TLS Has Rehoused Vintage Nikon AI and AI-S Lenses for Today’s Filmmakers

True Lens Services (TLS) has rehoused vintage Nikon AI and AI-S lenses for modern filmmakers, delivering classic Nikon optical charm to today’s productions.

TLS is well known for its rehoused cinema lenses, which are used across high-end film and video projects worldwide. The company rehouses a wide variety of lenses, including classic Mamiya 645 lenses and beloved old Zeiss glass. It also develops its own in-house cinema lenses, including the Vega series for large-format, 65mm cinema cameras.

The new rehoused Nikon lenses take old glass from Nikon AI lenses, first introduced in 1977, and AI-S lenses, which debuted in 1981, and put it inside a modern, filmmaking-friendly housing.

“TLS has carefully re-engineered the original Nikon optics into a professional cinema lens system, retaining the qualities that have made the lenses so desirable while introducing the mechanical precision, reliability and usability required for modern filmmaking,” TLS says.

The rehoused lenses promise a clean, controlled image while still delivering the classic quality that Nikon’s vintage lenses are known for. The lenses promise excellent central sharpness when shot wide open and smooth focus transitions. Sharpness and contrast improve gradually as the lenses are stopped down.

As part of the TLS rehousing process, the company replaced the original polygonal aperture diaphragms with new, custom-made circular ones. These promise smooth bokeh and, with modern anti-reflective coating on the blades, reduced internal reflections.

“The resulting rendering provides smooth background separation, soft focus transitions and pleasing highlight definition, making the lenses particularly effective portraits, dialogue scenes or intimate close-ups, the bokeh enhances storytelling without overpowering the image,” TLS says.

The complete 11-lens cinema set covers focal lengths from 15mm to 135mm, and all rehoused lenses cover full-frame image sensors. Each rehoused lens features uniform focus ring positions with industry-standard mod gears.

The full list of lenses includes the following rehoused Nikon optics: 15mm T3.9, 20mm T3, 24mm T2.2, 28mm T2.2, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.3, 55mm T1.3, 58mm T1.3, 85mm T1.9, 105mm T1.9, and the 135mm T2.1. All of the lenses are available in LPL/PL mount. Except for the 15mm T3.9, which has a 110mm front diameter, all lenses have a uniform 95mm front diameter. Weights range from 0.7 to 1.26 kilograms.

Pricing and Availability

The rehoused Nikon AI and AI-S lenses can be purchased directly through TLS. There’s also an option to buy a nine-lens set for £49,900. This set includes all the lenses except the 15mm T3.9 and 58mm T1.3. These are available separately for £6,900 and £13,500, respectively.

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Image creditsTLS