Tag Archives: Lenses

LEITZ ZOOM Lenses

All four lines of LEITZ Full Frame / Large Format / Leica Format cine lenses are delivering now. The M 0.8 series was introduced in 2016. THALIA came next, in 2017. September 2018 saw a new set of unnamed and untouchable Leica Format prime lenses inside a locked glass case at IBC. The name came in February 2019: LEITZ PRIME. Shortly after, LEITZ ZOOM lenses were announced. Here are the zooms.

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Rainer Hercher joins CW Sonderoptic – Leica

Rainer Hercher has been named General Sales Director of CW Sonderoptic for their line of cine products — including Leica Summilux-C and Leica Summicron-C lenses. Rainer said, “The Leica brand has a rich history of creating fantastic image-making tools, but the cinema side of the business from CW Sonderoptic is relatively new. I look forward to introducing these products to more cinematographers and directors in the global market.” read more…

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Cooke 65 mm Macro Anamorphic /i 2x Prime

Here’s the lens that many cinematographers have been waiting for from Cooke. Cooke introduces their new 65 mm Macro Anamorphic /i 2x Prime lens at Cine Gear. It has a close-up magnification ratio of 4.1:1. read more…

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Canon’s Mr. Maeda alludes to future technology

“Lunch with the FT” is a weekly column in the Financial Times. Their weekly interview with a leading cultural or business luminary was something we have been doing—but to paraphrase Virginia Woolf, “It’s dinner one wants, not lunch.” It was therefore a pleasant surprise to receive an email from Mr. Hitoshi Doi, head of the Future Product & Solution Group at Canon U.S.A. “Jon,” he wrote, “Can you slip away for a couple of hours during NAB to have lunch with Mr. Maeda and me?” Mr. Masaya Maeda is Managing Director and Chief Executive of Image Communication Products Operations at Canon. read more…

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Cooke Annual NAB 2015 Gathering: Anamorphics, Zooms, Rentals, RED 8K

Getting a coveted seat at the annual Cooke NAB dinner requires connections worthy of entry to a restaurant like Rao’s in New York. It also helps to be the owner of a substantial number of Cooke lenses, spherical or anamorphic. In an undisclosed location at a distinguished Las Vegas restaurant, more than 80 prominent rental houses and cinematographers convened to discuss the latest topics and trends and to meet new colleagues. Later in the evening, fueled by a dinner of Jurassic-sized steaks and fine wines, speeches are made on the state of the industry. Here is the edited transcript of Cooke Dinner NAB 2015. read more…

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50 Years Ago Today: Ranger 7

50 years ago, on July 31, 1964, Ranger 7 took the first pictures at close range of the Moon. These pictures were made with Angenieux 25mm f: 0.95 M1 lenses. Ranger 7 was the first US space probe to successfully transmit close images of the lunar surface back to Earth. It was also the first completely successful flight of the Ranger program. Launched on July 28, 1964, Ranger 7 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes of flight up to impact. Ranger 7 reached the Moon on July 31, 1964. read more…

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Scorpiolens Anamorphic Prime Lenses

Andres Valles surprised me on NAB opening day with a preview of a set of 13 Scorpiolens anamorphic primes to be introduced at IBC in September. He also introduced me to the lens designer, physicist and optical engineer Cristina Alcaide. read more…

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Case Closed

I met Cocoon’s Maik Finzel and Patrick Biesinger at IBC. Cocoon makes terrific custom foam interiors for camera and equipment cases. For example, their products have coddled Compact Prime and Master Prime lenses by ZEISS, Cooke S4  sets, and the new Leica Summilux-C primes. Cocoon is based in Jena, which happens to be where Carl Zeiss set up shop in 1846. These… read more…

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Finnish Glass

This is not a sensor. It’s the Iittala display of designer drinking glasses on Helsinki’s fashionable Pohjoisesplanadi. No relation to Italy; Iittala is the famous company from a town of the same name 124 km northwest of Helsinki. Premiered in 1937 at the Paris World’s Fair, Alvar Aalto’s vase is an iconic Finnish glass design sold in most modern museum… read more…

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Motion Picture Lens Database

Richard Bradbury, Focus Puller from London, has compiled a Google Docs database of motion picture lenses. It’s a continuing work in progress, as new lenses are added and existing lenses are updated. Motion Picture Lens Database:  www.tinyurl.com/cinelenses  

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Full Frame vs APS-C and H

Joe Christofori, Camera Assistant, Data Wrangler and Artist from Massachusetts sent this chart in. It’s a good, graphic explanation of why your Canon 7D (EF-S) lenses won’t cover a 5D (EF lenses), and what happens when you put 5D lenses on your 7D. When you mount an EF lens on a Canon 7D, you’ll notice that the red lens mount… read more…

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Focal Lengths, Format Sizes

Why a 12mm lens is always a 12mm lens (PDF version of this article is also available here) This is an update of an FDTimes article from the ancient days of 2007 that tries to clear up some of the mysteries of millimeters. We talk about film cameras a lot because many of the current digital cameras are using specs… read more…

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Oli at NAB 2011

Sony’s theme was “Believe Beyond HD.” The Digital Cinema Society’s seminar was titled, “3D, 4K and beyond.” We saw plenoptic lenses selectively adjusting focus within a scene. We saw the GoPro 3D camera on a model helicopter. NAB 2011 was well beyond HD. Attendance was up, along with activity on the show floor.  It could be a reflection of a… read more…

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FDTimes NAB Edition Contents

FDTimes April 2011 double issue 41-42 hits the halls of NAB on opening day: at 9 am on Monday April 11, 2011. Pick up your complimentary copy of Film and Digital Times from the publication bins in the Central Hall Main Lobby and South Hall Upper Lobby, at our booth C9550, and at the booths of our sponsors, including Sony, Fujinon,… read more…

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EasyFocus

EasyFocus is our first new sponsor of 2011. Fritz Gabriel Bauer (left), Renaissance filmmaker, cinematographer, director, producer, designer of the Moviecam and Arricam, keeps on inventing amazing things. He designed the Moviecam because he wanted a lighter, quieter camera. Now, he’s turned his attention to keeping things in focus. His latest creation is the Moviecam EasyFocus. EasyFocus combines a precision… read more…

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How to Train your Designers

The NXCAM concept block shown recently by Sony got me thinking. If I were the designer, what would I do? Where are cameras headed, how will they be used, are we learning anything from the designs of the past? Sony’s NXCAM 35 prototype suggests that sensors could be semi-permanently attached to the lens instead of the camera. When you change… read more…

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NEX-5 Directors Finder

Ingredients: 1. Sony NEX-5 Digital Still Camera 2. MTF PL to Sony E Adaptor 3. Hoodman HoodLoupe Unpack Sony NEX-5 Camera. Attach MTF PL Adapter. Attach Hoodman HoodLoupe with thin Velcro strips. Someone will undoubtedly come up with a nice bracket that mounts to the 1/4-20 thread on the bottom of the NEX-5. Zacuto Z-Finder Jr and Pro and Dorn’s… read more…

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ZEISS Cine Lens Day 2010

Two thoughts come into my mind when reflecting on this year’s Cine Lens Day at Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen, Germany. 1. They sure fed us well. 2. They sure have a lot of lenses. But let’s start at the beginning… The biennial Cine Lens Day takes place at the Carl Zeiss headquarters in Oberkochen, about two hours northwest of Munich…. read more…

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December Issue now online for Subscribers

Our 96 page December Issue 36-38 of Film and Digital Times is now online. Subscribers: click on the MEMBERS tab, above. The print edition has gone to press. It will be in the mail soon. Our cover says “Converging Worlds.” Although convergence and 3D certainly has everyone’s attention, this is the historic year of convergence and collision between consumer and professional… read more…

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Image Stabilization by Larry Thorpe

Larry Thorpe, National Marketing Executive for Broadcast & Communications, Canon USA Inc. presented a fascinating lecture at NAB 2010 on how image stabilization works. He’s graciously crafted this article in response to demand for more insight into how the two major systems of stabilizers work: Vari-Angle Prism IS and Shift Lens IS. Download the Medium Resolution Article (4 MB PDF)

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