cooke S4/i lenses come in 18 focal lengths from 12mm to 300mm. The Zeiss Super Speeds MK I was a 5 lens set from 18mm to 85mm, similarly the Zeiss Standard Speeds started with 6 lenses from 8mm to 85mm, and later added another 9 lenses from 10mm to 300mm for a full set of 15 lenses, 8mm to 300mm.</p> <p>We can see here that a fully featured professional set of primes should cover somewhere between 10mm to 280mm. Obviously, a smaller set might not be able to cover these extremes — there’s probably not a lot of need for an 8mm, 10mm, 280mm or 300mm lens.</p> <h3 id="how-many-lenses">How many lenses?</h3> <p>How many lenses should you add to your set? Well, each of the Arri Signature Primes are about $25,000 with some of the exotic focal lengths reaching $40,000, resulting in the price for a full 16 lens set will setting you back a cool $462,000. So we really have to ask ourselves: how many focal lengths do I need? Or rather, how many focal lengths can I afford?</p> <p>If you’re looking at putting together a vintage prime set, with Nikkors, Contax Zeiss, Leica R, Canon FD, Asahi Takumar, Minolta Rokkor, or “Soviet” vintage lenses, your price-per-lens is probably less than $1000 (sometimes much less than this, sometimes a little higher) and you can maybe put together a bigger set. But what is the minimum number of lenses you should have in your prime set?</p> <h3 id="the-absolute-minimum-prime-set">The absolute minimum prime set</h3> <p>Any prime set starts with 3 lenses — you will need a “Normal” lens, a “Wide” lens, and a “Telephoto” or “Tele” lens. What exactly these focal lengths are, will depend on series of lenses you’re building from but will also depend on your tastes.</p> <p>Do you gravitate towards really wide lenses? Or are you more prone to tele lenses with lots of background-foreground separation? And importantly, what formats do you want your lenses compatible with? Are you shooting full-frame? Super 35? Super 16? APS-C crop? Micro Four Thirds? Large format 65mm? All of these sensor formats will change your effective focal length depending on the size of the lens’ projection circle.</p> <h4 id="are-crop-factors-useless-in-cinema">Are crop-factors useless in cinema?</h4> <p>For the purposes of this post, we will focus on vintage lenses, which are basically all designed for full-frame 35mm film cameras. So if we’re using these lenses on anything smaller than a full-frame sensor we are going to have to deal with crop-factors. Simply put, a crop-factor is a number unique to different sized sensors that we multiply the focal length by, to give us an effective focal length or field of view of a full-frame lens as captured by the crop-sensor. Check out this <a href="https://www.sharegrid.com/blog/posts/a-filmmakers-guide-to-sensor-sizes-and-lens-formats">ShareGrid</a> post for a deep dive into crop-sensors and lens formats.</p> <p>I will provide Super 35 effective focal lengths denoted <em>S35</em> and Super 16 effective focal lengths denoted <em>S16</em> (I love Super 16 and my BMPCC, and it’s also crazy to see how much smaller a Super 16 sensor is) and my BMPCC with a MetaBones 0.58x focal reducer will be denoted <em>BMPCC</em>.</p> <h4 id="35mm-full-frame-versus-35mm-motion-picture-film">35mm full-frame versus 35mm motion picture film</h4> <p>When we talk about crop-factors we are using the 35mm film size as the baseline comparison sensor size. This is the 35mm film gauge for still photography, also called <em>135 film</em>. 135 film has a sensor size of 36x24 mm or a diagonal length, D_135 = D_FF = 43.27 mm.</p> <p>35mm motion picture film, which we will call “Academy” film, has a smaller sensor size of 22x16 mm or a diagonal length, D_Academy = 27.2mm.</p> <p>This is a subtle different that is often overlooked in conversations around crop-factors. While both still photography and motion picture photography used the 35mm film gauge they have always had different exposure areas or sensor-sizes. Even with Widescreen, CinemaScope, Super 35, or Techniscope — the motion picture sensor was always smaller or “cropped-in” from full-frame 135 film. The exception is VistaVision which is essential 135 film used for motion picture use, and larger film formats such as 65mm, 70mm, and IMAX film.</p> <p>To understand this different, you need to simply look at how the film was fed into the camera. For 135 still photography the perforations were along the longer side of the frame, and the film was fed horizontally across the exposure area. While in 35mm motion picture film, the perforations were along the shorter side of the frame, and the film was fed vertically across the exposure area. You see this illustrated in the image below, from WikiMedia Commons.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2020/07/135-vs-35mm.jpg" alt="135 film versus 35mm motion picture film. Drawings courtesy of WikiMedia Commons." /></p> <p>Using the 135 full-frame sensor size as a base-line for cinema focal lengths is a bit of a misnomer. Most cinema lenses were designed to cover 35mm motion picture film, not 135 full-frame.</p> <p>For example, the legendary Zeiss Super Speeds do not cover full-frame, neither do Arri-Zeiss Master Primes, Cooke S4s or nearly any of the pre-digital cinema primes. The newer cinema primes such as Zeiss Compact Primes, Zeiss Supreme Primes, and Arri Signature Primes are designed to cover full-frame digital sensors with a wider image circle.</p> <h4 id="what-does-this-all-mean">What does this all mean?</h4> <p>All of this kind of means that you shouldn’t spend too much worry about crop-factors, especially when looking at cinema use. You’re probably better off converting full-frame focal lengths back to a Super 35 equivalent focal length to match your mental model for cinema prime focal lengths.</p> <p>For our purposes, where we are looking at using vintage 35mm still photography lenses, the full-frame crop factor translation is useful, as all of these lenses were designed to cover full-frame.</p> <p>In the risk of confusing things more, I will also convert the 135 focal lengths to equivalent “Academy” 35mm motion picture film focal lengths, so you can compare the focal lengths directly to cinema lenses such as, Arri-Zeiss Master Primes and Zeiss Super Speeds.</p> <h4 id="base-135-full-frame">Base 135 full-frame</h4> <p>To find the crop-factor, CF, of a crop-sensor we use the following formula, where D denotes the diagonal length of the sensor:</p> <blockquote> <p>CF_sensor = D_full-frane / D_sensor = 43.27 / D_sensor.</p></blockquote> <p>For example, Super 35 has a diagonal length of 31.10mm, that is, D_S35 = 31.10. And so the crop-factor,</p> <blockquote> <p>CF_S35 = S_FF / D_S35 = 43.27 / 31.10 = 1.39.</p></blockquote> <p>So, we can find the effective focal length of a full-frame lens on a Super 35 sensor by multiplying the focal length by 1.39.</p> <p>For example, a 50mm lens designed for full-frame, such as the Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.2, when put on a Super 35 sensor, effectively has a 70mm focal length in full-frame terms.</p> <blockquote> <p>f_S35 = f_FF x CF_S35 = 50mm x 1.39 = 69.5mm ~= 70mm.</p></blockquote> <p>There is of course is more caveats here, the depth of field is not the same as a 70mm full-frame lens, and SpeedBoosters can complicate this and the ShareGrid article goes into more detail, but for our purposes this simplification will do.</p> <p>You can think of it like this, a Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.2 on a Super 35 camera, has the same field of view as a 70mm lens on a full-frame camera (if you can find a 70mm prime).</p> <p>The crop-factor for Super 16, CF_S16, is 3.02.</p> <p>The crop-factor for 35mm motion picture “Academy” film, CF_Academy, is 1.59.</p> <p>The crop-factor for my BMPCC with a 0.58x focal reducer, CF_BMPCC, is 1.75.</p> <h4 id="base-super-35">Base Super 35</h4> <p>To find the equivalent Super 35 focal length of a full-frame lens on a full-frame sensor we basically invert the crop-factor for Super 35 film, that is we multiply by:</p> <blockquote> <p>1 / C_S35 = 1 / 1.39 = 0.719.</p></blockquote> <p>For example, a 50mm lens designed for full-frame, such as the Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.2, when put on a full-frame sensor, is equivalent to 36mm lens that is designed for Super 35.</p> <blockquote> <p>Equivalent focal length = 50mm x 0.719 = 36mm.</p></blockquote> <p>That is, a 50mm full-frame lens on a full-frame sensor, gives the same field of view, as a 36mm Super 35 lens on a Super 35 sensor.</p> <p>Specifically, the Zeiss Super Speed 35mm T/1.3 on a Super 35 camera has the same field of view as Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.2 on a full-frame camera.</p> <p>Converting to Base Super 35 allows you to compare how your vintage length focal lengths compare to the “traditional” cinema primes, that is, cinema primes not designed for full-frame digital sensors.</p> <p>Florian Milz has created an amazing tool to see how various lenses cover different sized sensors. I recommend you check it out and play around with it with different sensor sizes and different lenses to get an intuitive understanding of crop-factors, sensor-sizes, and lens coverage. Check out his <a href="https://brains.florianmilz.com/lenscoverage">Lens Coverage Tool</a>.</p> <p>Hint: Compare the camera “FILM Super 35mm (4-perf)” with “FILM Vista Vision” on various lenses.</p> <h4 id="nomenclature">Nomenclature</h4> <p>I will write lens specifications in the following format:</p> <blockquote> <p>(focal-length) (sensor coverage) (lens group)</p></blockquote> <p>For example,</p> <blockquote> <p>50mm FF normal</p></blockquote> <p>Means a 50mm focal length designed for a full-frame (135 film) sensor and is what we will call a “normal” lens.</p> <p>We will use the following lens groups, these are my personal definitions for these lens groups. What I call an ultra-wide might be a super-wide or wide for you, I just find this mental model useful for lens set construction. There are no rules or definitions that everyone will agree on, however, during this article we will stick to this nomenclature.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Lens Group</th> <th style="text-align: center">Focal-Length Range (in full-frame terms)</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Fish-eye</td> <td style="text-align: center">1mm - 20mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Special-Wide</td> <td style="text-align: center">1mm - 15mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Super-Wide</td> <td style="text-align: center">10mm - 24mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Ultra-Wide</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm - 35mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Wide</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm - 35mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Mid-Wide</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm - 50mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Normal</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm - 60mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Mid-Tele</td> <td style="text-align: center">55mm - 85mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Tele</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm - 100mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Ultra-Tele</td> <td style="text-align: center">100mm - 135mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Super-Tele</td> <td style="text-align: center">120mm - 185mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left">Special-Tele</td> <td style="text-align: center">185mm+</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>You can see that the focal-length range is not exclusive to each group, and that you can have lenses that sit in multiple groups, these are simply a guide not absolute rules.</p> <p>N.B. the super prefix is more extreme than ultra.</p> <h3 id="a-3-lens-set">A 3 Lens Set</h3> <p>Our basic 3 lens set comprises of a Wide, a Normal, and a Tele. The choice of focal lengths depend on your choice of normal.</p> <p><strong>Choose your Normal</strong></p> <p>Traditionally, a 50mm lens is considered “normal”, however, some people prefer a wider 35mm lens as their normal, and some will choose a 40mm lens. Where you set your centre lens is really a personal choice, and also depends on the look of the project you’re shooting.</p> <p>We will choose a 50mm lens for our normal, for a few reasons. Number 1, it’s generally considered to be the focal length of the human eye, and that means shots from a 50mm should look pretty natural. The second reason, is a practical reason. Many cameras from the 70s and 80s came with a 50mm kit lens, which means for us, there is an abundance of vintage 50mm lenses. There are millions of them out there, and due to the sheer number of them, it is super easy for find a vintage 50mm lens in good condition for a good price. It is also easier to find faster 50mm lenses for the same reason.</p> <p>So we have.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><strong>Add your Wide and Tele</strong></p> <p>Next, we need to complete our set, by giving us options for our wide shots and our telephoto shots. Again, how wide you want to go is again a very personal choice, but most 3 lens prime sets will go for a 35mm for wide or a 85mm for telephoto.</p> <p>Some may argue that 35mm is not wide enough and that you should go for a 28mm or 24mm or even a 20mm wide-angle. It is really up to you — we are going to go for a 35mm wide. In vintage lens sets, there is not usually many lenses between 50mm and 85mm. You may get a 58mm or a 60mm, but rarely anything else. For cinema use, a large range of telephotos are not generally needed and cinematographers will generally prefer more granularity in the wider-end of the spectrum. So we will stick with a 85mm.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>You can see here how the different crop-factors affect the focal length of the set. For example, the 35mm FF wide becomes a 49mm S35 normal, essentially a 50mm normal — which is super nice. And on the BMPCC the 50mm FF becomes a 88mm BMPCC tele, essentially a 85mm tele.</p> <h3 id="a-5-lens-set">A 5 Lens Set</h3> <p>A 3 lens set is a perfect way to start, and if you’re collecting a vintage set of lenses, it is the perfect skeleton to hang the rest of your set on. It allows you to build up a set overtime as the required lenses become available, and also teaches you a lot about focal-length and knowing when to reach for what lens.</p> <p>Going from a 3 to 5 lens set allows to push the set wider and longer or if you’re happy with the breadth of your set you can use the 2 extra lenses to fill the focal-length gaps.</p> <h4 id="going-extreme-set-a">Going Extreme (Set A)</h4> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">135mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">188mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">544mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">236mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">97mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>With the addition of a 20mm FF super-wide lens we get a very nice 28mm S35 ultra-wide, a respectable 60mm S16 normal and a 35mm BMPCC wide/mid-wide. The 135mm FF super-tele becomes a useful 188mm S35 special-tele — close to a 180mm special-tele. On the S16 and BMPCC it becomes a little unwieldy.</p> <h4 id="filling-the-gaps-set-b">Filling the gaps (Set B)</h4> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th>Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td>85mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">39mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td>118mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td>257mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td>149mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20m</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td>61mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>In this instance, we are happy with our 85mm FF tele and decide to add a 20mm FF super-wide and a 28mm FF wide/ultra-wide.</p> <p>Again, the 28mm FF ultra-wide is a really nice lens for our sensor sizes, the 28mm FF ultra-wide becomes a nice ~50mm BMPCC normal, and 85mm S16 tele, and a very useful ~40mm S35 mid-wide.</p> <h3 id="a-7-lens-set">A 7 Lens Set</h3> <p>With a 7 lens set we can really start to fill out that focal length range, we will build upon our two 5 lens sets as a base. At 7 lenses you end up with a really well rounded set, and depending how happy you are with your 5 lens set you can start to add special lenses, such as fish-eye lenses, special-wides or special-teles — that go really really wide or long, or perhaps macro lenses if that suits your project.</p> <p>We wont be touching fish-eyes or macro lenses in these standard sets, however, I would only start to add these exotic lenses once you have a solid 5 lens set. That is, we will also assume the the wide (special, super, ultra, mid) lenses we choose here are rectilinear and telephotos are non-macro.</p> <h4 id="set-a">Set A</h4> <p>For Set A, we are going to have a fill the gaps approach, by adding an ultra-wide and an ultra-tele.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">100mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">135mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">33mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">139mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">188mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">302mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">544mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">42mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">175mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">236mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">97mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Again, here the additional 24mm FF ultra-wide is super nice, becoming a ~35mm S35 wide and a nice 40mm BMPCC mid-wide. The 100mm FF ultra-tele is gives a ~135mm S35 tele, a ~300mm S16 special-tele and a ~185mm BMPCC super-tele.</p> <h4 id="set-b">Set B</h4> <p>Set B is our wider focused set, a set designed to cater to smaller sensor sizes — anything smaller than full-frame will benefit from a wider weighted set.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th>Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">15mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td>85mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">21mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">33mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">39mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td>118mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">45mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td>257mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">26mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">42mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td>149mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">11mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">17mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td>61mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>You can see we’ve shifted our the naming of our wide lenses here, we’ve shifted everything along to fit in a 15mm FF special-wide and a 24mm FF ultra-wide shifting the 28mm FF to a wide and 35mm FF to mid-wide.</p> <p>The special-wide I chose here is 15mm FF because there are rectilinear 15mm lenses in the Nikkor AI/AI-S series, the Contax Zeiss series, Leica R series and Asahi Takumar series. In some cases you may only have a 16mm or 18mm. The Canon FD series has a 14mm rectilinear, the Minolta Rokkor series has a 17mm rectilinear as the widest available.</p> <p>These sub-20mm FF special-wide lenses are often the most expensive in the series, and are often the widest available lenses in the series. You will need to judge for yourself how wide you can afford to go, and how wide you can go while keeping an acceptable aperture. The Nikkor 13mm AI/AI-S lenses have minimum aperture of f/5.6 and the Nikkor 15mm AI/AI-S has f/5.6 and f/3.5 options. Similarly, the Distagon 15mm and Distagon 16mm from the Contax Zeiss series have f/3.5 and f/4.0 minimum apertures respectively.</p> <h4 id="9-lens-set">9 Lens Set</h4> <p>The 9 lens set is basically combining Set A and B.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Tele</th> <th>Super-Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">15mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">100mm</td> <td>135mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">21mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">33mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">39mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">139mm</td> <td>188mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">45mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">302mm</td> <td>408mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">26mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">42mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">175mm</td> <td>236mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">11mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">17mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td>97mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h4 id="11-lens-set">11+ Lens Set</h4> <p>The 11 lens set is about as large a set you can manage with vintage lenses, you can keep adding more and more tele lenses (Contax Zeiss goes all the way to a Mirotar 1000mm f/8.0 special-tele), and depending on your series you might have one or two more wider lenses to add or maybe a few more gaps for <em>more-wide</em> and <em>more-tele</em> gaps. However, we will end our journey at 11 lenses, with a special-tele and a mid-tele.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">15mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">100mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">135mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">180mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">21mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">33mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">39mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">83mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">139mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">188mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">250mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">45mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">181mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">302mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">408mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">544mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">26mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">42mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">105mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">175mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">236mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">315mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">11mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">17mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">43mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">97mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">129mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Depending on your series, your 60mm FF mid-tele might be a 58mm like the Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AI/AI-S; Asahi Takumar 58mm f/2.0 (and f/2.4); and the MC Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 (and f/1.4). Or a 55mm like the the Canon FD 55mm f/1.2. Or a macro lens like the Contax Zeiss Makro-Planar 60mm f/2.8 and the Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8.</p> <p>Similarly, a 180mm FF special-tele is probably as long as you need to go in cinema, but you can really go wild here and go as long as you want.</p> <p>Finally, we will add a fish-eye for a 12 lens set. Most vintage lens series have a 16mm FF fish-eye, but your individual results may vary.</p> <table> <thead> <tr> <th style="text-align: left">Sensor</th> <th style="text-align: center">Fish-Eye</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Wide</th> <th style="text-align: center">Normal</th> <th style="text-align: center">Mid-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Ultra-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Super-Tele</th> <th style="text-align: center">Special-Tele</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>FF</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">16mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">15mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">24mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">50mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">100mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">135mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">180mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">22mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">21mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">33mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">39mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">70mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">83mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">118mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">139mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">188mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">250mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>S16</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">48mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">45mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">60mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">85mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">106mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">151mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">181mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">257mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">302mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">408mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">544mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>BMPCC</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">28mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">26mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">35mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">42mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">49mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">88mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">105mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">149mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">175mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">236mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">315mm</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: left"><strong>Base S35</strong></td> <td style="text-align: center">12mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">11mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">14mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">17mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">20mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">25mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">36mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">43mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">61mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">72mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">97mm</td> <td style="text-align: center">129mm</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3> <p>That’s it, that’s how we construct a cine prime set. To summarise:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Find your normal.</strong> Find a focal length to be the centre of our set.</li> <li><strong>Add a wide and a tele.</strong> Go as wide or as long as your project or aesthetics require.</li> <li><strong>Fill the gaps or go extreme.</strong> Add wider and longer extremes to push the breadth of your set, or fill up the gaps within your set to give yourself more normal-ish options.</li> <li><strong>Repeat step 3</strong>, until you run out of lenses.</li> <li><strong>Add a fish-eye and/or macro lenses</strong>.</li> <li><strong>Get a sweet pelican case for your lenses</strong>.</li></ol> <p>At the moment, I am starting to fill out my vintage Nikkor AI (not AI-S) vintage prime set, and I have my eyes on creating a nice 5 lens set of Contax Zeiss lenses.</p> <p>I hope this guide has been useful in your vintage cine prime set construction, in the coming weeks I will be using this guide to construct vintage cine prime sets for Nikkor AI/AI-S, Contax Zeiss, Canon FD, Leica R, Minolta Rokkor, Asahi Takumar, and “Soviets”. I will link back here when they are up.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="cinema" /><category term="vintage" /><category term="cine-prime" /><category term="cine" /><category term="lens" /><category term="lenses" /><category term="construct" /><category term="guide" /><category term="nikkor" /><category term="contax-zeiss" /><category term="zeiss" /><summary type="html">I recently purchased myself a vintage Nikon EL2 35mm film camera — I totally love it — and it came with a Nikkor AI 50mm f/2.0 lens. I decided to revive my lens collecting hobby and finally complete my Nikkor prime set — which I want to cine-mod. A few years ago, I picked up a BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, which came with a few Nikkor primes and a MetaBones BMPCC to Nikon SpeedBooster, and I fell in love with these Nikkor primes. They are absolute tanks, solid metal construction, engraved markings, amazing optical quality and relatively cheap to pick up these days.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">Don’t call it a comeback</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/dont-call-it-a-comeback/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="Don't call it a comeback" /><published>2020-05-14T17:36:45+09:30</published><updated>2020-05-14T17:36:45+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/dont-call-it-a-comeback</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/dont-call-it-a-comeback/"><p>After a long break in blogging, I am making a come back. I have spent alot of my newly found Covid-19 free-time finishing off my blog migration from <a href="https://ghost.org">Ghost</a> to <a href="https://jekyllrb.com">Jekyll</a>; and otherwise updating and fixing my website from being a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180831040610/https://jden.me/">very very boring</a> single page website to something that actually represents me on the web.</p> <p>In the coming blog posts I will post about various technical points of interest I came across building this website. Additonally, I will be slowly introducing various categories, verticals, columns to write about a broad variety of subjects. In the interium to avoid missing out any of my <em>frequently updated</em> blog posts you can subscribe to my newsletter below.</p> <p><a href="https://buttondown.email/jden">Subscribe with Buttondown</a>.</p> <p>Expect an email from me soon, if I don’t I give you permission to bug me over <a href="/about#contact">email</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/jden">Twitter</a>.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="come-back" /><category term="hello-world" /><summary type="html">After a long break in blogging, I am making a come back. I have spent alot of my newly found Covid-19 free-time finishing off my blog migration from Ghost to Jekyll; and otherwise updating and fixing my website from being a very very boring single page website to something that actually represents me on the web.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">September: Multi-disciplinary</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/september-multi-disciplinary/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="September: Multi-disciplinary" /><published>2017-09-06T15:01:52+09:30</published><updated>2017-09-06T15:01:52+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/september-multi-disciplinary</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/september-multi-disciplinary/"><p>This month I will do something I have been talking about for a long time. I am going to start a podcast.</p> <p>It will be called <em>Multi-disciplinary</em>, an infrequent conversation about diverse and numerous creative fields.</p> <p>The idea will be that I will talk to and interview—slash—hangout with creatives from different fields — hence multi-disciplinary.</p> <p>Let’s go.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="september" /><category term="podcast" /><category term="12-things" /><category term="12-months-12-things" /><category term="12-months" /><category term="creative" /><category term="multi-disciplinary" /><summary type="html">This month I will do something I have been talking about for a long time. I am going to start a podcast.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">Slam August</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/slam-august/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="Slam August" /><published>2017-08-07T08:21:37+09:30</published><updated>2017-08-07T08:21:37+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/slam-august</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/slam-august/"><p>As is becoming a regular event on this blog, it is now August 7 and I am announcing the project for this month.</p> <p>In the months of August and September Spoken Word SA is holding the heats for the <a href="http://spokenwordsa.com.au/poetry-slam-2017-dates-and-venues/">2017 Poetry Slam</a>, so naturally I am going to enter and hopefully win (I won’t). The first heat is the 18th of August and the last is 15th of September with the final on the 22nd of September.</p> <p>I have had the tab open for this for pretty much 6-months, and have not started working on anything in that time, which is why I am setting this as a project. For most people (myself included) see slam poetry as probably something like <a href="https://youtu.be/9qxJ6bznkNI">this</a>.</p> <p>I do find something endearing about slam poetry though. My idea is to do something akin to the dual dialogue you hear a lot in musicals. In particular I really love the song <em><a href="https://itun.es/au/6O3g9?i=1025212449">Farmer Refuted</a></em> by Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/08/Screen-Shot-2017-08-07-at-5.44.17-pm.png" alt="Genius annotation for Farmer Refuted" /></p> <p>I mean this annotation on <a href="https://genius.com/7910511">Genius</a> says it all.</p> <blockquote> <p>Yo, pay attention to the sickening amount of sound play that Miranda/Hamilton works into this epic counterpoint takedown. Highlighted words attached to this annotation indicate just about all instances of matched consonance and assonance.</p></blockquote> <p>So this is the kind of form I want to write my poem, with two voices that talk at the same time overlapping to create a third <em>meta</em> voice but all performed by one person. Seems hard, maybe impossible and it probably is — but I will try.</p> <p>I also really like the way the poetry slam is judged.</p> <blockquote> <p>Five judges chosen by the MC at random from the audience. Judges hold up score cards using a 1 – 10 scale to one decimal point, with 10 being the highestpossible score. Of the five scores for each poet, only the middle three scores are counted. The decision of the judges is final.</p></blockquote> <p>I think that is really cool and makes you really work to make a connection with the audience on the night.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="12-things" /><category term="12-months" /><category term="12-months-12-things" /><category term="august" /><category term="slam-poetry" /><category term="poetry" /><category term="slam-august" /><category term="spoken-word" /><category term="spoken-word-sa" /><category term="lin-manuel-miranda" /><category term="hamilton" /><summary type="html">As is becoming a regular event on this blog, it is now August 7 and I am announcing the project for this month.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">A not very timely update on the July book</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/unintentional-but-completely-intentional-inspiration/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="A not very timely update on the July book" /><published>2017-08-07T08:01:12+09:30</published><updated>2017-08-07T08:01:12+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/unintentional-but-completely-intentional-inspiration</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/unintentional-but-completely-intentional-inspiration/"><p>While I waited for the delivery of a book I ordered online — which turned out to be not in-stock, and the company had emailed me a week ago asking if I wanted them to order it from the supplier and apparently took no reply as a “no”, nevertheless 3 weeks later I have the book, <em>Famous Last Lies, An Anthology</em> by Claire Cock-Starkey — I started listing influential people in my life. Massively-long-run-on-sentence notwithstanding, these are “influential <em>dead</em> people” and moreover “influential dead people I have never met”. So when I finally go the book, I could look up their famous last words and start to put together the book.</p> <p>Close followers of this blog — to which I think there is two, including myself — will remember the original intent of the book would be correct false famous last words, which I would call famous last <em>lies</em> and then list the <em>actual</em> last words. Now it turns out, knowing someones last words is hard enough, but finding someones actual last words is even harder. When I issued myself this project I only had one of these in mind: Oscar Wilde.</p> <blockquote> <p>My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or other of us has got to go.</p></blockquote> <!--more--> <p>Which he had actually said in the weeks leading up to his death and his actual last words were during his Last Sacraments and was the Prayer for Resignations to the Will of God.</p> <blockquote> <p>Lord, if what I seek be according to our will, then let it come to pass and let success attend the outcome. But if not, my God, let it not come to pass. Do not leave me to my own devices, for you know how unwise I can be. Keep me safe under your protection Lord my God, and in your own gentle way guide me and rule me as you know best. Amen</p></blockquote> <p>The book <em>Famous Last Lies, An Anthology</em> does actually point out a couple of this faux last words. However, the list of corrections are not terribly exciting or numerous, so the I decided to change the direction of the book.</p> <h2 id="new-direction">New Direction</h2> <p>The book is still titled <em>Famous Last Lies</em> to which one of my friends quickly quipped.</p> <blockquote> <p>That’s such a Jayden title!</p></blockquote> <p>I guess my lust for all things fraudulent is a defining characteristic of myself. And most of the layout and design of the book remains the same, but instead of correcting their last word I just quote the <em>most-often-quoted-and-easily-referencable-and-maybe-not-completly-factually-accurate</em> version of their last words along with an equally millennial and bashfully literary ignorant 140-chacter <em>tweet</em> length biography.</p> <p>The only thing left to discuss is the length of the book. How many people will I include? Who do I include? I didn’t want to arbitrarily choose a number, I would need to find some meaning behind the choice and relate that back to the work. I first thought 52, for 52-weeks in a year, 52-cards in a deck, etc. But that was too numerous. Next up, is 42, for obvious reasons — for those who don’t find this immediately obvious, Douglas Adams said <em>“42 is the answer to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.”</em>. All of these are probably too expensive to then print, so I decided on the sickeningly cliche choice of 13.</p> <p>At some stage I decided to also write a series of 3 essays on <em>Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness</em> which is a horrifically American thing to want to write about, but I found a screenshot of this on my desktop which probably explains the latent thoughts in my brain that made me think this was a good idea.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/08/Screen-Shot-2017-08-03-at-9.34.31-pm-1.png" alt="Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi" /></p> <p>Also the constant <em>Hamilton</em> listening over the last year probably contributed.</p> <p>With the inclusion of the 3-essays I decided to reduce the number of people by 1 and have 12. This way I can weave in the 3-essays in a natural way.</p> <ul> <li>1 x Essay — Life</li> <li>3 x Famous People</li> <li>1 x Essay — Liberty</li> <li>3 x Famous People</li> <li>1 x Essay — and the Pursuit of Happiness</li> <li>3 x Famous People</li></ul> <p>And hence the now complete and ready show title page.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/08/Screen-Shot-2017-08-07-at-5.26.45-pm.png" alt="Title page of Famous Last Lies" /></p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="12-things" /><category term="12-months" /><category term="12-months-12-things" /><category term="writing" /><category term="to-write-a-book" /><category term="creative-process" /><category term="process" /><category term="famous-last-lies" /><category term="famous-last-words" /><summary type="html">While I waited for the delivery of a book I ordered online — which turned out to be not in-stock, and the company had emailed me a week ago asking if I wanted them to order it from the supplier and apparently took no reply as a “no”, nevertheless 3 weeks later I have the book, Famous Last Lies, An Anthology by Claire Cock-Starkey — I started listing influential people in my life. Massively-long-run-on-sentence notwithstanding, these are “influential dead people” and moreover “influential dead people I have never met”. So when I finally go the book, I could look up their famous last words and start to put together the book.</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">Saying no to $2000</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/saying-no-to-2000/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="Saying no to $2000" /><published>2017-07-24T07:47:39+09:30</published><updated>2017-07-24T07:47:39+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/saying-no-to-2000</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/saying-no-to-2000/"><p>Most tortured souls spend the day-time pretending to be a starving artist and the on prowl for grants and other large sums of money to fulfil their creative vision that no one else wants to pay for. 11-months out of the year this is me. So why did I turn down a grant of $2000?</p> <p>I live in the-city-I’m-beginning-not-to-hate of Adelaide in Australia, we are a small microcosm of artistic endeavours and other fun things. Once such organisation which strives to bring <em>“streets and public spaces to life through a series of activations, events and projects”</em> is Splash Adelaide. So you can imagine my surprise when they gave me $2000 to put on an event. I had emailed them at 11:56 PM — for a 12:00 AM deadline — a hastily written, rorted with spelling mistakes, and grammatically questionable proposal for a previously aborted event called <em>MAGIC x WINE</em>. They liked the idea, but didn’t like the wine part, aiming for something a little more PG-13. And so started the journey to today where I finally pulled out of the Splash Adelaide Winter season.</p> <p>The red herring should have been the breaking down of the original vision when they wanted to get rid of the wine — and when the title consists of two elements and one of them being wine, its not a great place to start. I had a meeting with my frequent collaborator and we came up with some other ideas for the evening including — but not limited to: an infinity cube of mirrors, The Adelaide Festival of Magic, taking over a carpark for a magic show, a gala show and dinner, and some other ideas that I can’t surmise in a handful of words.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/000.JPG" alt="Napkin of Ideas" />The literal back of the napkin sketches.</p> <p>I email Splash Adelaide back with the revised ideas for the event I want to put on, at this stage quite expanded in its scope. And in the series of the most predicable events that could possibly ever happen, they email back with “this is expanded in its scope” and “may not be appropriate for your first large scale event”. Deflated and defeated I put this project on the back burner as I continued working (and wasting time) on other <a href="/12-things-12-months">projects</a>.</p> <p>Fast forward to about three-weeks-ago when aforementioned collaborator sent me a bunch of photos from the Fringe earlier this year. And that night I edited some of the photos and put together a website for one of my shows <em>The Expert at the Card Table — How to Cheat at Cards</em> which you can see at the forever long URL <a href="www.TheExpertAtTheCardTable.show">www.TheExpertAtTheCardTable.show</a>. Literally that night I got an email from Splash Adelaide “just checking in, haven’t heard from you in a while”, the stars aligned; I had just finished this website and it’s ready, I email it to them for yet another change in direction. At the same time I had secured a venue for a one-or-twice-a-week show that would run indefinitely and I would use the Splash Adelaide funds to get the ball rolling on this, and this would be my event.</p> <p>Then it all fell apart. Splash Adelaide emailed back saying this new idea was too different to the original idea I got funded for and among other issues was not right for Splash Adelaide. It is now late-July and the Winter season runs until September, so I bit the bullet and withdrew from the Splash Adelaide Winter season. And this morning I got an email from the venue I had secured for my show saying that they are closing down “a quite immediate decision at the breakpoint of one tenancy and the beginning of another, dealing with a pretty gruesome landlord”.</p> <p>So now I have no Splash Adelaide fund and the spin off show it helped create is dead in the water. As I write this I received yet another email.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Screen-Shot-2017-07-24-at-5.08.14-pm.png" alt="Splash Adelaide email" /></p> <p>See you in another 6-months for another post-mortem?</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="life-stories" /><category term="splash-adelaide" /><category term="adelaide" /><category term="event" /><category term="event-planning" /><category term="the-expert-at-the-card-table" /><category term="show" /><category term="saying-no" /><category term="post-mortem" /><summary type="html">Most tortured souls spend the day-time pretending to be a starving artist and the on prowl for grants and other large sums of money to fulfil their creative vision that no one else wants to pay for. 11-months out of the year this is me. So why did I turn down a grant of $2000?</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">An exercise in composition</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/an-exercise-in-composition/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="An exercise in composition" /><published>2017-07-17T09:23:12+09:30</published><updated>2017-07-17T09:23:12+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/an-exercise-in-composition</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/an-exercise-in-composition/"><p>To anyone who follows me on Instagram — <a href="http://instagram.com/jden">@jden</a> — have probably already noticed a particular style of my photos, and what often follows is,</p> <blockquote> <p>Why are you all your Insta photos blurry?</p></blockquote> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/IMG_9011EC1A938A-1.jpeg" alt="" /></p> <p>To which I frequently reply, <em>“they’re not blurry, they’re out-of-focus”</em>, one of my friends will always quip <em>“the only thing out-of-focus is your head”</em>. The answer to why I my photos are blurry is numerous and many, some of which I will outline here.</p> <h2 id="1-i-like-it">1. I like it.</h2> <p>I like the way out of focus photos look. I’ve always been a fan of bokeh and ever since iPhone could show focus I was always trying to push them to the limits of the focal distances. Early versions of iOS — which was called iPhoneOS then — didn’t allow third party applications (or even first-party applications) take manual control of the camera, and hence you can’t hold the focus. You had to do tricks like focus on your finger up-close and then quickly remove the finger from the frame and take a picture before it autofocuses at infinity.</p> <p>In what is probably my favourite photo I have ever taken I did this exact technique.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/IMG_4912.JPG" alt="Picture from Lunar Park" /></p> <p>I was an early convert to Instagram, I signed up for the service before it was really a social network, when it was just an app with cool filters. This is a photo a took at Lunar Park in Sydney with iPhone 4 using Instagram, it is my most favourite photo I’ve taken and am still taken a back at when I took it: the 5th of January 2011. And if you were to pin-point when my obsession with out-of-focus photos started, it’s here.</p> <h2 id="2-composition">2. Composition</h2> <blockquote> <p>Details are messy, composition is king.</p></blockquote> <p>No ones said that — probably — but I believe it. Details are excruciating, the benefits of the ever expanding number of pixels is to quote Oliver Pendergast from Easy A an “accelerating velocity of terminological inexactitude” or to be terse: a lie. You always get told this by seasoned professionals, or by you teacher that it’s not the camera that’s important, it’s not the number of megapixels, it’s your composition that makes a good photo, and a good photographer can take a masterpiece on a dollar-store disposal camera. It took me a long-time to really understand this — I like fancy equipment — but looking back on my photo library there is a trend to reductionism and composition.</p> <p>I like classical composition (I’m not sure if this is a real term but’ll suffice) in that I’m not doing anything too fancy except for symmetry and the rule-of-thirds. I also shoot all photo exclusively in 16:9 aspect ratio, I just like the cinematic look and forever lover of widescreen anything. This is the part where I now overlay the rule-of-thirds over some of my Instagram photos to illustrate the point.</p> <p>Technical point: I use <em><a href="http://shootmanual.co">Manual</a></em> by William Wilkinson &amp; Craig Merchant for the manual control over focus, <em><a href="http://vsco.co">VSCO</a></em> for editing (mainly film grain) and finally <em><a href="http://redirect.cnstud.io/wired_editorial/apps/whitagram/">Whiteagram</a></em> for posting to Instagram with white 16:9 border.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-1.jpg" alt="#arch" /><em>#arch</em> at University of South Australia</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-2.jpg" alt="Happy Christmas Ron" /><em>Happy Christmas Ron</em></p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-3.jpg" alt="First Blurry Photo of the Year" /><em>First Blurry Photo of the Year</em></p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-4.jpg" alt="✌️" /><em>✌️</em></p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-5.jpg" alt="#chooselife" /><em>#chooselife</em> at Trainspotting Live</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-6.jpg" alt="&quot;Look more candid&quot;" /><em>“Look more candid”</em> at Mr Goodbar</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-7.jpg" alt="This is Amy" /><em>This is Amy—a friend I made at the art gallery—staring at a blank wall.Digital photograph transferred to Instagram, 2017. jden redden, 1994-present.</em> at Art Gallery of New South Wales</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-8.jpg" alt="hashtag art" /><em>hashtag art</em> at Carclew</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-9.jpg" alt=" " /> at National War Memorial (South Australia)</p> <!--*Henry V with the [Queen](http://elena-luna.com)* at Little Theatre--> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-11.jpg" alt="A mirror #soedgy" /><em>A mirror. #soedgy</em> at Her Majesty’s Theatre</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-12.jpg" alt="Man dates" /><em>Man dates.</em> at T Bar</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-14.jpg" alt="🙈" /><em>🙈</em> at NOLA Adelaide</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-13.jpg" alt="versus Rodin" /><em>versus Rodin.</em> at Art Gallery of South Australia</p> <p>And now some that are symmetrical.</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-15-1.jpg" alt="Street art not in the street" /><em>Street art not in the street.</em> at The Art of Banksy Melbourne</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-16.jpg" alt="⭐" /><em>⭐</em> at Adelaide Railway Station</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-17.jpg" alt="&quot;art&quot;" /><em>“art”</em> at Art Gallery of New South Wales</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-18.jpg" alt="Morbid Curiosities" /><em>Morbid Curiosities.</em> at Peanut Gallery Adelaide</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-19.jpg" alt="Trainspotting" /><em>Trainspotting</em> at Ascot Park Train Station</p> <p><img src="/content/images/2017/07/Untitled-20.jpg" alt="versus 👫" /><em>versus 👫</em> at Art Gallery of South Australia</p> <h2 id="3-transient-memory-and-moments">3. Transient Memory and Moments</h2> <p>Now for the third reason I like to take out-of-focus photos; it lets me remember <em>moments</em> as hazy recollections of being present. Rather than take a picture of all the art in the gallery or document every curiosity I walk past, I take one or two out-of-focus photos that capture the vibe of the moment. Why take a photo of something that has been photographed a thousand times? Someone always has a better camera than you, the documentarian will always observe and report the details — but I will save the moments in perfectly composed out-of-focus frames that blend with the way my brain will remember it, and then spend time remembering it by being there — presently.</p> <p><em>You can see the complete collection and some-other-rare-non-out-of-focus photos on my Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/jden">@jden</a>.</em></p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="an-excercise" /><category term="composition" /><category term="photos" /><category term="instagram" /><category term="out-of-focus" /><category term="photography" /><category term="jden" /><category term="16-9" /><category term="insta" /><category term="manual" /><category term="vsco" /><category term="whiteagram" /><summary type="html">To anyone who follows me on Instagram — @jden — have probably already noticed a particular style of my photos, and what often follows is,</summary></entry><entry><title type="html">July: Famous Last Lies</title><link href="https://jden.me/blog/blog/july-famous-last-lies/" rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="July: Famous Last Lies" /><published>2017-07-10T13:26:41+09:30</published><updated>2017-07-10T13:26:41+09:30</updated><id>https://jden.me/blog/blog/july-famous-last-lies</id><content type="html" xml:base="https://jden.me/blog/blog/july-famous-last-lies/"><p>Time for a project that I can actually start and finish in the one month allocated, alas I am posting this on the 9th day of July — the deadline is still within reach. For the months of July I hope to write a book, but rather than 100% original content it will focus of a tried and tested skill of mine and that is desktop publishing and layout.</p> <p>The premise of the book is a compilation book of famous last words of some famous people, but will focus on how often these last words are actually not really their last words and hence <em>famous last lies</em>. I am not sure how many of these I will be able to uncover in the complete set of; famous last words, the dispute, and finally the actual last words. But nevertheless this will be nice design challenge and editorial challenge as I write very short bio’s of these famous people to go along with their words. Also an exercise in searching WikiMedia for public domain images of famous (dead) people.</p> <p>The end goal will be to have this available as a hardcopy book and for sale on Amazon, all independently published. I will be using <a href="https://www.blurb.com">Blurb</a> to have the book printed and distributed, I’ve not used them before but they look pretty cool.</p></content><author><name>jden redden</name><email>iam@jden.me</email></author><category term="12-things" /><category term="12-months" /><category term="12-months-12-things" /><category term="july" /><category term="famous-last-lies" /><category term="to-write-a-book" /><category term="book" /><category term="publishing" /><category term="desktop-publishing" /><category term="layout" /><category term="blurb" /><category term="indesign" /><category term="design" /><category term="editorial" /><summary type="html">Time for a project that I can actually start and finish in the one month allocated, alas I am posting this on the 9th day of July — the deadline is still within reach. For the months of July I hope to write a book, but rather than 100% original content it will focus of a tried and tested skill of mine and that is desktop publishing and layout.</summary></entry></feed>
