Author Archives: Jon Fauer
55/65 Larger Format Anamorphic Lenses
In this episode of the Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55 saga, let’s answer some questions asked about availability of anamorphic lenses for Larger Format (55/65).
The GFX ETERNA 55 has an interesting sensor for anamorphic because it’s the tallest so far for digital Larger Formats and it has a familiar 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio that desqueezes comfortably without having to crop vast amounts of real estate.
Here’s Fujifilm’s ever-popular John Blackwood squeezed 1.5x on the GFX ETERNA 55’s 43.6 x 32.7 mm (54.53 mm Ø) sensor with a prototype Atlas Kaizen 65 format 75mm T2.2 1.5x anamorphic. fdtimes.us/65anamorphic read more…
Cooke Panchro/i 65 on Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55
Cooke Panchro/i 65 prime lenses have an image circle at least 60mm Ø, so they elegantly cover the Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55’s largest sensor mode: GF 4:3 (1.33:1), Open Gate, 3840×2880, 43.8 x 32.9 mm (54.78 mm Ø) image area. There are two GRAB buttons on the camera to get still frames in the same resolution as the camera is recording video. That’s how these two frames of Fujifilm’s John Blackwood were grabbed. fdtimes.us/panchro65-eterna read more…
Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55
Here is the first of several Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55 camera reports. GFX ETERNA 55 with Tilta accessories and Fujifilm GF32-90mmT3.5 PZ OIS WR zoom lens on a Cartoni Mixo 21 head with carbon fiber legs and a prototype 65mm format Atlas Kaizen 75mm 1.5x anamorphic lens. read more…
Tags: Fujifilm GFX ETERNA 55
DJI Osmo Action 6
DJI releases the Osmo Action 6. It’s an all-in-one action camera with an adjustable apertures from f/2.0 to f/4.0. The 1/1.1-inch square CMOS sensor has a pixel pitch of 2.4 μm which is large for such a small sensor, making it very capable in low light. Most action cameras have fixed apertures—typically f/2.8. The DJI Osmo Action 6 has a maximum aperture of f/2.0 that can be set manually. There’s also an adaptive auto aperture mode, with stops from f/2.0 to f/4.0. read more…
Tags: Action Camera, DJI Osmo Action 6
Nanlux Evoke 150C & 600C with 8-Color Nebula Light Engine
The Nebula C8 is the new eight-color LED Light Engine from NANLUX. It includes deep red, red, amber, lime, green, cyan, blue, and indigo emitters. NANLUX’s proprietary color-mixing technology precisely balances and blends these eight colors to provide a wider color temperature range, better skin tone reproduction and a broader color gamut. read more…
Otto Nemenz 1941 – 2025
Today would have been Otto Nemenz’s 84th birthday. He passed away on November 1 at his home in Maui. This story is very difficult to write. If anyone has additions, anecdotes, corrections or more photos, please add comments or send.
Otto was a friend, mentor and colleague. We spoke on the phone every couple of weeks. His office was often the first place to visit on landing in LA. The second destination was the Otto Nemenz table by the window at Chinois on Main restaurant, opened by fellow Austrian Wolfgang Puck in 1983. read more…
Euro Lens Summit – London 2025
The European Lens Summit returned for its second year at CVP’s Brentford facility on July 12 and 13. Bianca Halpern wrote the following. Picture this: An event focused entirely on Cinema Optics, where you can talk one-on-one with cinematographers, camera assistants, rental house staff, lens technicians, lens designers and users… read more…
Garrett O’Brien Waltzing with Brando
Los Angeles architect Bernard Judge published his memoir Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti in 2011. It is the amazing story of a young Los Angeles architect who winds up working for Marlon Brando in the 1970s at the actor’s atoll in the South Pacific.
The movie Waltzing with Brando is now playing in theaters. It is scheduled to be released on streaming services in November. Written and directed by Bill Fishman, adapted from Bernard Judge’s book, the movie stars Billy Zane as Marlon Brando and Jon Heder as Bernard Judge. Garrett O’Brien was the cinematographer. Here is an interview with Garrett. read more…
Angénieux IOP Oval Iris
Optimo Primes normally come with round 9-blade irises. Interchangeable 3-blade vintage-style iris are also available. But what if you want to have an anamorphic look, or match spherical with anamorphic, or the VFX team insists on distortion-free lenses? New 16-blade oval irises are now available. read more…
Nikon ZR Camera
Here’s the new Nikon ZR camera — a slim, stylish, lightweight, Full Frame collaboration from Nikon and RED. The ZR records internal 6K REDCODE RAW with its 24.5 Megapixel sensor and has an enormous rear display.
With the flip of a switch, the camera goes seamlessly from Video to Photo mode. Its partially stacked CMOS sensor may be familiar to users of Nikon’s Z6 III—but this is a lighter and even smaller camera for cinematographers craving internal R3D, N-RAW, ProRes RAW or ProRes recording, with 15+ stops of dynamic range,.
The new 12-bit R3D NE RAW codec supports Log3G10, REDWideGamutRGB gamut and RED color science. read more…
Tags: Nikon, Nikon ZR Camera, Red
Canon Cinema EOS C50
Full Frame, Full Width, Full Height 3:2. fdtimes.us/c50
Like the chant “Asa Nisi Masa” in Fellini’s 8½, the cheer for Canon’s new Cinema EOS C50 camera is “Full Frame, Full Height, 3:2.”
This is Canon’s first Cinema EOS camera with a Full Frame, Full Height, Full Width 3:2 recording format. It is also Canon’s smallest and lightest Cinema EOS camera—even smaller than their ever-popular R5 C and even more dedicated to cinematography. Fellini’s alter ego director Guido Anselmi, played by Marcello Mastroianni, would now be chanting “Lighter, Smaller, Faster, Cooler.”
The Canon Cinema EOS C50 has a 32 Megapixel sensor that can record 7K RAW ST internally, covering the entire 36 x 24 mm sensor—the same image area occupied in 3:2 still photo mode. read more…
Tags: Canon Cinema EOS C50
IBC 2025 Brief Debrief
Brief bursts of sunshine punctuated daily rain with drenching gusts during IBC 2025 in Amsterdam. The pre-party was Fujifilm’s GFX ETERNA 55 launch at the Amsterdam EYE Film Museum. IBC began on Friday September 12 and lingered through Monday. 43,858 visitors arrived from 170 countries. Click any image below to begin slideshow. Hover for caption:
EVF on Fujifilm ETERNA 55
A couple of days after the Fujifilm ETERNA 55 camera launched at a gala event in the Amsterdam EYE Film Museum, it sported a new prototype EVF at IBC.
The 3D-printed electronic viewfinder was connected and displayed images. We were told that this is not the final shape or configuration and it was developed in response to numerous user requests. read more…
Next FDT goes online Friday Sept 12
The 112-page Film and Digital Times PDF goes online here on September 12 at 10:00 am Amsterdam time. Go to fdtimes.com for in-depth articles about all the latest new cameras, lenses, lights and products. Download using the links at the top left of the page.
The 64-page IBC 2025 Print Edition will be distributed when the show opens.
Our 80-page Worldwide Print Edition ships this week. read more…
The Art of the Zoom at Band Pro
9/11/25
Andy Rydzewski on the Art of the Zoom: Band Pro invites you to an evening with cinematographer Andy Rydzewski to discuss zoom lenses and more
Band Pro invites you to an evening with cinematographer Andy Rydzewski for a presentation on the art of the zoom. Andy’s credits include Friendship, Pen15, and I Love LA. There will be a recreation of one of the camera builds used on Friendship along with ARRI cameras and Angénieux lenses for visitors to demo in Band Pro’s showroom. read more…
Leitz HUGO Family grows to 14
And now there are 14 Leitz HUGO lenses. A beloved 40mm focal length joins the HUGO Series from Leitz Cine. In the beginning there were nine siblings in the HUGO family. They were descendents of beloved Leica M lenses, redesigned with robust cine-style barrels and gears and fitted with LPL, Leica M or Leica L Mounts. This is Series I. (The 50-N HUGO is in the N-as-in-Noctilux Series.) The HUGO family grew to 13 a year ago with the addition of the 75mm T2.1, 66mm T2.1 and 90mm T2.1. This is Series II. The new Leitz Cine 40mm T1.5 HUGO is ready for pre-order and expected to ship in Q4 of 2025. read more…
Abraham Martinez on Optimo Primes and The Lincoln Lawyer
Abraham Martinez was Cinematographer on Season 2 and Season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer. Here is an interview about his use of Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses. There are 12 lenses in the Angénieux Optimo Prime lens series (18, 21, 24, 28, 32, 40, 50, 60, 75, 100, 135, 200 mm). They are all T1.8, except the 18mm T2 and 200mm T2.2. Optimo Primes are compact and lightweight and, best of all, you can custom tailor the look with Angénieux’s IOP system. Abe begins: “The subjective and technical performance of lenses in alignment with the story speaks for you as an advocate for your show. You’re translating the script. You stand in the gap between the rental house and the director, using a certain kind of language and grammar…” read more…
Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC on ALEXA 35 Xtreme
Stijn Van der Veken, ASC, SBC was one of the first people to try ARRI’s new ALEXA 35 Xtreme with the new ARRICORE codec and higher slow motion speeds. “We all know what chopped vegetables look like when they drop on a cutting board at 240 fps,” Stijn said. “But this is another and very practical use of the camera. Maybe you don’t need to go all the way to 240 fps, but you have that option without dialing down your resolution. You don’t have to reboot the camera. Changing frame rates is quick and easy. The ALEXA 35 becomes more versatile.” read more…
Charles Bergquist on ALEXA 35 Xtreme
Cinematographer Charles Bergquist has worked as a Phantom high-speed technician. “Without high-speed cinematography, we wouldn’t be able to glimpse these events, artistically or technically. Here, Charles discusses working with the ALEXA 35 Xtreme on his short film “Mirage.” The maximum frame rate was 660 fps. The lenses were ARRI Signature Primes with the 350P ARRI Impression Filter. https://fdtimes.us/mirage read more…
ALEXA 35 Xtreme on Extreme Sailing
Elias Maria, BVK filmed NATURE OF SPEED with ARRI’s new ALEXA 35 Xtreme slow-motion cameras, that “crank” up to 660 fps, on 69F foiling carbon fiber monohulls that sail up to 65 km/h. That caught the attention of this obsessed fast sailor who wanted to hear more from Elias and Henning Rädlein, ARRI Group VP Product Marketing. Here’s the interview. read more…
