FUJINON 25-1000 F2.8 Zoom

 

 

New York. Dec 14. At an open house today, FUJINON showed the first working HZK25-1000mm F2.8- F5.0 PL Mount Box Lens on a Sony VENICE 2. Although officially called a “box lens,” you’ll find it on major motion picture sets in addition to its original intent as a 40x fast zoom for multi-camera concerts, events, broadcast and sports. 

The thing that got my attention the most was its automatic breathing compensation. The 25-1000 can correct for breathing by compensating its focal length (zoom) in sync with focusing.

At a glance:

  • PL Mount. 
  • Super35 Format.
  • 1.5x Internal Expander to cover Full Frame.
  • Automatic Restoration of Illumination Attenuation (ARIA)— in other words, as you zoom in, automatic ISO correction corrects for aperture ramping. *
  • Automatic Lens Chromatic Aberration Correction. *
  • Remote Back-Focus. *
  • *Currently only works with SONY HDC-F5500. (I would guess that ARIA eventually could be enabled with VENICE 2.)

 

This lens beckons to be used on cine cameras for commercials, sports, stunts, car spots, and features. Imagine a 120 fps slow motion shot of an Olympic hurdler racing toward camera, from full figure to extreme close-up. No breathing, except for the athlete and operator. 

Or picture a dimly lit concert, ECU on the lead singer at 1000mm.

This FUJINON 25-1000 covers Super35 sensors (image diagonal 28.55mm). With its built-in 1.5x dual format expander, it covers Full Frame sensors (41.3mmØ image diagonal) and the focal length range becomes 37.5-1500 mm. Since an expander is effectively a high-quality extender, certainly it works as a 37.5-1500 mm zoom in Super35 as well. 

Super35 and Full Frame digital cine cameras have been increasingly used in broadcasting, sports and live events. Large sensor cameras offer immersive images, exciting separation of subject from background, and high dynamic range compared to traditional B4 video cameras. 

The new FUJINON HZK 25-1000 has an amazingly long zoom range and very wide aperture, with the quality and optical performance familiar to users of the highly respected FUJINON Premier Series. (The longest Premier zoom thus far is the HK 75-400mm T2.8-3.8.)  

F2.8 at the wide end of the 25-1000 lens enables filming in low-light locations such as indoor concerts or nighttime events, with beautiful bokeh and a cinematic look. Fujifilm’s optical technology suppresses aberrations by using large aspherical and fluorite lens elements that eliminate ghosting, flares, and color fringing. Highly advanced polishing methods prevent undesirable “onion ring” effects in the out-of-focus bokehs. 

Optical quality is controlled through repeated simulations using Fujifilm’s proprietary FOCUS (Fujifilm Optical Class Library and Utilities System) optical design application, which helps determine the selection of glass materials from a vast permutation of possibilities. Coatings are optimized and mechanical design is tweaked to minimize internal barrel flare. The FOCUS application simulates the lens characteristics during the design process. 

Why is the FUJINON 25-1000 shaped like a box when typical cine lenses have barrels? Of course, part of the heritage comes from the broadcast world of box lenses. But there’s a practical explanation. The main reason is the ability to use optical elements with a large diameter. While a barrel-type body limits the use of optical elements to a diameter up to about 130 mm, this lens uses glass with diameters larger than 220 mm.

The lens maintains F2.8 without ramping up to focal lengths of 465mm and then ramps to F5.0 toward the telephoto end — 1,000mm.

There are more than 30 optical elements inside. The zoom and focus cams are connected with a belt drive, rather than with a gear drive where backlash might be physically unavoidable.  

The 25-1000 is easy to use. It is also the first commercially available box-type zoom lens for large sensor cameras equipped that has optical image stabilization. This enables stable shooting while precisely compensating for vibrations on location. The latest anti-vibration mechanism and firmware utilizes Fujifilm’s ceramic ball roller system. Not only does this mechanism provide a high level of anti-vibration performance against shaking caused by footsteps and wind, but it also suppresses shaking of the hands to ensure stable image capture. Not that any camera operator would have shaking hands!

Stosh Durbacz demonstrated the 25-1000 with a Preston FIZ system, with its MDR connected via serial cable to the lens and getting power from the VENICE. For camera crews on cine productions, wireless FIZ lens controllers from Preston Cinema Systems and ARRI are compatible and can be connected to the HZK25-1000. 

The FUJINON HZK25-1,000mm F2.8-F5.0 is expected to be available in Spring 2023. It will be demonstrated in LA and various other places until then. And you can almost hear the CNC machines starting by the usual suspects up to cinematize this lens with all kinds of mounting points, focus, zoom and iris readouts, front mattebox, focus assists, rain deflectors, etc.

For more information, visit: www.fujinon.com

Specs

  • Zoom Range: 25-1000 mm in Super35
  • with internal extender: 37-1500 mm in Super35
  • with internal expander: 37.5-1500 in Full Frame

Note, the internal expander and extender in this lens are the same device. Expanders and extenders increase the focal length by their designated ratio (e.g. 15x). Expanders generally pay greater attention to maintaining optical quality towards the edges, which is important in Full Frame. Extenders basically “worry” about the center Super35 area.  

  • Maximum Aperture in Super35:
    • F2.8 at 25mm F3.9 at 700 mm
    • F5.0 at 1000 mm
  • Maximum Aperture in Full Frame with internal 1.5x expander:
    • F4.2 at 37.5 mm
    • F5.3 at 1050 mm
    • F7.5 at 1500 mm
  • Image Diagonal in Super35:  Ø 28.55 mm
  • Image Diagonal in Full Frame:  Ø 41.3 mm
  • Close Focus (M.O.D.):   3.5m / 11’5″
  • Length:   669mm / 26.3″
  • Weight:   28 kg / 61.7 lb
  • Front Screw in filter: 241 mm (M241 x 1)
  • Front diameter with Protective Screw-in Front Clear Filter: 245 mm
  • ALAC – Automatic Chromatic Aberration Correction
  • ARIA – Automatic Restoration of Illumination Attenuation corrects for aperture ramping.
  • Remote Back-Focus

 

 

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