Vintage Prime
Ancient Optics / Zero Optik
Tamashii Primes
The “Greatest Hits” of Japanese Optics
- Focal
- 22–110mm
- T-stop
- T1.5–T2.3
- Mount
- PL
Zeiss Arriflex Mk III Super Speed
Zeiss
Vintage Prime Set
Zeiss
Zeiss Arriflex Mk III Super Speed
5 primes 18 – 85mm T1.3 PL
Original Zeiss Mk III Super Speeds in their factory housings, the industry-standard high-speed primes from the 1980s through the 2000s.
T-star multi-coatings, T1.3 wide-open glow, the rare-earth glass character that gave them their signature amber tone. Where our TLS-rehoused set offers modern mechanics, this kit is the original article: every quirk and charm intact.
Character profile
How this lens renders.
Vintage softness. Rare-earth glass. T1.3 fast.
Five axes plotting how this set behaves wide-open vs a neutral modern reference. Larger area = more pronounced trait.
Focal lengths
5 focal lengths in this set
- 18mm T1.3
- 25mm T1.3
- 35mm T1.3
- 50mm T1.3* sources disagree
- 85mm T1.3* sources disagree
Talking points
Why DPs pick this set
-
Classic Mk III look: high resolution, clean but not clinical, vintage softness wide open
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T-star multi-coatings give relatively strong contrast for vintage glass
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Original Zeiss housings, the unconverted reference
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T1.3 wide-open look defined a decade of 1980s American features
Technical
Full specifications
- Mount
- PL
- Coverage
- Super 35
- Front Diameter
- 80mm
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
Produced by Zeiss in West Germany from the late 1970s through the 1980s. The Mk III generation changed only the focus-scale orientation: the T-star multi-coatings and T1.3 wide-open aperture were already carried by the earlier PL-mount Super Speeds, industry-standard high-speed primes for over a decade.
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Filmography
The Mk III wide-open look defined countless 1980s and 1990s features, one of the most rented prime sets in cinema history.
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Build
Original Zeiss housings, unrehoused. Where TLS later modernised the line for clip-on matte boxes and improved close focus (see Zeiss Super Speed), this kit preserves the original mechanical character of the era.
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