DEFINITION June 2018

FEATURE LOOK OF LENSES

13. PANAVISION Seamus McGarvey, BSC, chose Panavision’s Sphero 65s on the award-winning The Greatest Showman . The movie is an epic spectacle, with extensive and elaborate song and dance numbers, and kinetic camera movement, but the story starts with a more intimate portrait of P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman). “I felt the Spheros were right for The Greatest Showman because they have more personality to them, and beautiful aberrations that I love,” he says. “We were making a period film, and the Spheros don’t have the scientific feel that I’ve experienced with large format. I love how the skin tone reads, and there was a certain amount of fall- off at the edges which was perfect. They just felt ‘period’.” On CBS’s new television series Instinct , the producers found inspiration in the visuals of BBC television series Sherlock , so cinematographer Joe Collins (who shot episodes 2-12) mated the Panavision DXL camera with large-format Primo 70 lenses. Collins had his lens set customised, making them softened but maintaining true blacks. “One of the reasons we went with this format was because of their shallow depth-of-field,” he says. “Primo 70s are incredibly sharp but have a really nice bokeh.” 14. ANGENIEUX Angeneiux’s Optimo zoom range was updated at the end of 2017 with a new 36-435mm lens, the Optimo Ultra 12x FF/ VV, supporting interchangeable rear optics. Three configurations are supported: the smallest covers Super 35mm sensors up to 31.1mm diagonally, while a larger 34.6mm option exists for sensors slightly exceeding Super 35mm dimensions. Finally, option ‘FF/ VV’ casts the full 46.3mm image, satisfying full-frame sensors. Clearly at least a conceptual descendant of the workhorse 2001-vintage 24-290mm zoom, the new lens is hugely capable. Pricing is hard to find, but consider that the established 24-290 pushes $100,000.

ACCESSORIES IB/E Optics, famous for its adaptors

using it on a shoulder rig, placing the zoom controls on a handgrip such as those often used with cameras like the FS7. Having already shipped a version for the Fujinon MK series zooms, the company seems keen to expand compatibility to other lenses, and reports being in discussion with other manufacturers. In the end, the sudden scarcity of big-chip glass provoked a few years ago by the abrupt move to big-chip cameras has probably now been overcome. With crisis averted, there’s perhaps enough breathing room to have some fun.

allowing ENG-style zooms to be used on Super-35mm cameras, has produced the essentially competing S35x8K expander, which, the company says, lets “most S35 PL lenses” work on sensors as large as the RED Dragon 8K. Making lenses such as the popular Fujinon and Angenieux zooms available to full-frame cameras seems likely to be a popular idea. Finally, Chrosziel’s servo module for the Zeiss 21-100mm zoom seems designed to make the lens more suitable for people

DEFINITION JUNE 2018

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