Elmo 20mm lens wanted please.

[Mark Todd]

Hi I`m looking for an elmo 20mm lens or another that is under say 36mm diameter so I could get it resleved.
Got a cronically small house so need one to get that big picture experiance.
thanks Mark.
PS I`d be grateful for any pointers in the dircetion of one too.

[Michael Coffin]

Hi Mark,

I've never seen a genuine Elmo 20mm lens. They may be out there, but I've yet to come across one. Having said that - do you REALLY want a focal length THAT short? Finding/holding focus is going to be REALLY hard, and don't even think about running a print that has even slightly soft focus.

If you can't find a 20mm, you might want to get a 38mm (still very hard to find, by the way). Get an Elmo to B&H converter from Omer Whayne and a B&H Filmovara zoom. That will allow you to decrease your focal length even further (you might not reach 20mm - but it's a good start).

If you have any collector friends in the area, see if they have a 20mm and try it out first. Run pristine originals as well as "so-so" prints - I guarantee you WON'T be happy with the focus.

-Mike

[Steven Sigel]

Actually Mike,
The genuine Elmo 20mm lenses are really very nice -- I use them now and they present a nice sharp picture with good edge to edge focus. And, yes, they do exist -- I have three of them....

[Michael Coffin]

Hi Steve,

Well, that's great news - I'll have to remember that. I've been unhappy with nearly all of the ultra-short focal length lenses I've used over the years, but if you say the Elmo 20mm is good I'll have to look at it one of these days. :)

-Mike

[Bob Halls]

Hello
I sell new lenses for the Eiki/Elf range of projectors which are 12.5mm there is never a problem with artefacts of any kind they are fast f1.4 bear in mind the length. Resolution and contrast levels remind me of my old Nikon 55mm f1.2 lens, or the better Distagons, certainly crisper than the 50mm f1.2 lens. The design puts the front element at the front of a normal style barrel, (not buried at the rear) so the machine does not cut off any of the image, and of course you can get a lot more light out of the larger elements. I also sell new and used the standard 20 and 38mm lenses but they are conventional
I have several customers who are old hands at film, some being projectionist's or retired from the industry who swear by them. They are easily sleaved fo other machines such as the B & H range.
You could do a lot worse than getting hold of an old series (wooden case) B & H lens Taylor Hobson 38mm and sleeve that.
Cheers
Bob

[Peter Goed]

Surely Bob, the 12.5mm lenses are for S8 machines and not 16.

These would cut off part of the image as the rear element is too small to pass a full 16mm frame through it.

Even if by some miracle they did manage to pass all the image through, which would need some convincing, the image quality would have to be absolute SH*T, as all you would see is the film grain.

I do actually have a Taylor Hobson 1/2" lens for a B&H projector, and although this is a quality lens, you need an extremely GREAT film to even be able to watch the image on a 6' wide screen, let alone on a 12' screen.

Peter.

[Bob Halls]

Hello Peter,
There is catagorically no problem with these lenses, I have several ex-projectionists using them in their set-ups and they are doing proper scope presentations that are amazing.
Resolution, speed & hence contrast is excellent.
You have to understand that these lenses are designed differenlty. As an example a regular 25mm lens, the front element is shoved down the rear of the barrel. If the same theory were used to make a 12.5mm lens the barrell would cut off the image. So these have a high quality rear element, but the forward elements are moved toward the middle and front of the barrell. allowing larger diameter elements to be used, passing more light, and moves the front element to the same position as a conventional 50mm lens. Hence no cut-off, higher speed better quality elements which is a result of their larger size etc.
Cheers
Bob
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Peter Goed
[B]Surely Bob, the 12.5mm lenses are for S8 machines and not 16.

[Ken Huber]

Hi,

I'd be interested in the price/availability of a short throw lens for my EIKI SL-0. Can you email me at klhuber@juno.com?

Thanks!

Originally posted by Bob Halls
Hello Peter,
There is catagorically no problem with these lenses, I have several ex-projectionists using them in their set-ups and they are doing proper scope presentations that are amazing.
Resolution, speed & hence contrast is excellent.
You have to understand that these lenses are designed differenlty. As an example a regular 25mm lens, the front element is shoved down the rear of the barrel. If the same theory were used to make a 12.5mm lens the barrell would cut off the image. So these have a high quality rear element, but the forward elements are moved toward the middle and front of the barrell. allowing larger diameter elements to be used, passing more light, and moves the front element to the same position as a conventional 50mm lens. Hence no cut-off, higher speed better quality elements which is a result of their larger size etc.
Cheers
Bob
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Peter Goed
[B]Surely Bob, the 12.5mm lenses are for S8 machines and not 16.