Zeiss Super Speed Mk II/III Distagon 18mm T1.3

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The widest of the set and the heaviest. Some barrel distortion and softer corners wide open. Mk II (1984) and Mk III (1995) share the same optics with a seven-blade iris; the Mk III has larger scales and a geared iris. Designed for the 35mm cine frame, so treat them as Super 35 lenses — they do not cover full frame.

Key specs

Focal length

18 mm

Max aperture

T1.3

Mount

PL

Image circle

Super 35

Close focus

0.25 m

Front diameter

80 mm

Weight

1.27 kg

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

90° horizontal · frames like 18 mm on full frame

Super 35

69.3° horizontal · frames like 26 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

51.3° horizontal · frames like 37.5 mm on full frame

What it goes on

Native PL with 80mm fronts and geared focus (Mk III adds a geared iris), so no rehousing is required; they go on mirrorless cameras with a plain PL adapter. TLS and GL Optics offer rehousings for worn sets, mainly to get longer focus throws and bigger scales.

• PL camerasNativeALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K +15 more
• Sony E camerasWith adapterRonin 4D-6K, Ronin 4D-8K, Alpha 1 II, Alpha 7 IV +13 more

  Wooden Camera E to PL · Vocas PL to E · Metabones PL-E. Solid and common. Support the lens — the E-mount is not built to carry a heavy cine zoom on its own.

• Canon RF camerasWith adapterEOS C400, EOS C50, EOS C70, EOS C80 +10 more

  Wooden Camera RF to PL · Canon PL-RF (C400 / C80) · Kipon PL-RF. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• L-Mount camerasWith adapterCinema Camera 6K, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, Ronin 4D-6K +6 more

  Leitz L-PL · Wooden Camera L to PL · Sigma MC-31. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Micro Four Thirds camerasWith adapterMicro Studio Camera 4K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Lumix BGH1, Lumix GH6 +1 more

  Wooden Camera MFT to PL · MTF PL to MFT. Works, with a 2x crop on Super 35 glass relative to full frame.

• LPL camerasWith adapterALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, URSA Cine 17K 65

  ARRI PL-to-LPL Adapter. ARRI's own adapter, passes LDS / Cooke /i lens data.

• Nikon Z camerasWith adapterKOMODO-X 6K S35, V-RAPTOR [X] 8K VV, V-RAPTOR XE

  Wooden Camera Z to PL · Kipon PL-NIK Z. Common; use lens support with heavy glass.

• Leica M camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Ronin 4D-6K +1 more

  24.2 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• B4 (2/3") camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Broadcast G2, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, AJ-CX4000

  4 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• Nikon F camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsURSA Mini Pro 12K, URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2

  5.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

See every camera this lens fits →

Sources: keslowcamera.com, cinematechnic.com, sharegrid.com