The second video about the custom made lenses by DogSchidt Optiks is about the TRUMP 58. A customizing dream with endless possibilities of different looks by changing bits and pieces quickly on set, while also built to last, with high quality materials and an amazing feel.
Thanks a lot to Rob Bannister for providing me with the lenses for these videos.
Tito Ferradans here, picking up from where we left off last week, continuing about the DSO stuff. Again a reminder, if you like these, rent them from us at
Creative Camera Rentals. Ok, I’ll hold off on the advertising, but, you know, these videos don’t pay my bills, they don’t pay even for my bus passes, so if you want to support this channel somehow, this is one way of doing it!
On the last video we talked about the FlareFactory58, DSO’s debut product. After that they decided to let people go crazy with customizing options. Came the TRUMP, a larger lens, still all built around the Helios 44, so it’s a 58mm focal length, but a lot sturdier than the default Helios, something much more in the lines of real production ready gear than the FlareFactories. While building your FF58, you pick your things and you’re done, your lens is that and will always be like that. With the TRUMP you’re able to change things on the fly. You can take out the rear elements as a single block, the optical module, and replace with a different one, with different tints or contrast, or artifacts. Removing the optical module gives you full access to the aperture disc. If we had 5 options of apertures for the FF58, I’m not even gonna bother counting the ones available for the TRUMP – and I hear there are even more being developed! Seriously, there are no limits to how crazy you can go with this.
Now you have a “core” body and front optics, and the possibility of swapping apertures and optical module. You also get the option of changing the mounts without a hitch. This one has a Nikon mount, and I’ve adapted it to EF, but we can also take out this entire back part, put on a PL mount and throw it on a RED camera, or Alexa, or whatever you dream about! Focus has the same measurements as the Helios, and it already comes geared for follow focus. The one issue I find about it is not having any distance marks for focus. Front thread is 86mm, and I’ll tell you now, it’s hard to get a decent vari-ND that big, so you’ll probably stick with an 86-82mm step down, no risk of vignetting.
About the lens construction, this thing is solid. If you drop it on a tiled floor, I think there’s more risk of damaging the tiles than the lens. It has this massive “hood”, which is also how you control your regular aperture blades, by simply rotating it. The values are shown on the outer ring. I’m still not fully accustomed to it and end up closing the iris when I just mean to pull focus, since the “aperture ring” is now massive. I know you’re probably thinking this is too big and bulky and “what’s the point of it, since it blocks light and flares?”, well, if you’re not thinking that, I surely was, until I was shown their 38 and 88 optical attachments, but I’m not gonna get ahead of myself and talk about them, because that’s for another video.
The advantages of the TRUMP over a regular Helios, besides all the housing and build quality is that it becomes a reliable lens. You might not be able to always hit the same note with your regular Helios, but with this, as soon as you get the gist of it, you can make it flare when you want, you can control the amount of flaring, hell, you can even choose the color of the damn flare! Being able to quickly swap the tint and aperture modules so quickly won my heart because I’m down for custom, and I’m down for simplicity. The only obstacle you might find about this is the price tag, at £1050 for the lens.
Besides all that crazy stuff I just mentioned, if you have an original Iscorama 36 or pre36 (not the Van Diemen version, which is too big thanks to the alignment lock), it does fit perfectly inside the body of the TRUMP. Setting alignment is a little tricky, but can be done, and the focus ring of the Iscorama sticks out just the perfect amount. The inner small thread, once you unscrew the removable part of the hood, with the aperture numbers, is 52mm threaded.
This video isn’t nearly enough to explain the endless combinations and different looks you can achieve with a single TRUMP and several different optical modules and aperture discs, but that will have to do, because I can’t translate it any better than that! Subscribe to the channel for upcoming anamorphic content, check my blog for tons of extra material and also check Creative Camera Rentals to check what interests you! I’m Tito Ferradans and I’ll see you next week.
[…] week, folks. We’ve reached the end of DSO’s reviews, covering the FlareFactory58, the TRUMP and now the optical attachments. If you like these lenses, you can rent them from us at Creative […]