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Stanley Kubrick Lenses

V

Vivek

Guest
Paul, the video link is gone.

FWIW, I knew a great scholar and collector who had the most unthinkable stuff (mostly Zeiss). Shockingly, his untimely demise left everything to be sold off by another person I knew on behalf of his wife. This happened a few years ago. AFAIK, he (the collector) wasn't much into photography.
 

camping

Member
Hi Vivek
I had no luck in finding the link but it was from Youtube.
In summary, it was about the lenses, used by Kubrick, by Joe Dunton talking about each item in the collection. This included the construction and adaptations of the individual lenses, their special characteristics, and why and where Kubrick used them.

Joe Dunton
Speech for Joe Dunton

Some of his comments were:
• Kubrick would order 10 lenses of one type from Zeiss to select one that was to his satisfaction. In the present context finding one Sony lens in three or four is not bad.
• He described some deep depth of field lenses (100mm?).
• Fact that he had the newly launched 50mm 1.4 Canon (or Nikon) adapted by adding front glass to create a 35mm.
• Used the 90mm Macro Kilfit for special purposed (it focused 1:1)
• Used Angenieux zoom glass and a super extreme zoom lens (Angenieux or Cooke)
• Also used very wide angle small glass in Arri mount.
• Other lenses were the exotic lenses which one can only dream about.

Some links of interest.
Untitled Document
Shoot Like Kubrick with These Rare Zeiss f/0.7 Lenses - Studio Daily

This lens talk reminds me of the glorious time of the Panasonic G1 - when all the old glass was rediscovered – and used. The Switars, Angenieux, etc.
Paul
 

padam

Member
From YouTube: "An amazing 12-minute video on Stanley Kubrick's photographic lenses with Joe Dunton (BSC, GBCT)." He starts with the Snyder lens, including a tiny 135mm lens, then progresses through more including: a 20:1 zoom used on Barry Lyndon, a Kinoptic 9.8mm wide angle used on A Clockwork Orange, the Angénieux 25-250 long lens, a bunch of Cooke Speed-Panchro lenses, the "most famous lens of all-time" the Hasselblad 50mm that Kubrick modified himself, some Zeiss lenses he used on Full Metal Jacket, and a modified Nikon Nikkor 180mm f/2.8, plus the 19mm Pack Shot Lens.
 

cam

Active member
I always get such a kick out of any talk of his love for glass! We're distantly related (back in Russia), but I love to think my lens obsession is somehow in the blood :D
 
V

Vivek

Guest
FWIW, I have had a few of the lenses used by Kubrick (not the same samples), the Tegea 9mm, Nikkor P 180, for example. I am happy that I do not have them anymore (very proud, in fact!).

With the current state of (camera) tech, I am very happy with a Color Yashinon 40/1.7 that I prefer even over the current Loxi lenses (both of them), the Olympus pen 60/1.5, and oldest of them all, a Nikkor P.C 10.5cm f/2.5.
 
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