Zero Optik

Zero Optik is a workshop from Los Angeles that converts vintage still photo lenses into cinema housings. The focus is on three glass families: Canon FD (especially the SSC series), Olympus OM, and Leica R. The company thus belongs in the same category as TLS, GL Optics, P+S Technik, and IRONGLASS — with its own distinct emphasis.

What Makes Zero Optik Different

Where other workshops focus on maximum robustness and uniform weight, Zero Optik optimizes for compactness. The housings are light and slim enough that a complete set can be used on a gimbal, a drone, or handheld without requiring the balance to be readjusted every time. This is a deliberate trade-off: less mass also means less mechanical inertia in the focus pull.

Olympus OM — The Workhorse

The Olympus OM set extends to nine focal lengths from 21 to 100 millimeters and covers full frame. Optically, the OM Zuiko designs are sharper and have higher contrast than most lenses of their era, with well-corrected chromatic aberration — but they flare noticeably and in a very distinct way. It is precisely this combination, clean at the core and wild in backlight, that makes them interesting for music videos and commercials.

Canon FD SSC and Leica R

The Canon FD sets are typically offered in configurations such as 24, 35, 55, 85, and 135 millimeters, also full frame. They render softer than the OM optics and tend towards warmer skin tones. The Leica R set falls in between: neutral in color, controlled in contrast, with the highest resolving power of the three families.

Classification

Rehousing does not change the optics — it changes how they can be worked with. Uniform front diameter, uniform gear ring position, extended focus throw with usable markings. Those who rent a rehousing set are buying usability on set, not image quality. That is the difference from lens tuning, which alters the optics themselves.