The new beast
Canon announced the newest addition to the Cine-Servo line of cinema lenses, the 50-1000mm T5.0-8.9 Ultra-Telephoto Zoom. This makes just about every other telephoto cinema zoom look like a toy. The lens will feature a built in 1.5x extender that will bump your focal length to a 75-1500mm and all the other bells and whistles you could ask for. Quite possibly the most impressive feat of this new super zoom is it’s size and weight coming in at a very manageable 15.9″ length and just over 14 lbs. – that’s 10lbs lighter than a 24-290mm Optimo! Canon states the lens is designed specifically for 4K production and will provide an image circle of 31.4mm which will cover all Super 35 format sensors. Amazing!
Who is this for?
This is obviously a mashup from the ENG, video world where long zooms have been commonplace for decades. This lens is going to be an excellent tool for sports, nature, wildlife, and much more. Those familiar with other ENG style lenses should find this lens very comfortable with all the usual specs such as fully integrated zoom, focus, and iris control – similar to the other Canon Cine-Servo 17-120mm. I’m sure you’ll see this lens in just about every football, baseball, soccer, ping-pong, and curling stadium all over the world.
Specs
The lens is scheduled for release February 2015 at a price of $78,000.
| Model Name | CN20x50 IAS H/P1 | |
| Mount | PL | |
| Zoom Ratio Built-In Optical Extender |
20x 1.5x |
|
| Focal Length | 50-1000mm 75-1500mm (With 1.5x Extender) |
|
| Maximum Aperture | T5.0 at 50-560mm T8.9 at 1000mm T7.5 at 75-840mm (With 1.5x Extender) T13.35 at 1500mm (With 1.5x Extender) |
|
| Iris Blade | 11 | |
| Angle of View | Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Dimensions 24.6×13.8mm |
27.6° x 15.7° at 50mm |
| Aspect ratio 1.9:1 Dimensions 26.2×13.8mm |
29.4° x 15.7° at 50mm |
|
| MOD (from Image Plane) | 3.5m / 11.5′ | |
| Object Dimensions at MOD | Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Dimensions 24.6×13.8mm |
139.3 x 78.1cm at 50mm |
| Aspect Ratio 1.9:1 Dimensions 26.2×13.8mm |
148.3 x 78.1cm at 50mm |
|
| Front Diameter | Φ136mm | |
| Approx. Size (WxHxL) | 6.89 x 6.72 x 15.95in (175 x 170.6 x 405.2mm) |
|
| Approx. Mass | 14.55lbs (6.6kg) |
|
| Pitch of Focus/Zoom/Iris Gear | Focus: 0.8/0.5 Zoom: 0.5 Iris: 0.5 | |
This new lens is proof that Canon is dedicated to motion picture lens development and is an unapologetic flex of their design and manufacturing chops. You can bet that I’ll be running this lens through it’s paces once a prototype makes its way across my bench. What do you think about this? Would you find this focal length useful? How do you feel about the speed at 1000mm?
You can read the entire article over on Canon’s website.