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Zeiss Super Speed MKII/III

New stainless steel PL mount.
High-grade aluminium and stainless-steel body construction.
New can form focus drive.
High calibre focus and iris rings.
Engraved dual focus scales.
Standard 95mm front ring.

The Zeiss Super Speeds are the classic high-speed primes from the 70’s, 80’s, and the 90’s that have a remarkable fast aperture of T1.3. The first version of the Zeiss Super Speed lenses was the B-Speeds. You can find more information on the rehousing of the B-Speeds here: https://www.truelens.co.uk/zeiss-b-speed

The MK II version was introduced in the early 90’s, where the triangular iris of the B-Speeds were changed to a more conventional shape. Zeiss then soon after brought out a further upgrade version of the MK II, the MK III version. These lenses have an upgrade on the focus scale orientation, where the font size was increased, and the engravings are rotated 90 degrees to position the focus marks upright when the lens is mounted on a camera. As the engravings are larger in size on this version, the MK III lenses either came with metric or imperial units, but not both.

As the MK II/III lenses are becoming rare to find, and because our customers that own Zeiss lenses have been asking about rehousing these lenses, we decided to research into the rehousing of these lenses. After working on this project for some time, we are now delighted to add these lenses to our Zeiss rehousing range.

The TLS Rehousing

The TLS rehousing of this lens completely discards all original mechanics. The design, manufacture and production of the new components are done in house at the headquarters. By utilising TLS’s well known cam design for the focus, they now have 300 degrees of rotation throughout the set including the 18mm and 25mm which have floating elements. Furthermore, by using a non-linear cam the focus marks are evenly distributed giving greater accuracy at longer distances.

The original form factor of the Zeiss Super Speed lenses was one of the great selling points. To keep this appeal, TLS have designed the rehousing to be small and compact, keeping them all to a 95mm front diameter. The iris scale and gear now sit on the mount side of the focus, making the layout in line with standard practice within the industry. The front diameter is also fixed so there is no more telescoping or binding up of the focus when using a mattebox.

As an option with the Zeiss Super Speed rehousing, you are able to either maintain the original iris or replace this with a circular iris. By swapping the iris, the Zeiss Super Speeds take on a slightly different character with a smooth, circular bokeh. The iris blades are custom made and have a flat black anti-reflective coating applied to them.

Currently, to complement this range of lenses, TLS also offer the Zeiss Standard Speed 135mm T2.1 in the same style housing as the Zeiss Super Speeds.

Zeiss Super Speeds - 300 degrees of focus rotation on a non-linear cam for precise focus control Zeiss Super Speeds - Available with a replacement circular iris option for smooth bokeh Zeiss Super Speeds - Focus and iris gears aligned to the camera for easy compatibility with follow focus systems Zeiss Super Speeds - Repeatable, individually marked focus scales ensuring accurate and consistent focus pulling Zeiss Super Speeds - Keeping 95mm fixed front with no telescoping to keep compact form and mattebox friendly Zeiss Super Speeds - Optically aligned to preserve the true cinema glass while enhancing performance