Tag: Canon

Canon, Canon RF, News, PL, Product Announcement

Canon CINE SERVO 11-55mm T2.95 – Built for Broadcast, Ready for Cinema

by Frank RamirezLeave a Comment on Canon CINE SERVO 11-55mm T2.95 – Built for Broadcast, Ready for Cinema
Canon CINE SERVO 11-55mm T2.95 – Built for Broadcast, Ready for Cinema

At Duclos Lenses, we have always had an eye for glass that goes beyond the look. There’s always more than meets the eyes when it comes to optics and we have an eye for spotting potential. Some might say we are optics experts. Canon’s newly announced CINE SERVO 11-55mm T2.95-3.95 PL and RF is reminiscent of a broadcast lens, but this servo is ready to rock cinema. With wide coverage, great resolving power, and suite of professional luxuries, this lens opens the door for creatives who need versatility with little compromise.

Continue reading “Canon CINE SERVO 11-55mm T2.95 – Built for Broadcast, Ready for Cinema” →
Accessories, Lenses, News, Opinion

A Sticky Situation: How to Properly Store Cinema Lenses

by Frank Ramirez2 Comments on A Sticky Situation: How to Properly Store Cinema Lenses
A Sticky Situation: How to Properly Store Cinema Lenses

It’s late in the afternoon and I am sitting at my desk casually culling images for upcoming posts when I suddenly get called out to the service room. I walk in to see Michelle and Paul Duclos standing around a plastic bag on the desk with strange looks on their faces and pointing at me to open it. As I pull the plastic off, I come to realize what has them taken aback. A sad sight. Placed in the bag was a Canon K35 zoom that was completely caked with mushy deteriorated foam the same texture and stickiness of a toasted marshmallow.

My first thought: This is going to make a great story. The second: I need gloves.

Continue reading “A Sticky Situation: How to Properly Store Cinema Lenses” →
Canon RF, Fuji X, Laowa, Lenses, News, PL, Product Announcement, Sony E

Mind-Bending Perspective: Laowa’s New 8-15mm T2.9 Zoom Fisheye

by Frank RamirezLeave a Comment on Mind-Bending Perspective: Laowa’s New 8-15mm T2.9 Zoom Fisheye
Mind-Bending Perspective: Laowa’s New 8-15mm T2.9 Zoom Fisheye

When you hear the name Laowa, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Normally, and I’ll say this with the utmost respect, weird lenses. Laowa always goes against the norms, choosing innovation over following trends. They consistently deliver tools that at first seem niche or strange, but quickly prove themselves as must-haves once you see the results. I’ve always appreciated that approach. It’s a bit like that middle-school idea that not trying to be popular ends up making you stand out anyway.

Now comes the Laowa 8-15mm T2.9 Fisheye Zoom, their latest ultra-wide cine lens, and a potential game-changer for AR and VR creators. This lens fills a noticeable gap left by a certain lens with a red ring, which was widely used in immersive production workflows. The question is whether this new Laowa offering is simply trying to replicate what came before, or if it’s pushing things forward on its own terms.

Continue reading “Mind-Bending Perspective: Laowa’s New 8-15mm T2.9 Zoom Fisheye” →
Accessories, Canon, Canon RF, Lenses, News, Opinion, Review

Canon VCM L Lenses for Filmmaking: A Complete Review for Hybrid Video Creators

by Frank Ramirez1 Comment on Canon VCM L Lenses for Filmmaking: A Complete Review for Hybrid Video Creators
Canon VCM L Lenses for Filmmaking: A Complete Review for Hybrid Video Creators

Canon has long been a trusted name in both photography and cinematography, but it’s been a while since we’ve highlighted any new releases from the brand. The last time we dove into their products, it was nearly two years ago, with the CN-E Flex Zoom lenses. Since then, Canon has been relatively quiet, especially as other brands have adapted to the mirrorless market. However, Canon recently launched the VCM L hybrid lenses, a series designed with promising features that could be particularly useful for video creators. The question is, how do they hold up for filmmaking, and more importantly, can they be Cine-Modded?

Continue reading “Canon VCM L Lenses for Filmmaking: A Complete Review for Hybrid Video Creators” →
Lenses, News, Product Announcement, Zeiss

Zeiss Announces Nano Primes – Fast, Compact, Cine Primes for Mirrorless Cameras

by Matthew DuclosLeave a Comment on Zeiss Announces Nano Primes – Fast, Compact, Cine Primes for Mirrorless Cameras
Zeiss Announces Nano Primes – Fast, Compact, Cine Primes for Mirrorless Cameras

It’s been quite a while since Zeiss released a new cine lens. In fact, the Supreme Primes were the latest addition to the Zeiss cine family. A few focal lengths have been added such as the Supreme 15mm and if we want to really stretch Zeiss portfolio additions, we can also include the Supreme Radiance – Zeiss’ answer to the vintage lens craze. Aside from those, there really hasn’t been a whole lot of buzz out of the German lens manufacturer. That’s about to change!

Continue reading “Zeiss Announces Nano Primes – Fast, Compact, Cine Primes for Mirrorless Cameras” →
Canon, Lenses, News

Canon Announces Flex FF Zoom Lenses

by Matthew Duclos2 Comments on Canon Announces Flex FF Zoom Lenses
Canon Announces Flex FF Zoom Lenses

After quite a long break from cine-specific zooms (aside from their hybrid style Cine-Servo line) Canon has introduced a new series of lenses for the company’s EF Cinema Lens lineup. A 20-50mm and 45-135mm, both with a maximum aperture of T2.4 which one may thing is reasonably fast, but combined with an image circle large enough to cover Full Frame formats!? That’s impressive. Let’s take a closer look at the new pair of zooms and the features that really make them stand out.

Continue reading “Canon Announces Flex FF Zoom Lenses” →
Canon, News, Review

Canon’s New Zoom Now Shipping

by Matthew DuclosLeave a Comment on Canon’s New Zoom Now Shipping
Canon’s New Zoom Now Shipping

I haven’t been impressed with a 10x zoom since the original Angenieux 25-250mm HR. There are have been several attempts at reviving that focal length; the Fujinon 25-300mm, Arri Alura 45-250mm, even an Angenieux 25-250mm Optimo Style zoom. None of these lenses were bad, they just weren’t particularly good. So I didn’t want to get my hopes up when Canon announced their 25-250mm Cine-Servo. But now that I’ve had a chance to play with it and put it through its paces…

Continue reading “Canon’s New Zoom Now Shipping” →
Canon, News

Canon Fills Gap In Primes With 20mm T1.5 CN-E

by Matthew DuclosLeave a Comment on Canon Fills Gap In Primes With 20mm T1.5 CN-E
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” →

News, Tutorial, Zeiss

Duclos Lens Lab: Zeiss CP.3 eXtended Data Workflow Recap

by Matthew DuclosLeave a Comment on Duclos Lens Lab: Zeiss CP.3 eXtended Data Workflow Recap
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” →

News

Canon 18-80 Compact-Servo On Location with DP Dan Levin

by 1 Comment on Canon 18-80 Compact-Servo On Location with DP Dan Levin
Canon 18-80 Compact-Servo On Location with DP Dan Levin

Every once and a while, we get a chance to sit down with cinematographers and content creators to geek out over glass. DP, Dan Levin, spoke with us about his experience being one of the first crews to shoot with Canon’s 18-80 Compact-Servo lens on his project Inside the FBI: Continue reading “Canon 18-80 Compact-Servo On Location with DP Dan Levin” →

Canon, Canon EF, Lenses, News

Canon Expands Compact-Servo Line with 70-200mm Tele-Zoom

by Matthew DuclosLeave a Comment on Canon Expands Compact-Servo Line with 70-200mm Tele-Zoom
Canon Expands Compact-Servo Line with 70-200mm Tele-Zoom

A favorite focal length of still photographers, and naturally of hybrid cinematographers bridging the gap between the worlds of still photography and motion picture, the new 70-200mm Compact-Servo is sure to be an ideal choice for the ultra-light documentary shooter. Canon’s 18-80mm Compact-Servo was announced about the same time last year, just ahead of NAB 2016. If you’re unfamiliar with the Compact-Servo line, imagine all the camera operators in the world using Canon’s L series still lenses. Now imagine half of them called Canon and complained that their L series lens doesn’t hold focus through the zoom and it doesn’t have integrated gears, and the focus isn’t reliable or repeatable… Then imagine Canon going to their engineers and explaining this – and that’s where we get the Compact-Servo zooms.  Continue reading “Canon Expands Compact-Servo Line with 70-200mm Tele-Zoom” →

Review, Tokina

Tokina’s Gateway to Cinema: The 11-16mm

by Matthew Duclos7 Comments on Tokina’s Gateway to Cinema: The 11-16mm
Tokina’s Gateway to Cinema: The 11-16mm

I’ve written about the Tokina 11-16mm many, many times. In fact, I was temporarily banned from REDUser years ago for backhandedly plugging the Duclos 11-16mm conversion – breaking the rules of the forum. I’ve since cleaned up my act (sort of). I speak often of the Duclos 11-16mm, and when I do, I always give credit to Tokina for making such a great product. I wanted to take a post here and acknowledge the original lens, it’s heritage, influence, and evolution over the past (nearly) decade.  Continue reading “Tokina’s Gateway to Cinema: The 11-16mm” →

Arri, Canon, Cooke, Duclos, Leica, News, Review, Zeiss

The Ultimate Vintage Lens Test

by 2 Comments on The Ultimate Vintage Lens Test
The Ultimate Vintage Lens Test

Over the course of two days, in a studio in Burbank, California, a band of self-proclaimed “lens geeks” set out to complete the ultimate vintage cinema lens test. The project first began as a collaboration between ShareGrid’s Brent Barbano, and Duclos Lenses’ own Matthew Duclos. Initially, Barbano and Duclos had been planning to complete a rather small-scale lens test with the industry’s most popular and widely used vintage lenses. However, upon approaching director and cinematographer Mark Lafleur to ask him to participate, they discovered that he too was getting ready to carry out his own vintage lens test. The two sides decided to join forces, and before long a whole team was assembled. With Lafleur and Barbano as Directors and Executive Producers, and Duclos as Lens Consultant, Kyle Stryker was brought on as Director of Photography. The team also came to include Camera Assistants Matthew Borek and Michelle Diaz, and Nick Ferriero as Editor. Continue reading “The Ultimate Vintage Lens Test” →