Every once in a while, you hear news about a multi-million-dollar movie that seems surprising. Greig Fraser ACS, ASC, is a Cinematographer who has made waves in the industry within the past few years for creating amazing work and photographing movies in interesting ways. In this case, he’s done this by bringing back vintage lenses, namely Ironglass vintage lenses, to create amazing new images. Fraser’s body of work includes: “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, “The Batman”, “The Creator” as well as 2021’s “Dune”.
In an Instagram post on March 5th, IronGlass (@ironglassadapters) announced that they provided rehoused vintage lenses used in the production of the highly anticipated “Dune: Part Two”. This comes days after an ARRI Rental article interview with Cinematographer Greig Fraser ACS, ASC, mentioned the use of “re-housed Soviet-era glass supplied by IronGlass…”.
@IronGlass post about Dune lenses. Source: Instagram
IronGlass felt obliged to share the exciting news once Fraser first broke the seal. Their Instagram post was accompanied by a few photos of what the lenses themselves looked like, complete with the DUNE production logos.
We have written about IronGlass and their rehoused vintage lenses before. In fact, these vintage lenses have been popular for quite some time for the unique look, vignetting, and bokeh that accompany their use. While newer lenses can look cleaner, even somewhat “clinical”- vintage lenses are sought after precisely for their lack of clarity and imperfections. Some even give off swirly bokeh and dreamlike images that could never be produced with modern lenses.
A niche market has emerged for rehousing lenses, allowing photographers to enjoy the benefits of vintage glass in the convenience of a modern body. Rehousing also updates previously obsolete lens mounts that are no longer used. Fraser mentions the fact that the full-frame lenses on the ARRI 65mm sensor created interesting images, using parts of the lens glass that were never meant to be seen. Afterward, you can crop out the black edges of the image and keep the texture that the vintage lens creates.
Fraser’s go-to glass
This isn’t the first time that IronGlass rehoused lenses have been used in a big-budget blockbuster. In fact, it was Greig Fraser ACS, ASC who previously used them to photograph “The Batman”. The reason this is exciting to independent filmmakers is that vintage and rehoused lenses are accessible to almost every budget. You can find (possibly the most popular Soviet vintage lens) the Helios 44-2 on eBay for maybe $50 on the right day. But if you have a little more to spend, you can get a rehoused lens in a beautifully crafted body from a reseller such as IronGlass.
If you’d like to read the whole article from ARRI Rental (which I’d highly recommend), you can find it here. You can also find the original Instagram post from IronGlass here.
What do you think about using vintage lenses in Hollywood films? Put it in the comments, and let’s share our knowledge with each other!
