Elias C. J. Köhler sharing his experience shooting with Optimo Ultra 12x on various projects
Berlin-based cinematographer Elias C. J. Köhler talk about his journey, visual approach, and how zoom lenses especially the Optimo Ultra 12x have become a key part of his workflow
Hi Elias, can you please introduce yourself?
I’m Elias C. J. Köhler, a cinematographer based in Berlin. I got into filmmaking as a teenager, filming BMX videos, and little horror short films with friends on a Mini DV camcorder, pretty much anything that moved. That early fascination with capturing moments visually never really left.
Over the years, I’ve worked across formats and genres: commercials, music videos, series, and narrative films. While I’ve had the chance to work on campaigns for bigger brands, the constant for me has always been storytelling through images. I’m especially drawn to fiction work, where there’s space to build visual language more deeply in collaboration with directors.
I like to create imagery that feels grounded and real, but always with some sort of poetic or dreamlike layer beneath the surface. Film is still the medium that fascinates me the most so when the project allows, I love to shoot on celluloid.
How would you describe your journey as a cinematographer?
It’s been organic. I didn’t come from a traditional film school background, so a lot of what I’ve learned has come through hands-on experience doing, failing, adjusting, trying again. I started with music videos and small passion projects with friends, which eventually opened doors to commercial and narrative work.
One of the most formative early collaborations was with my school friend and first roommate, Julian Richberg. We shot countless short films together often in the forest, simply because it was the cheapest and biggest “set” we had access to. With Julian, I ended up shooting my first feature film on just one lens: an ARRI Master Anamorphic 40mm. ARRI Rental supported us on that film and gave us the lens almost for free, since a bigger production had taken the full set but left the 40mm behind.
I’ve always been a fan of limitations. I think limitations make you more creative and force you to stay open to different ways of working. Collaborating closely with directors has been a huge part of my development. I’m not the kind of DP who imposes a fixed visual style on every project, I prefer to listen, understand what the story needs, and support that through the choices I make with camera and light.
There’s always something new to learn whether it’s working with actors, navigating production dynamics, or finding new ways to make something feel emotionally, real and honest on screen.
That brings me to the subject of zoom lenses. On my first collaboration with director Dominik Galizia on our feature film Heikos Welt, we had a long conversation about zooms. I had worked for a television station early on, so I wasn’t a big fan of zoom lenses at the time.
Back then, zooms reminded me of a TV look, and I wanted to create images that felt cinematic, so I wanted to avoid that aesthetic.
Dominik saw it differently. He introduced me to the world of cinematic zooms, showing me countless scenes from directors like Scorsese, De Palma, and others. He convinced me to shoot the entire film using zoom lenses. Since we were aiming for a specific front-anamorphic look, we ended up using the Hawk Vintage ’74 45–90mm and 80–180mm zooms.
That experience completely changed my perspective. Since then, zoom lenses have actually become my favorite lenses and I rarely step onto a set without one in my package.
We came across your work and noticed that you are using the Optimo Ultra 12x pretty often! Can you tell us more about this repeated choice? Do you usually shoot in Full Frame or use the lens in different formats?
As I mentioned earlier, I’m a huge fan of shooting on film, especially 16mm. I love the flexibility of that format and the slightly dirty, rough, documentary-like quality it gives. I own a 10–160mm zoom that I use almost every time I shoot on 16mm.
For larger commercial projects, though, my go-to camera is usually the Alexa Mini LF. I love how you can use wide-angle lenses and still get a striking depth of field in large format. But especially in LF, it’s not easy to find zoom lenses that offer a great range.
When I first used the Angénieux Optimo Ultra 12x, I instantly fell in love with it. It was exactly the lens I’d been looking for. It’s clean and sharp enough for high-end commercial work, but still has character, it never feels sterile. I always feel confident mixing it with any prime lens set, and it consistently delivers. It’s definitely a heavy beast, and probably not the best choice for fast-paced, run-and-gun shoots with a small crew. But as soon as you have a proper team and setup, it becomes the perfect tool, reliable, flexible, and visually beautiful.
I mostly use the Ultra 12x on LF cameras, but it also works beautifully on S35. It’s become a staple in my kit whenever I know I’ll want flexibility without compromising the look.
Could you tell us more about some of these projects?
What were the artistic intentions?One of the first projects I remember using the Optimo Ultra 12x on was a Starbucks commercial I shot with director Ivan Boljat. We wanted to start fairly close to a couple of dancers meeting in the middle of a crosswalk, then zoom out to reveal that the entire crosswalk is filled with people. On Super 35, it would’ve been easy to find a lens that could handle that shot, but since we were shooting in large format, the Ultra was the only lens that could give us the range we needed.
On another project with Ivan, we had the challenge of making a nearly empty football stadium look full. We only had about 20 extras, but by shooting with a longer focal length on the Ultra, we were able to compress the image and make the crowd feel much denser. The lens gave us the reach we needed without compromising image quality, and it helped sell the illusion.
I also work regularly with director Viktor Heinz, who’s also a huge fan of zooms. On one project, we needed to show a wide shot of a large street and then crash-zoom into a single person crossing it. Because we were shooting in large format, we needed a lens that was wide enough at the start of the shot, but could still get in very close. The Ultra 12x was really the only lens we could find that could pull it off in that format. The shot worked exactly as planned, and everyone on set was super happy with the result.
Regarding cameras and lenses, do you usually have any go‑to package? Does sensor format matter to you?
To be honest I don’t stick to one fixed setup, it’s always about what the project needs and what feel we’re going for.
For clean, high-end commercials I usually grab the ARRI Alexa Mini LF with Signature Primes. If I need a wide zoom range I go for the Optimo Ultra 12x. For these projects I love the look large format offers: rich tones, beautiful depth, and a subtle cinematic quality.
On projects that need more texture and a narrative look, I switch to the ALEXA 35 with lenses that offer personality like Optica Elite, Cooke Classic or even Cooke S2/S3, and if I need a zoom I usually go for one of the the Angénieux 25–250mm zoom. The Super 35 sensor feels a bit more organic and cinematic to me since most of the feature films I grew up with where shot on 35mm.
When the project needs grit, grain, and an organic emotional tone, I shoot 16 mm film on my ARRI SR3, usually with Zeiss HS primes and the Canon 10–160mm zoom. That format brings an honesty and rough edge digital doesn’t quite replicate.
On feature films, my go‑to tends to be 35 mm film using an Arricam LT, with a lens set chosen to match the story’s tone and production needs. There’s a texture, depth, and presence in 35 mm that is still magical to me.
Are there some technical aspects of the Optimo Ultra 12x or other Optimo lenses that you specifically enjoy?
I love how versatile the Optimo Ultra 12x is. It allows you to swap out the rear optics to adapt the lens seamlessly between Super 35, U35, and Full Frame/VistaVision formats with calibrated focus scales for each configuration .
In practical terms, that means one lens can cover a huge range—from 24–290 mm at T2.8 for Super 35, to 36–435 mm at T4.2 for Full Frame . Optically, the performance is consistently excellent across all focal lengths: minimal breathing, low distortion, no ramping, and a uniform, prime-like sharpness and contrast.
All of this gives me confidence to match the lens to any sensor format or shoot nearly any scene without compromising visual quality.
