LockCircle has announced the X-OT Cine-Mod Otus Kit. This is a cine modification of the very good Zeiss Otus lenses. The modification is available for the Zeiss Otus ZF.2 (and ZE on request) 28mm f1.4, 55mm f1.4, and 85mm f1.4 lenses.
The X-OT Cine-Mod consists of a 95mm cine standard front mount, de-clicked and dampened aperture gears, original Zeiss lens gears, and custom front and rear caps with focal length graphics. If you get a whole set they come in a custom flight case.
As the Zeiss Otus ZF.2 lenses are Nikon mount (this is the only version that comes with a manual iris), LockCine uses a heavy duty stainless steel EF Mount that can also be interchanged with the original Nikon F Mount. This is a nice part of the modification as you can take the lens and then use it on either Canon EF or Nikon mount cameras, simply by changing over the mount. What you do need to remember is that even if you are using these lenses on a camera with a Canon EF mount, they will focus in the same direction as Nikon lenses.
The full X-OT Cine-Mod Otus Kit which consists of the 28mm f1.4, 55mm f1.4, and 85mm f1.4 lenses in a flight case is available for $ 11.599,00 USD. Individually modified X-OT Otus lenses can be bought for the following prices:
X-OT Cine-Mod Otus 28mm F1.4: $ 4.439,00 USD
X-OT Cine-Mod Otus 55mm F1.4: $ 3.719,00 USD
X-OT Cine-Mod Otus 85mm F1.4: $ 4.079,00 USD
These prices seem very cheap considering LockCircle appear to be selling their X-OT Cine-Mod lenses for less than the standard lenses cost on B&H. I then found that the original Zeiss Otus lenses for some reason (it’s normally the other way around) are cheaper to buy in Europe than the USA. Even still, LockCircle is selling their X-OT Cine-Mod lenses for a price that is cheaper than the standard Otus lenses can be bought at say CVP.
Customers that already own Zeiss Otus lenses can have their lenses cine-modded to X-OT by sending in a request to LockCircle. There is no indication of how much this costs.
This is not the first time someone has done a cine modification to the Otus lenses. Duclos Lenses sells an Otus ZF.2 Cine-Mod Pro Set for $14225 USD. That Cine-Mod features an integrated 95mm front ring, seamless focus gear, and de-clicked, damped aperture movement. The three lenses that make up that set (28,55 and 85mm) all come in a custom Pelican case.
GL Optics also take things a step further and does a full cine conversion with a PL mount. The lenses (based on the Otus ZE.2) have a 114mm front diameter, which makes them compatible with most matte boxes. The focus rotation is increased to 330 degrees. The lenses have a full manual iris and cine gears for focus and iris. These lenses are around the $8000 USD mark per lens.
For more information on the LockCircle X-OT Cine-Mod you can email them at [email protected]
