DEFINITION September 2019

FEATURE | I S LARGE FORMAT FOR REAL? PART 2

IS LARGE FORMAT FOR REAL? PART 2 WE ASKED PREVIOUSLY IF THERE WAS A PLACE FOR LARGE FORMAT GLASS. NOW WE LOOK AT THE RECEPTION NEW LARGE FORMAT GLASS HAS RECEIVED FROM THE INDUSTRY WORDS JULI AN M ITCHELL / PICTURES VARIOUS F or lovers of technique, the new large format or full-frame lenses are subtly changing work practices. We spoke with Ian Jackson, commercial director of VMI in the UK, who explains some basic advantages or effects of the new glass in is perspectively closer in, but it’s going to be softer.” Another example Jackson gives is TV or for the movies. Everyone now has a big TV and Netflix want people to have that widescreen movie experience. The same kit will get used, but there is a focus issue. There are quite a lot of midrange lenses that can achieve full-frame, such as the new

that if you shoot someone in a car, then “obviously you’re going to be very close to them. If you’ve got a very wide-angle lens, like an 18mm or even a 14mm, you will have a certain amount of perspective distortion”. He adds: “But if you shoot with the equivalent full-frame lens, you’ll be able to shoot with a ‘kinder’ lens like a 25mm, a cosmetically kinder lens.” The feeling is that LF glass will be great for TV, but it comes with a caveat. Jackson explains why: “There’s no longer a perception difference when shooting for

Canon Sumire primes. They are pitched at a midrange, vintage crossover market. But people are going to struggle with focus working full-frame in that environment.” The large format market will literally gear-up with new FF cameras early next year and then productions will turn to the format to give them new looks and differentiate themselves from others. Jackson agrees: “We have full-frame work

day-to-day shooting: “There are a lot of differences, but you need to know your options. For instance, if you have a shot of two people with a door behind them and you’re shooting 20mm Super 35 and 40mm LF, that door is physically closer on the full-frame lens than it is on the Super 35. As the Super 35 is a 20mm, the field of view on the lens has thrown that door away – whereas on the 40mm, that door

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