R8 LENS

At last, an 8mm prime lens that covers 35mm and is affordable - just $795

The R8 lens starts out as an MC Peleng lens from BeLOMO, a factory in Minsk, Belarus, noted among former Soviet Union countries for its work in optical systems for armored vehicles, multizonal cameras, aerospace, topographic, and photogrammetric equipment. The Peleng is made from special premium grade glasses fused from the sands of the fabled Karelian White Sea and rare earths from the Ural Mountains. Each lens is meticulously ground and polished; then, a sophisticated seven layer dielectric coating is vacuum deposited. This leading edge coating turns from orange to purple as the lens surface is viewed from different angles.

Long Valley Equipment converts each lens to stainless PL mount. All lenses are bench collimated to insure accuracy of the focus scale.

TESTS

Tests show the R8 as fully comparable to Nikkor 8mm conversions. Film was run through an Arri 35BL4 with both the Nikkor and R8 lenses. Then, the negative was printed and projected at Du Art in NYC. Not only were both lenses indistinguishable in terms of sharpness and contrast, but also in terms of color. It was impossible to tell which shot was done with which lens without looking at the slate.

COVERAGE

The R8 actually has better coverage than the Nikkor. Note the diagram above, and you will see that the R8 won’t clip the corners of your 1.78 HD or 1.85 frame like the Nikkor.

FOCUS RANGE: .22m (8-5/8") to infinity

F-STOP RANGE: 3.5 to 16

WEIGHT: 14.6 ounces

LENGTH: 1.75" from PL flange

FILTERING

Each R8 comes with 4 filters: clear, 85, ND6, and an 85ND6 combo All but the clear are manufactured by us specifically for motion picture photography. They are 1mm thick and are made of highest quality photographic resin. Much better and more accurate than placing gels on the back of the lens, and safer because these filters are much more durable and less likely to attract dirt and dust than gels.

Please note that the R8 will not reach infinity, nor will the focus scale be correct, if no filter is used. Howerver, by removing the rear filter, the lens will focus down to about 6" for excellent close up shots. In this case all focusing must be done by eye.

The R8 lens has a 180 degree view, so it is unlikely that it can be filtered with any matte box or shade.

COMPATIBILITY

35: Arri IIC (PL mounted), Arri III, Arri 435, 35BL, 535, Moviecam, Aaton 35

16: 16SR I,II, 3, Aaton LTR, XTR, Prod, A-Minima

The R8 has a very shallow camera intrusion so there is no risk of it contacting the mirror shutter of motion picture cameras. It covers 35mm 1.85, 1.78, and TV, and also Super 16 and regular 16.

NOTE: since the viewing angle is so large, some parts of the camera such as hang grips and support rods may need to be removed or they will intrude into the shot. Other parts such as the viewfinder and mirror housing on the Arri 435 will be seen in the viewfinder, but they will be out of frame and therefore not recorded on film.