NAB 2013 Rolling Update

NAB 2013 is officially underway. Aubrey and I have begun scouring the show floor for interesting new bits of information pertaining to cinematography and more specifically, lenses. I’ll be dividing this post by manufacturer and will continue to update throughout the show. If you have any tips, please feel free to email them to me and I’ll go check out the details and see if I can get specific details from manufacturer reps. Enjoy!

Angenieux

As you may have already seen in a previous post, Angenieux announced and is showing their fully functional anamorphic zoom. The lens is a 2.7x zoom with a focal length of 56-152mm and a constant speed of T4 throughout the range. I as able to check the lens out on a camera which was displaying a very nice image with little to no distortion and virtually no breathing or ramping that I could see on the monitor. Angenieux also told me that this will not be the anamorphic your father used. The zoom ill produce a very nice, sharp, clean image similar to what you would expect from a spherical Angenieux zoom, except anamorphic. This will make Angenieux one of the only manufacturer of a modern day anamorphic zoom lens. Look forward to more focal lengths and anamorphic lenses from Angenieux in the near future.

Arri

Arri showed a pair of extenders specifically for their Arri/Fuji Alura lenses. The extenders included /i data support. I imagine these extenders can be used with just about any tele zoom but I’d have to check with Arri which I’ll do tomorrow (it was a zoo today). The extenders are a tad pricey which is why I’m waiting for new on a pair of extenders from Schneider instead.

Canon

Canon is really cramming a lot into NAB this  year. Their booth is less of a booth and more of a statement. They’re really trying to make a point that they can create professional cinema equipment just as well as they do consumer grade gear. Unfortunately they don’t have the recently announced 35mm Cine Prime on display as it’s still simply “in design”.

Cooke

Another anamorphic contender – Cooke is displaying their prototype anamorphic prime lenses that we covered a few days ago here. The anamorphic primes from Cooke will not be the same accurate, clean look as the Angenieux anamorphic. Cooke says these will exhibit more character with a finely tuned “Cooke Look” that shooters have been looking for with modern day sensors. I’ll be looking forward to some screen tests and results from these new anamorphic primes which should provide that traditional anamorphic flare much like anamorphics of years past.

Fujinon

Not much new at the show for Fujinon. They’re showing a lot of their existing lenses that are still considered top-of-the-line optic for digital and film cinema. I’ll do some more hunting to see if Fujinon has anything up their sleeve.

MTF Services

MTF services was the go-to source if you wanted to use a Nikon mount lens on a Sony F3. They were first to market with that particular adapter and have positioned themselves nicely to provide a wide range of mount adapter solutions. Picking up where Optex left off, MTF Services has a wide range of adapters, mechanical, optical, and electronic, that will pretty much take care of any lens – camera combination. One of their new products that appealed to me was the MTF EF mount. This mount accepts Canon EF lenses and offers several end mounts including the Sony F3, FS100/700, or Panasonic AF100/101. The cool part is that this adapter provides control of the iris on an otherwise gelded Canon EF lens with control up to 1/8th of a stop increments via a small control knob. The mount also provides power to image stabilized lenses via a few AA batteries. The control box displays the focal length of the lens including zoom lenses as well as the aperture setting. A very neat little solution for shooters using a catalog of Canon EF lenses on their Sony or Panasonic cameras.

Service Vision

Service Vision, yes the same company that makes some pretty awesome camera cranes and rigs, jumped into the anamorphic market with their new Scorpiolens Anamorphic primes. Similar to other manufacturers, these primes will be a 2x squeeze. One of the big bonuses is the range that Service Vision will be offering which include 14 focal lengths ranging from 20mm all the way to 300mm. The speed will range from T2 to T2.8, and cap off at T3 with the 300mm.

Schneider

I had a chance to play with the Schneider FF-Primes recently and did a quick review of them that you can check out here. I spoke with Schneider about additional focal lengths are continuity throughout the set. There will be a wider and longer focal length to add to the existing 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm in the near future. Very excited about these lenses with their relatively affordable price point and excellent performance.

Schneider was also displaying working models of their new 1.4x and 2x tele-extenders. No official word on pricing just yet but these simply extenders should get the job done for a wide range of productions. Schneider’s Century division used to be the go-to source for tele-extenders. 

Zeiss

Zeiss was showing their entire line of optics. Everything from Master Primes and Ultra Primes, to their newest 28-80mm Compact Zoom. They also showed their prototype 55mm f/1.4 SLR lens. The new 55mm is sort of the concept design for the new series of high-end SLR primes that will be offered simultaneously along side the existing ZF.2 and ZE lenses. No word on pricing or availability yet.

Here’s a nice snap of the 28-80mm which is making it’s US debut at NAB. The Compact Zoom was on display at IBC last year and received plenty of great reviews. Zeiss also hinted at a wide angle compact zoom lens to complete the range. I’m expecting something in the 17mm to 35mm range, T2.8. This would nicely position Zeiss as the only manufacturer to offer 35mm full frame, purpose built cinema zoom lenses. Not a bad place to be. And lastly, Zeiss has confirmed that there will be at least one more focal length coming to the ZF.2/ZE/CP.2 line-up in the form of a telephoto prime. I’m guessing a 200mm or 300mm to really give the family of primes a good reach.

Check back often!

I’ll continue to add to this post as the show goes along. Again, if you have any tips or specific requests, please feel free to drop a comment below or send me an email. Check back later today and tomorrow for updates.