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Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 11-110mm T2 S16 Zoom | REVIEW
For the last few years the Super16 format has been enjoying a real renaissance, mostly due to the very popular BMPCC and now we also have a good bunch of Super35 cameras with S16 crop modes. Recently Arri Alexa Mini has joined the club, bringing the Super16 format back to the higher end level and…
Comparing Helios 58mm F2 Lenses
I originally created this post in 2012. Since then I’ve learned a lot about these lenses and Helios 44-2 has become my favorite lens, so I decided to revise it with more up to date info and additional test (second part of the post) Original Test (revised): A lot of people claim that the Helios…
Shooting “Milkshake” Web Series on Vintage Russian Lenses
Recently one of VLFV readers, Phil Abatecola got in touch to share his experience using (mostly) Russian vintage lenses to shoot his feature length web series. There were loads of things Phil had to take into consideration when building up his “Kremlin Kit” for the series and I felt that it will definitely be a…
4 Low Budget Lenses for Amazing Lens Flare
There are many reasons why I love vintage lenses. Their character is much more obvious than on most modern lenses with lens flare being one of the most distinctive characteristics of such lenses. In fact, one of the main reasons why Helios 44-2 is one of my favorite lenses is because the flares this lens…
Using KIEV-16U Lenses on BMPCC | Indepth Overview
Note: If you don’t use or don’t care about BMPCC you might want to skip this post as the lenses I will talk about below, (at the time of writing) can only be used with this camera. Everyone who knows me at lease a little bit will know that I absolutely love vintage Russian lenses,…
Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 18-90mm F2 for BMPCC
I finally made a decision to by the Blackmagic Pocket Camera, because I can no longer resist the urge to test loads amazing of vintage c-mount lenses that will only work with this camera thanks to its unusual Super16 size sensor. About 5 months ago before anyone even received their first pocket cam, I’ve made…
Ricoh Rikenon 50mm f/2 Test Video & Review
Ricoh Rikenon f/2.0 is quite an interesting lens. It’s probably one of my smallest and lightest vintage lenses, it’s probably just over 2” long. The reasons for it being light are obviously the size and also the fact that it’s plastic. No the later part is not something that I am a fan of. That…
Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 vs Helios 44M 58mm f/2
I’ve tested both of these lenses before, so the individual write-ups and opinions can be found here (for Olympus) and here (for Helios). Someone on the website asked me which one based batter based on image quality Olympus Zuiko OM 50mm f/1.4 or Helios 44m 58mm f/2, so I decided to do this quick test…
HELIOS 44m 58mm f/2 FIRST TEST + HELIOS vs Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
Above you can see a quick test I’ve done with this lens while out in a local park. It was really bright and I couldn’t use this lens at wide open aperture, so I think this test footage doesn’t do the justice do to this lens. I really need to test it out in low…
