Zeiss showed a very basic prototype of their upcoming Servo Unit back in April at NAB (read more on that here). They’ve just released some additional details and specs to accompany their updated prototypes to be shown at IBC in a few weeks. Check out the details and decide for yourself if a servo unit mounted to a compact, lightweight, full-frame, 4k zoom lens is going to benefit you and your workflow.
The ZEISS Servo Unit was specially designed for the three ZEISS Compact Zoom CZ.2 lenses and can be flexibly used with all three of them. The user-friendly surface of the cine zooms enables them to be operated manually and, if desired, with follow-focus systems or the new ZEISS Servo Unit attached. The main unit controls aperture and zoom through powerful electric motors. A sensitive rocker switch allows for smooth zooming as well as fast changes in the image crop. An integrated iris motor enables the automatic control of the aperture via the camera. A manual operation of the aperture is, of course, still possible.