Modern Prime
Zeiss
Zeiss CP.2 Super Speed
Compact Prime Super Speeds. T1.5 Full Frame.
- Focal
- 35–85mm
- T-stop
- T1.5
- Mount
- PL
Modern Prime Set
Richard Gale Optics UK
Richard Gale Clavius
4 primes 28 – 88mm T2 PL
Boutique full-frame cinema primes crafted by British engineer Richard Gale, built around vintage Soviet Helios glass, the same optical heritage behind the IronGlass lenses Greig Fraser ASC ACS used on Dune: Part Two.
The Clavius set delivers low contrast, responsive flaring, and the famous Helios swirling bokeh in a stainless steel cinema housing. Each lens includes interchangeable aperture disks that let you reshape the bokeh on set: including oval inserts that produce convincing anamorphic-style defocus from spherical glass.
Character profile
How this lens renders.
Swirling bokeh. Warm veiling. Painterly.
Five axes plotting how this set behaves wide-open vs a neutral modern reference. Larger area = more pronounced trait.
Focal lengths
4 focal lengths in this set
- 28mm T2* sources disagree
- 38mm T2* sources disagree
- 58mm T2* sources disagree
- 88mm T2* sources disagree
| Focal | T-Stop | Close focus | Weight | Front Ø |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28mm | T2* sources disagree | ~15" | ~1.2kg | 95mm |
| 38mm | T2* sources disagree | ~13" | ~1.1kg | 95mm |
| 58mm | T2* sources disagree | ~20" | ~0.9kg | 95mm |
| 88mm | T2* sources disagree | ~40" | ~1.2kg | 95mm |
Talking points
Why DPs pick this set
-
Interchangeable aperture disks: reshape bokeh from circular to oval (anamorphic-style) to coloured FX in seconds
-
Helios 44-2 optical DNA: the legendary swirling bokeh and painterly rendering, rehoused for modern cinema
-
Ultra-responsive flaring: warm veiling wraps and expressive highlights that react to light like vintage glass
-
Single-layer MgF2 coated primary elements for classical low-contrast rendering with silky smooth texture
Technical
Full specifications
- Mount
- PL (adaptable to EF/EOS bodies via PL-to-EF adapter)
- Coverage
- Full Frame / VistaVision* sources disagree
- Iris
- Variable f/2–f/16, circular throughout range
- Aperture Disks
- Interchangeable inserts: standard circular, oval (anamorphic-style bokeh), coloured FX options* sources disagree
Some figures here are marked *. Our sources disagree on those, so we're checking them against the lenses themselves. Ask us and we'll measure it for you.
Heritage
-
Origin
Richard Gale is the founder of Dog Schidt Optiks (DSO), a British company that embraced imperfect, characterful optics. The Clavius primes represent his move toward higher-end boutique glass, evolving vintage Helios elements into a professional cinema package. The 58mm T2 (rooted in the Helios 44-2) sits at the heart of the set, and the other focal lengths are custom-tuned to share its distinctive rendering character. We hire the Clavius as a four-lens set. Richard Gale Optics have since released a 118mm, which we do not carry.
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