AGENDA NEWS
Fast response from Zeiss Hot on the heels of the Cooke SP3 lenses designed for mirrorless cameras comes the new Nano Primes from rival high-end lens maker Zeiss. Instead of a range of five T2.4 lenses, these offerings are the first high- speed T1.5 cine lenses made specifically for mirrorless full-frame cameras.
the lens uses convex low-dispersion elements towards the front of the lens barrel. These also keep chromatic and axial aberrations to a minimum. Flare and ghosting are prevented by refractive lenses, ideal for when shooting in backlit environments, such as sporting arenas or concerts. The focus motor delivers fast, accurate and near-silent autofocus which far outperforms traditional stepping motors. The lens also features two optical stabilisation modes: Mode 1 can be used for all types of shooting to reduce unwanted shake, while Mode 2 employs Sigma’s intelligent algorithm for smoother panning shots. Regardless of the lens’ orientation, the stabilisation is effective for both vertical and diagonal movement, without interfering with the panning motion. The L-Mount version is compatible with Sigma’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters, but the Sony version isn’t – and Sigma has no plans to build any . sigmauk.com Dopchoice has launched its inflatable Snapbag Airglow to fit most 2x1 LED fixtures. It inflates to create booklight- style illumination, which is soft and indirect. Unlike a typical front-facing softbox, the Airglow creates a 45° triangular bounce, with the back wall pushing light out of the opposite side. The back wall can be swapped from Ultra Bounce to Hard Silver Diffusion for punchier illumination. Once fitted to the panel, the Snapbag Airglow can be used either horizontally or vertically. It is lightweight and quick to set up, eliminating the need for extra stands and leaving a smaller footprint. No price has been revealed. dopchoice.com THE BENEFITS OF INFLATION
Initially available in Sony E-mount, the Nano lenses are a compact, lightweight design available in 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm. That’s a similar range to the Cookes with the addition of a super-wide 18mm version. Zeiss developed the optical design to deliver an extremely shallow depth-of- field, even in the wide-angle range, with ‘elegant bokeh and a harmonious focus fall-off’, aided by a 12-bladed aperture. The look can be combined with the high-end lenses of the Supreme Prime family, ideal for B and C cameras in larger productions. There is a consistent positioning of the focus and iris rings across all focal lengths for quick lens changes. The calibrated focus scales are easy to read, and a long 280° focus rotation aids precise focus pulling.
The iris ring features 90° rotation and a non-linear scale to enable fine adjustment. An electronic interface records metadata such as focal length, focus distance and aperture. Extra lens data for distortion and vignetting is available in the Zeiss Cincraft ecosystem for post-production. The Primes can change their mounts to fit various lenses. They can be as a complete set with a lens case at £24,000/$25,950 or individually from £4200/$4990. zeiss.com/cine/nanoprime
IT’S THE INDIE 500! The latest lens from Sigma is an
affordable super telephoto for full- frame mirrorless cameras in Sony E or Leica L-Mount. The 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS is from Sigma’s speedy Sports range, costing £2779/$2999 – making it a tempting choice for independent filmmakers. It is compact and lightweight for such a long lens, featuring Sigma’s high-speed HLA motor for fast and precise autofocus along with five stops of effective stabilisation. Special low-dispersion glass elements and precision-engineered TSC (thermally stable composite) materials reduce the lens’ overall size to 234.6mm/9.2in and weight to 1370g/3.02lb for the L-Mount version, significantly reducing size and weight over the previous Sigma 500mm f/4 lens for DSLRs. But, the new optic is a full stop slower. The weather-resistant lens comes equipped with a focus limiter switch, a de-clickable and lockable aperture ring, detachable tripod socket plus a custom mode switch. To reduce the size of the lens without lowering optical quality,
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