Products
Otto Blad and Otto Desć
Otto Desć ads that aired yesterday during the Oscars got our best spot award. Although legendary filmmaker Otto Desćinski is a spoof, as is the FDTimes best spot award, Autodesk is good and real.
Otto Blad is also very real. Ottoblad lenses are named for Otto Nemenz. Introduced at BSC Expo, they are Hasselblad/Zeiss Medium Format lenses wonderfully rehoused by P+S Technik of Munich. The project was initiated by Otto Nemenz International, Fritz Heinzle (Executive VP of ONI) and Gerhard Baier (Managing Director of P+S Technik).
The ring that got everyone’s attention at BSC Expo was the rear ring of the Ottoblads. Calibrated and numbered 0 – 6, you can dial in various degrees of detuning/tuning. read more…
MYT Works Opti-Glide Compact
MYT Works will travel from Brooklyn to Battersea and BSC Expo on Feb 24-25 to present their newest product.
The Opti-Glide Compact is the latest evolution of their popular Opti-Glide which is used in many rental houses worldwide. The Compact model has the same features as its predecessor but has more customization options at a much more affordable price. Opti-Glide is a camera checkout bay system that elegantly moves focus chart relative to a camera. read more…
SIGMA fp & fp L Camera Updates include EL Zone
EL Zone. SIGMA fp L and fp are the first mirrorless cameras to incorporate EL Zone. With new firmware updates, your SIGMA fp L (61 MP) or SIGMA fp (24.6 MP) camera is now a spotmeter and exposure tool, in addition to being a versatile DP/Director’s Finder, smallest Full Frame cine camera and mirrorless still camera. read more…
Nikon Z 9 for Cine
Nikon’s flagship, top-of-the-line hybrid, mirrorless digital still and cine camera is adept at both stills and video. Its 8K 12-bit video images are as spectacular as its stills. It feels like a longtime friend the moment you grab it. With the Z 9, Nikon unquestionably raised the bar on image quality, ergonomics and versatility for filming on location and in studios. Images from the 45.7MP Full Frame Stacked sensor are gorgeous. The camera’s tactile, ergonomic heft is familiar. It may remind you of a Nikon F4 from analog film days. Every button is familiar and intuitive. The Z 9 records internal 8.3K 12-bit N-RAW up to 60 fps, or 4.1K 12-bit N-RAW up to 120 fps, or 4.1K ProRes RAW up to 60 fps. read more…
Tags: Full Frame, Nikon, Nikon Z 9 for Cine, Nikon Z9
Angenieux Special Report 2022
This 24-page Special Edition is a retrospective of FDTimes articles from previous editions about Angénieux Full Frame lenses: Type EZ zooms, Optimo Ultra 12x, Optimo Primes and Optimo Ultra Compact Zooms. read more…
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. read more…
Angénieux Optimo Ultra Compact FF & U35
Angénieux announces a “Full Pack” version of their Optimo Ultra Compact 37-102 and 21-56 Full Frame zoom lenses. The Full Pack includes each lens with both a Full Frame and an Ultra35 (U35) rear that can be changed easily to cover the entire sensor area of Full Frame cameras or the U35 (Open Gate) area of the ARRI ALEXA 35.
When equipped with the new IRO group, these lenses cover U35 (a.k.a. Ultra35 or Open Gate) with an image diagonal of 34.6 mm Ø and a gain in maximum aperture to T2.2. And so, Ultra Compacts with the U35 back become, respectively, a 28-76 T 2.2 and a 16-42 T 2.2. read more…
SLATE from Tribe7
Clapperboards haven’t changed much since Psycho.
Leave it to the team at Tribe7, innovators of Blackwing7 lenses, to come up with a new, exciting and innovative SLATE. It has familiar sticks that clap (heads or tails) and a board to mark with Dry Erase pens. But this is no ordinary writing surface.
SLATE has an e-paper display similar to a Kindle. Instead of a board with pre-engraved lettering or custom graphics that have to be ordered in advance, graphics and template text on SLATE can be changed immediately. read more…
Tags: BLACKWING7, Clapperboard, SLATE from Tribe7
Leitz Hugo Leica Format Cine Lenses
Hugo joins Leitz Primes, Elsie and Henri in the eponymous family of cine lenses and finders at Ernst Leitz Wetzlar.
Hugo Wehrenfennig, a talented mechanical engineer, helped design many early M Mount lenses and created the original Leica M Mount. Its four-pronged bayonet assembly was essential to Leica’s new M3 camera, introduced at Photokina in 1954. The M mount has connected Leica M cameras and M lenses to this day.
September 6, 2022. Ernst Leitz Wetzlar introduces the Leitz Hugo series of cine prime lenses. The initial set of 7 consists of 21, 24, 28, 35, 50, 75, 90 mm — all T1.5. There is an additional 50mm T1.0 lens in the series. They are expected in Q1 2023. read more…
Teradek RT MDR.S Motor Driver
Teradek RT MDR.S is a tiny receiver+control unit to drive lens motors. I guess the “S” in MDR.S could stand for small or stylish. You can control a single motor or daisy-chain up to 3 motors—for focus, iris and zoom. Short cables minimize clutter. MDR.S works with Teradek’s CTRL.1 single channel or the CRTL.3 three channel hand unit. Maximum line-of-sight range is 5,000 ft. MDR.S is ridiculously lightweight: a mere 2.4 oz. read more…
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2
June 23, 2022. G2 is for Generation 2.
Blackmagic Design launched their Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 today, the second generation of the original Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K introduced in October 2019.
What’s different?
The new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 is almost the same as the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro (launched in February 2021) — lacking only the internal Clear, ND.6, ND1.2 and ND1.6 filters. The body is the same. Both cameras have an adjustable, tiltable 5-inch 1500 nit 5” 1920 x 1080 LCD touchscreen display. They both accept Blackmagic’s superb Pocket Cinema Camera Pro OLED EVF.
SIGMA 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary Zoom
SIGMA’s optical prowess continues to impress. Their new 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary Wide-Angle Zoom Lens (at left) is almost the same size and weight as its companion 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary Zoom (at right). If the best lens is the one that’s light and small enough to put in your jacket pocket, and has exceptional imaging quality, then the 16-28 is the wide zoom you’ll want to join the 28-70 that was released in March 2021.
Both lenses are for Full Frame mirrorless cameras and come in Sony E-mount or Leica/ SIGMA/Panasonic L-Mount.
Wide and fast zoom lenses are usually not this petite. The 16-28mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary maintains sharpness to the edges, with no shading (darkening of the edges). A few weeks ago I was gushing over the rectilinear, unbending lines of SIGMA’s 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary prime. Now, here’s a lens that’s wider, is almost as small, and is a zoom. read more…
AbelCine Spring Tech Showcase NY
The AbelCine Spring Tech Showcase, at their Industry City, Brooklyn location took place on Saturday, May 21. It was an enjoyable, focused, not-massive, local event — a full day of exhibits by the major camera, lens and lighting manufacturers, panel discussions and tech sessions. It was the premiere of the new BLACKWING7 amber skin lens variant from TRIBE7. Jay Holben was there, signing his definitive and encyclopedic The Cine Lens Manual. Canon showed their new T2.4 Flex Full Frame zooms. Tim Smith showed how seamless and simple it was to customize Angenieux Optimo Primes with their swappable internal element, swappable irises, front and rear filters. Motion Impossible’s remote controlled, modular, motorized Agito dolly glided through the halls, navigated by Ben Dair, Chief Product Officer. read more…
Koerner PNW Lens Summit 2022
Koerner Camera Systems hosted the 4th 2022 Pacific Northwest Lens (PNW) Summit on May 13-14 in their large Portland, Oregon rental headquarters. Michael Koerner, the company owner, called it “A celebration of cinema-lens technology and education.” Cooke’s Danny Haikin, who flew in from London called it “A wonderful, massive lens geek-out.”
Around 30 exhibitors displayed their products, mostly lenses. More than 300 industry visitors arrived from as far away as New Zealand.
A day before the main event, lens technicians attended hands-on lens training classes taught by lens maestros. Instructors donated their time, so the technicians attended the training for free. read more…
SmallHD Cine 18 Monitor
These are the shots that try focus-pullers souls.
ECU, 4K, Full Frame, 135mm prime wide open at T1.4. Which eyelash do you focus on?
Your 7-inch monitor is great, but seeing such fine detail requires the eyesight of an eagle. What you may want is a larger 4K monitor of size and resolution to guide you in the realm of eyelash-thin, millimeter depth of focus.
As depth gets smaller, focus-pullers get larger monitors.
The new SmallHD Cine 18 4K High-Bright Monitor addresses the sweet spot between your favorite Cine 13 on a stand and the Cine 24 that sits on an Inovativ cart. read more…
Phantom Droll Booth – FDTimes at NAB
FDTimes will be at NAB 2022. Pick up copies of the April 2022 edition in the publication bin at the entrance to Central Hall.
Make yourself at home in our unoccupied FDTimes booth # C6244. But, unfortunately I will not be there nor will it be staffed. Too busy preparing the June 2022 edition. See you soon! read more…
Canon 20-50 & 45-135 T2.4 FF Zooms
Canon announces “the launch of a new series of lenses for the company’s EF Cinema Lens lineup — the Flex Zoom Lens series.” Watch what they say: “The first lenses in the series are the CN-E20-50mm T2.4 L F/FP wide-angle zoom lens and the CN-E45-135mm T2.4 L F/FP telephoto zoom lens.” Does “first lenses in the series” mean that more Full-Frame Zooms are on the way? I would guess yes. You won’t have to flex your muscles to work with these new Canon Flex Zoom Lenses. They are very light (less than 7.5 lb / 3.4 kg). They are very compact: shorter than 9.7″ / 246.4 mm. And they are amazingly fast for compact Full-Frame zooms: T2.4 maximum aperture for both, without ramping. The Flex zooms come in EF or PL mount, designated by the product name of F for EF, and FP for PL. The EF mount provides electronic shading and chromatic aberration correction when used on Canon’s EOS R5 C with an EOS RF-to-EF mount adapter. The PL mount has the latest /i3 Technology.
DJI Ronin 4D 6K Updates
Here are additions and changes to the FDTimes November 2021 report on DJI’s Ronin 4D. New firmware, when the camera ships soon, will let you: Use the Remote Monitor to view and control the main monitor interface with “Mirror Control Mode.” Stream a clean video feed via HDMI and SDI ports on the Remote Monitor Expansion Plate with no overlaid… read more…
Tags: DJI Ronin 4D 6K Updates
Otto Nemenz gets 37-102 Ultra Compact
Faster than you can say, “Otto Nemenz,” this photo just arrived. Band Pro delivered one of the first Angénieux Optimo Ultra Compact 37-102 Full Frame Zoom lenses in the Americas to Otto Nemenz International yesterday. Above, left right: Amnon Band, Alex Wengert, Otto Nemenz with 37-102, Dan Lopez, Fritz Heinzle. read more…
Canon EOS R5 C
You spot it right away. On the front, it says EOS C. C as in Cinema. On the left side, there’s a big red shutter/start-stop button. The Canon EOS R5 C Full-Frame hybrid video and stills, mirrorless, RF-mount 8K camera is here.
From the front, the R5 C looks very similar to the R5, which launched on July 9, 2020. If you said that the R5 was essentially a remarkable 45 megapixel still camera that also did 8K video, well, the new R5 C is a remarkable 45 megapixel camera equally adept at both stills and video. read more…
