Laowa, a Chinese lens manufacturer known less for their marketing and more for their unique, thoughtful optical creations, has decided to break into the parallel world of motion picture lenses with their first ever purpose-built cinema zoom lens.
Author: Matthew Duclos
A connoisseur of fine motion picture lenses, Matthew has spent over half his life servicing, refining, selling, manufacturing, and collecting cinema lenses from around the world. Chief Operating Officer of Duclos Lenses and Founder of TheCineLens.com, Matthew has been contributing to the motion picture industry for over 15 years, and to this site for over 5 years.
Leitz Cine Announces Plans for New Cine Primes and Zooms
During IBC 2018, Leitz Cine announced the development of a whole new set of twelve prime lenses designed for Full Frame/Vista Vision format as well as a brand new pair of cinema zoom lenses also designed for large format cinematography.
Continue reading Leitz Cine Announces Plans for New Cine Primes and Zooms
Servicevision Announces New T1.4 FF Primes
Originally reported by Jon Fauer at FDTimes, Servicevision has announced a new line of spherical large format primes, the Ultrascorpia 70, during IBC 2018. Fauer reports the lenses will be “light, small, and fast”. The look that these lenses will provide will be “silky smooth, film-look, excellent for digital sensors” said Andres Valles, owner of Servicevision.
Continue reading Servicevision Announces New T1.4 FF Primes
SIGMA Adds 28, 40, and 105mm High Speed T1.5 Primes to Cine Lineup
Just ahead of IBC, Sigma Cine has announced three brand new focal lengths to be added to their already well-rounded lineup of affordable high speed cinema primes, a 28mm T2.5, a 40mm T1.5, and a 105mm T1.5, bringing the total set count to ten lenses. Continue reading SIGMA Adds 28, 40, and 105mm High Speed T1.5 Primes to Cine Lineup
Something New Is Cooke-ing…
Cooke is keeping up with the trend by adding large format anamorphic lenses to its esteemed lineup.
After enthusiastic reception for the Cooke S7/i’s, this is certainly the right step forward.
First focal lengths to come will be 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm, followed by 32mm, 135mm, and 180mm – all T2.3 with 110mm fronts. Continue reading Something New Is Cooke-ing…
Canon Fills Gap In Primes With 20mm T1.5 CN-E
The Canon CN-E Primes have been out for quite some time now and have been tested on and off set by bloggers and cinematographers alike. There’s no doubting the capability of the CN-E Primes at this point. Beginning with a mere three prime lenses – 24, 50, and 85mm, Canon filled out the line with a 14, 35, 135mm over the next few years but then simply stopped adding focal lengths. We finally have a new lens to add to the CN-E line. Continue reading Canon Fills Gap In Primes With 20mm T1.5 CN-E
Angenieux 42-420mm AS2: An Updated Anamoprhic Zoom
Just ahead of NAB, Angenieux has announced a revised version of it’s 44-440mm Optimo AS2. The new lens is a 42-420mm T4.5. It retains the same physical dimensions and base optical design as the 44-440mm which was released back in 2016 – but features a few key updates. Continue reading Angenieux 42-420mm AS2: An Updated Anamoprhic Zoom
Individual Grease Packs for DIY Iris De-Clicking
With the ever growing popularity of new and vintage photography SLR lenses being used for cinematic projects, the Cine-Mod®, popularized by Duclos Lenses back in the turn of the millennium, has become increasingly attractive to DIY users. Duclos Lenses recognized this trend and decided to bring a new product to market – Individual Grease Packs that can be used on an as-needed basis, at a fraction of the cost of more expensive German or Japanese greases. Designated: Dratsum 35, the new lubricant is the perfect material to give your project that cinematic feel it was missing. Continue reading Individual Grease Packs for DIY Iris De-Clicking
Arri’s New Signature Prime Series “Large Format”
Today, Arri officially announced their new, keeping up with the Jones’s, Alexa LF (Large Format). More importantly, the announcement wasn’t just a new camera, but a new system. This means new camera, new mount, and new LENSES! I suppose the new camera is large format compared to other cameras, but what about the new lenses? How do they fare in comparison, on paper at least, to other cinema lenses currently on the market? Let’s take a look at the new Signature Primes from Arri. Continue reading Arri’s New Signature Prime Series “Large Format”
The World’s Largest Lens
While this post diverges from cinema just a tad, it’s particularly interesting to us. Duclos Lenses has been working with Formlabs for several years now, dating back to their original Form1 machine. To see such an inspiring use of modern technology compelled me to repost this quick article and share with the rest of you. Take a look and enjoy! Continue reading The World’s Largest Lens
ZERØ OPTIK Brings Vintage Baltars Back to Life
ZERØ OPTIK began as the passion project of cinematographer/engineer Alex Nelson who wanted to build the world’s most well engineered 35mm Pinhole lens. He succeeded. But that wasn’t enough for Alex. The next project he’d tackle was going to be far more complex and far more rewarding. And that’s where we begin this post… The original Bausch & Lomb Baltars. We sat down with Alex to get an inside look at where ZERØ OPTIK comes from and where it’s going.
Continue reading ZERØ OPTIK Brings Vintage Baltars Back to Life
LensFinder.com Launches Online Marketplace for Vintage and Pre-Owned Lenses
Many of you may remember a little site that I began several years ago called LensRescue.com. It’s goal was to be a marketplace for high-end motion picture lenses. But with the growth of Duclos Lenses and the birth of my first daughter, I simply didn’t have the attention or the resources to dedicate to the site and it faded away. Fast-forward several years and I’m thrilled to bring my newest venture to life; LensFinder.com Continue reading LensFinder.com Launches Online Marketplace for Vintage and Pre-Owned Lenses
The Ultimate Anamorphic Lens Test
Yep. We did it again. Last year the folks at ShareGrid, Old Fast Glass, a brilliant, talented crew, and myself came together to test a wide variety of vintage lenses to give the cinematography world a sort of sampling, flight, if you will, of the various vintage lenses and what sort of characteristics you can expect with when using them. It’s been shared thousands of times and utilized in who knows how many pre-production meetings to determine the visual aesthetics as it pertains to lenses for a specific project.
So what’s next… ANAMORPHIC! The subject that baffles so many with a shroud of mystery. Optics designed to provide a wider field of view when bound by a specific format, fashioned by unsung geniuses from around the world – some a shining beacon of optical engineering superiority, and others a trophy of intentional flaw for the sake of introducing artifacts and characteristics that, to the average viewer, carries a subconscious nostalgia, lending honesty and legitimacy. But most importantly… They’re beautiful! Continue reading The Ultimate Anamorphic Lens Test
Duclos Lens Lab: Zeiss CP.3 eXtended Data Workflow Recap
Duclos Lenses hosted another Duclos Lens Lab at RED Studios Hollywood several weeks ago. This time we focused on Zeiss’ new CP.3 line and the workflow associated with the eXtended Data features, exclusive to the CP.3 XD primes. Continue reading Duclos Lens Lab: Zeiss CP.3 eXtended Data Workflow Recap
The Missing Milvus Link: 35mm f/1.4
Zeiss launched their Milvus line back in September of 2015 and has continued to add focal lengths over the past two years including the still-new 15mm, 18mm, and 135mm. Originally, the Milvus line was Zeiss’ answer to the long-in-the-tooth Classic line of primes which desperately needed an optical design overhaul. The initial line of Milvus primes included a brand new, fast 50mm and 85mm, but lacked a fan favorite; 35mm f/1.4. Until now… Continue reading The Missing Milvus Link: 35mm f/1.4
