A true industry standard for vintage glass. Often used in doc shooting for their small size, light weight, and their namesake T1.3 aperture for low-light situations, and ever-present in narrative and feature work for their unmistakable visual character. The particular-lower-contrast and the delicate (perhaps dusty?) color profile are very distinct to these lenses even compared to other vintage examples, which makes them an evergreen point of reference for any cinematographer.

They go as far back as Taxi Driver (MK1 / B-Speeds) and Raging Bull. Lost in Translation is a great example where not only the character of the glass but the fast T-Stop and the light weight completely make-or-break the kind of images that were possible to capture. More recently, Tár detuned Arri Signature Primes in order to resemble the character of Zeiss Super Speeds, and Solo used Super Speeds in tandem with 65mm format lenses.

The Mark IIs were produced in the 80s and early 90s. Super Speeds are impossible to recreate today because of materials in the glass that are now illegal to use in optical manufacturing. As any cameraperson who has worked with these before knows, these vintage lens housings have their quirks when working with modern equipment, so our gear techs will be happy to help solve and streamline during your camera prep.

Focal lengths available: 18mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm