These ARRI Standard Speed MKII primes were made in West Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall and before the breakup of the USSR. Our lenses were made in the early 1980’s  when ARRI was then known as Arriflex.

They are small, solid, lightweight, fast enough at T2.1 and have an organic sharpness and fall-off bokeh which is different to modern lenses, they also have slightly more contrast too. The Standard Speed MKII primes have plenty of character, personality and history. They bring an additional filmic aesthetic to modern digital cameras. 

The older Standard Speed MK1 lenses had a different coating and a different physical design and look, which was more subjective, however the Standard Speed MKII primes were released with various improvements, including the newly introduced T* coating, which is still in use today on ARRI Zeiss Ultra Primes and CP.3 primes.

The Ultra Primes were actually the replacement for the Standard Speed primes, so the Ultra Primes have their heritage with the Standard Speed primes, whereas the Super Speed Primes were replaced by Master Primes. The Standard Speed MKII primes have a similar look to the Ultra Primes, just ever-so fractionally less-sharp in the corners and more contrasty, which is considered desirable on vintage lenses, that’s the whole point in shooting vintage!