It’s that time of year. Just ahead of NAB 2019, Fujinon has announced a pair of brand new high-end cinema zoom lenses with a generous image circle capable of covering the entire range of modern large format motion picture cameras.
Named the Premista, the pair of new zooms will be a 28-100mm T2.9 and an 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 will feature a large image circle spec of 46.3mm. Both zooms have a T2.9 maximum aperture, however the longer zoom will ramp gradually between 200 and 250mm. Pricing is in line with the rest of Fujinon’s professional zoom solutions at $38,800 for the 28-100mm, shipping Summer 2019. The 80-250mm will begin shipping before the end of 2019, no price confirmed just yet.
The Premista name is a conjunction of two words that summarize Fujinon’s new lenses; “PREMiere” and “viSTA”, Premiere being the name of Fujinon’s famous line of cinema zooms that set the standard for optical performance, and Vista as a nod to their large format coverage of Vista Vision sensors such as the RED 8K Monstro, among others.
Fujinon states that these new lenses will feature “A new 13-blade iris allows for a pleasant bokeh effect and a wide dynamic range of light can be captured thanks to dedicated optical design to suppress unwanted flare and ghosting. Thanks to its large-diameter aspherical lens elements and new focus/zoom system, the Premista series achieves stunning optical quality from the center to the corner at all focal lengths”.
I had an opportunity to get my hands on a pre-production version of the lens which met every expectation. This new duo of zooms from Fujinon is the answer that everyone has been asking… Where are the Full Frame zooms?! While Zeiss released their CZ.2 zooms several years ago, they left something to be desired with their somewhat limited zoom range. While the Fujinon’s only tweak this concept slightly, the extra field of view will be a welcome addition to the sparse crowd of full frame cinema zooms. Expect a full frame zoom comparison after the dust of NAB 2019 settles. For the lens geeks, you can check the tech specs below.
If you’re ready to make the jump immediately, head on over to ducloslenses.com and pre-order your Premista 28-100mm T2.9 today!
| Focal Length | 28-100mm | 80-250mm |
| Aperture | T2.9 | T2.9 (T3.5 >200mm) |
| Lens Mount | Arri PL | Arri PL |
| Image Circle | 46.3mm | 46.3mm |
| Close Focus | 0.8m / 2′ 7″ | 1.5m / 4′ 11″ |
| Focus Rotation | 280° | 280° |
| Zoom Rotation | 120° | 120° |
| Iris Rotation | 48° | 48° |
| Iris Blades | 13 | 13 |
| Front Diameter | 114mm | 114mm |
| Length | 255mm / 10″ | 255mm / 10″ |
| Weight | 3.8kg / 8.4lbs. | 3.8kg / 8.4lbs. |
| Angular Field of View (H x V) 40.96mm x 21.60mm*2 | 28mm: 72.4° x 42.2° 100mm: 23.1° x 12.3° | 80mm: 28.7° x 15.4° 250mm: 9.4° x 4.9° |
| Angular Field of View (H x V) 36mm x 24mm *3 | 28mm: 65.5° x 46.4° 100mm: 20.4° x 13.7° | 80mm: 25.4° x 17.1° 250mm: 8.2° x 5.5° |
| Angular Field of View (H x V) 27.45mm x 15.44mm *4 | 28mm: 52.2° x 30.8° 100mm: 15.6° x 8.8° | 80mm: 19.5° x 11.0° 250mm: 6.3° x 3.5° |
*Aspect ratio 1:1.90 *12 Aspect ratio 1:1.50 *13 Aspect ratio 1:1.78