Angenieux-Arri type 10 Zoom to Canon 600D

[Fadi Baki]

I have a Canon 600D and an Arriflex-Angenieux type 10 x 25 T2 zoom lens that I would like to use it with.

The mount was screwed on and when I took it off, I ended up with a different mount. Not sure if this was a bayonet mount added to an Arri standard mount.

From the attached picture can anyone identify what kind of mount the Arri lens is?

Is there an adapter that would allow this lens to work with an APS-C camera?

[David W. Jones]

What you have there is an old Angenieux 25-250mm T3.9 zoom with an Arri standard mount.
I'm afraid there is no way to mount it to your camera as it would extend into the mirror area of your camera and cause damage.

All the best!

Dave

[Fadi Baki]

Hey Dave,

Thanks for IDing the mount (is that the piece that is screwed on?)

Can I add an adapter from Arri standard to PL-mount and then another adapter to a Canon EF-S mount?

[Bob Hart]

This lens seems to have come with two mounting systems, one which was referred to as ARRI universal mount which I think it what you have, where the tail of the lens specific to a mounting type, in your case ARRI Standard, was attached with the shoulder and collar arrangement. The other was a threepiece design with a wide threaded collar, wide flange face and captive screws holding two pieces of the ARRI tail together.

If you bought in a PL-Mount adaptor to fit on your existing ARRI standard mount to attach via a PL-EOS adaptor, the tail the ARRI standard mount would protrude too far into the camera body and foul both structure and the mirror.

However, the rear element of the lens itself I think will clear internal camera structure when it is in the correct position for focus on the sensor. It may not clear the 600D mirror. It may clear the 7D mirror.

In your case, it would not be too hard for a machinist to make up an ARRI standard to EOS mount adaptor and an ARRI standard mount copy with a shortened tail, long enough to fasten the EOS adaptor piece onto burt short enough to clear the inrternal casework and mirror in the camera. The EOS adaptor would have to fasten to the ARRI standard tail with three or more fine grubscrews on radial centres.

If you wanted, you could shorten the existing ARRI standard mount but if you cut that up and get it wrong, there is no going back. Your resale value on the lens will also drop.


I am curious about the dust on the lens body. It looks like brass cuttings from filing or hacksawing something near to the lens. If these indeed are metal particles, please be extremely careful cleaning the glass elements on that lens as those particles may also include hard metal fragments from the cutting tool or saw blade which will be lethal to optical glass. In particular do not rub at the glass to remove stubborn marks. A piece of that dust may drop out of a hidden corner somewhere, get in your lens cloth and the rest will be history with deep scratches everywhere. The Angenieux coatings of that vintage are more easily scratched.

Thoroughly clean the lens body and the gaps before you go anywhere near the glass with anything. Unmarked elements on those lenses are increasingly harder to find and it would be a pity to spoil yours, especially if you decide to resell.

There are recommended cleaning methods for optical glass, canned air with a thin tube nozzle, fine camelhair brushes ( lens brushes not art brushes as the art brushes will be oily ) microfibre lens cloths, special photogrpahic lens cleaning solutions and use of pre-filtered or distilled water with natural soap and soft sponge. Never ever press hard on the glass to shift a stain or a mark. My methods of using these things may drive the lens techs who may visit here to slash their wrists or take out a contract hit on me for lens abuse so I won't publish them. If Jacek from Optitek or the mainstay man of Duclos lenses Mathew Duclos happen to stroll by and comment, please heed their advice.

This lens's image covers only a standard 35mm motion picture film image frame. It would be fine on a 7D. It will vignette on Super35mm or a full stills image frame sensor like a 5D. I don't know what size sensor the 600D uses.

[Bob Hart]

Both Optitek and Duclos guys post comment over on reduser.net. They may already having mounting methods devised for your lens and the EOS-Mount cameras. Les Bosher in the UK may also have a method. If you have a local machinist who is good, the distance between the flange face of the ARRI standard mount and the flange face of the EOS tail he makes must be 8mm. It is not possible to make a one-piece EOS tail for the lens because the threaded collar has to pass over the EOS bayonet lugs and will not fit over them. So you need the shortened ARRI Standard tail and a copy of the EOS tail with an extension on the front to press against the flange face of the ARRI tail. On your mount, that flange face is not very wide and can be seen just rearwards of the threaded collar

[Ken Plotin]

Also, there appears to be a threaded lens support on this...for good reason. Use it. The weight of this lens could stress the Arri standard mount enough to throw off the back focus completely. The "newer" Arri bayonet lock mount was better, but I usually erred on the side of caution and used a lens support of some kind for heavier zooms.
Hope this helps.
Ken

[Fadi Baki]

wow, thanks for the detailed info, guys. I found this lens in an abandoned film studio in Lebanon, along with an Arri 35mm 111C camera and the an ARRI 35 IIc camera motor 2c 300 blimp. They were literally rolling around in the dirt untended and I tried to salvage whatever bits I could find.

Sadly they are just collecting dust in my apartment which is why I started wondering if I could put the Angenieux lens to any good use with my new equipment.

Thanks again for all the help.