To say that the optics rehousing company, IronGlass, based out of Ukraine, has had a wild ride over the past few years would be an understatement. The company found early success with their MKI rehousing project based on taking old Soviet optics and rehousing them for cinema uses. Now, their MKII housings are shipping, and IronGlass is branching into another legendary line of vintage optics: Carl Zeiss Jena. A large portion of this work has taken place under the specter of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Hop below for more of my thoughts on the MKII line from IronGlass. This will be a unique review for me because it will mostly discuss the purchasing process from IronGlass and the design of the IronGlass MKII housing specifically. We won’t delve too much into the look of the internal optics because this range of glass might be one of the most written about in history. The Helios line of optics, in particular, has been produced for decades. Fundamentally, the look hasn’t changed, but nearly everything else about these lenses has, thanks to IronGlass. A core question remains: if these lenses in their original form can be purchased relatively inexpensively, how can a company justify charging thousands of dollars for the same lens? Stay tuned for my answer. Image Credit: Graham E. Sheldon / CineD But first, a bit of history. Helios lenses first found popularity in the late 50s. They were initially used on M42 lens mount cameras and eventually built...
Published By: CineD - Monday, 17 June