As I continue is my own discovery of vintage super16 lenses for BMPCC, I want to share this long overdue little film & mini review kindly written for VLFV by a fellow vintage lens user, Alec Moore.
In this review Alec shares his experience of using an Angenieux 17.5-70mm F2.2 which he was lucky enough to snap up for just €200. I myself own a similar looking 17-68mm F2.4, (review), so it’s very interesting to see how this lens stacks up against mine.
Over to Alec:
The build quality is excellent. As you would expect from most vintage glass. Solid metal build. Much heavier than it looks. Clickless aperture.
The range is excellent at a constant aperture. Wide open is sharp, but vintage sharp which isn’t quite as sharp as modern lenses. One issue I had was the minimum focus distance of 1.2 meters.
The zooming is internal so the lens does not extend. However when turning the focus barrel the front element rotates, making and circular polarizers useless if you are pulling focus while rolling.
Wonderful all round lens and would be great for documentaries which is where I intend to use it along with narrative film making. I prefer the look of a vintage lens like this over anything modern with a speed booster.
A few words I would like to add myself it that the video Alec shot with this lens looks incredibly filmic. The lens definitely adds a extra character to already impressive images pocket camera produces.
Definitely recommended lens as long as you don’t pay a fortune for it. Looking on Ebay at the time of writing brings up prices of $999 and more, which is a bit of rip off, but if you can find one for under $500, go for it! 🙂
Massive thanks to Alec for sharing his thought and the wonderful video. Make sure to follow him on Twitter where he often posts test videos he shoots with various interesting vintage lenses.
I try my best to make this website a great resource for people interested in vintage lenses for video use, so I hope you’ve enjoyed this & other posts. I sure hope they will help you save some money on your future lens investments too. I’ve joined the ebay affiliate program to help me run this website, fund my tests & lens giveaways, so if you find this content useful and would like to help me produce more similar content, please use the links in this post if you’re planning to buy one of these lenses or bookmark and/or use this link if you want to buy anything else on eBay.com or this link if you shop on eBay.co.uk. You will not be spending a penny more using these links, while still helping as eBay will pay out a small percentage from any purchase or successful bid, which in turn will support new content on www.vintagelensesforvideo.com. Thank you.
Thanks for this, look forward to the Angenieux 17.68 review. Is it 2.4 or 2.2?
It’s F2.2 which is 2.4 in T ratings. The silver version doesn’t have that though, so universally it’s F2.2 🙂
Good, i can get a silver for about 300 usd so i will wait for your review before making a decision, no pressure though 😉
Was excited about this until I read that tid-bit about the front filter ring rotating during focus. Awesome lens besides that quirk. I found a c mount zoom f1.8 16-160mm that works perfect throughout the zoom range for the bmpcc. only problem is that it isn’t parfocal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22vCai41pCg
Hi Evan. I actually asked a question on the video without realising that the video was filmed by you! 🙂
I actually have same or similar lens at home as well which I borrowed from a friend. I hope to test my one out soon, but would love to share your test and your own opinion about this lens on the website. I think readers would find this useful. What do you think? 🙂
Hi ! Thanks for this video!
I have this lens : angenieux 17.5-70mm
I’d like to adapt a standard filter ND on this lens but I don’t find the good adapter.
Anyone has an idea ?
RAF camera makes a step-up ring specifically for this lens.
Can anyone tell me what lens mount this is?
Okay wait. I know that this is PL. But, I made a bit of a hasty decision and snagged what was said to be a Angenieux 17.5-70mm F2.2 made for Kodak’s 16mm studio cine camera and have no idea what the mount is. I read somewhere that it might be DKL but I don’t think that’s right. It’s certainly not PL but if anyone has any idea what it could be your help would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry David. I personally have no idea what the mount would be, but if you could let me know the model of the camera or take a picture of the lens, maybe I will be able to help.
It’s impossible to find it on eBay for now 🙁
BTW, what is the weight of Angenieux 17.5-70mm and how handheld it can be without stabilization?
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hello where to find a good MFT adapter for Angenieux arri mount to bmpcc like this blue one please ?
RAF camera makes one and then you need a PL to MFT adapter.