28 TVBEurope Acquistion Focus: Camera Lenses
www.tvbeurope.com February 2013
Canon’s high speed EF Cinema prime range includes two new lenses, the CN-E14mm and CN-E135mm
Precision zoom: Angénieux’s Le Poulain demonstrates the 5K Optimo 19.5-94mm on a Sony F65
the longer term lower margins, and in the middle the broadcast ENG and studio box type lenses being a squeezed market sector which can still generate good revenue but is becoming more challenging.”
“Most PL-mount lenses on
the market today cover approximately a 28mm to 31mm image circle, which is enough for current S35 4K sensors in terms of image coverage,” says Ryan Avery, sales manager, Schneider Optics, whose parent company, Schneider-Kreuznach, has introduced Cine Xenar III lenses specifically for digital sensors. “The lenses are image side telecentric for even illumination of the sensor. Up to 18 iris blades per lens provide a smooth pleasing bokeh. The coatings are low dispersion and each lens element surface is designed to reduce internal reflections, which is also critical when filming on digital sensors to avoid unwanted ghosting or flare, [and] the Cine Xenar III lenses feature a 31.5mm image circle, which easily covers 5K from current manufacturers.” Angénieux’s new Optimo19.5- 94mm and Optimo 28-340mm “can be used on any size of digital cinema sensor,” including the full 5K Epic, as it has 31.4mm diagonal image coverage, says Jean-Yves Le Poulain, Angénieux product line manager. “As a consequence, these two lenses are really full digital lenses, meeting the full DCI [Digital Cinema Initiative] specification for 4K projection
without vignetting and harmony from the cores to the borders of the image.”
He claims the zooms offer optical performance to rival prime lenses at the equivalent focal lengths. They also offer expanded focal length coverage compared to its previous zooms and are compatible with PL, Panavision and Canon mounts.
Mount up Cooke only offers PL-mount lenses, for Super35mm sensors, but Zellan sees the cine-style “infiltrating the broadcast world.” He sees the segments coming together – “traditionally broadcasters never looked at this area, but now they are.” He is pleased to see
broadcasters moving to a more cinematic style for shooting prime time shows. “It makes a difference not only to the professional look of a programme, but also to the way in which viewers respond to it.” Canon’s EF and PL lenses are starting to be used in broadcast as well, particularly in drama and documentaries. “The B4 mount used to be the standard but we are now gradually seeing more use of large format cameras,” says Koyama. However, “the majority choice
in broadcast is still 2/3-inch. Our partners vary in what they use so that broadcast can be both 2/3-inch and large format. The majority of our OB partners are currently only purchasing 2/3- inch. Production companies who produce commercials are primarily using large format
Designed for digital: Meyworld and Rausch with the prototype 50mm Master Anamorphic
cameras,” he adds. While B4 is still the basis of
Procam’s Canon HJ lenses, which form the backbone of its HD ENG and broadcast fleet, “we have started to notice that the number of requests for ENG-style cameras with PL- mount cinema-style lenses has increased,” says Sargeant. This is probably because of the trend to give documentaries a “cinematic look”. About half of Procam’s
business is now 2/3-inch, with the rest Super35mm. Since the first arrival of Sony’s F3 and Arri’s Alexa, there has been “a massive rise in the popularity of digital 35 shallow depth-of-field pictures. This will undoubtedly grow further with the Canon C Range and the new Sony F5 and F55 cameras,” he says. “There is a clear indication
that clients want the flexibility and ease of use of an ENG lens, but the quality and look of a PL lens, So there is definitely a cross over, the challenge is finding the most suitable lenses for the production at an affordable cost,” he adds. “What the old and the new
cameras have in common is that they still require good quality taking lenses on the front and they need an interface between the camera and the lens. This is where lens mounts are important,” says Dr Ken Pollitt, managing director and lens designer at Abakus. “Some lenses fit some cameras directly. Others require good quality adapters which have been designed not just to
mechanically make a fit, but which have suitable optics within them to make sure that the light rays are transferred through to the camera correcting any aberrations without loss of picture quality.” This is one of Abakus’ specialties, with a range of adapters such as B4-mount to PL (so B4 lenses can be used on PL cameras) and B4 to C-mount (so B4 lenses can fit small HD cameras). “It is important to have the correct adapter with specific optics for the range of cameras, otherwise picture quality is lost,” he says. However, “if single-chip
cameras with an image size of less than about 15mm (diagonal) are to be used in the future then an alternative to the C-mount is required,” adds Pollitt. “The C- mount is a small, cheap to make, screw mount and thousands of old lenses are available, but it is difficult to use with interchangeable lenses and it has no provision for electrical interface. Nor does it have positive locking and because of the screw mount it can work loose or be over-tightened. What is needed is a small bayonet mount, perhaps similar to, but smaller than, the micro four- thirds mount [used in some stills cameras such as Panasonic’s GH series] and ideally not an exclusively Japanese development.”
Metadata
The electrical interface between lens and camera can do a lot more than just carry control
information. Cooke’s /i Technology protocol captures lens metadata, with an /i Technology sensor in all of its lenses to give the DoP and DIT precise lens information in realtime and also to aid the post production process, particularly for visual effects work. “We have also opened up the system to the wider industry in the hope of creating a standard, and /i has already been adopted by companies including Sony, Avid, Red, Angenieux, Element Technica and Codex,” says Zellan.
“I believe /i Technology specifically, and lens metadata generally, is an important development, but it’s also something of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation – we’re supplying the technology, but it’s at the mercy of the various manufacturers to incorporate it into their products and workflows, and then of the production team to use it. Until it’s truly standardised it’s going to be hit and miss, but I feel like we’ve made a good start.”
Lighter, smaller, cheaper Buyers typically want lenses to be smaller, lighter and less expensive, so how do manufacturers address these often conflicting needs, and what compromises need to be made to meet them? As sensors become more sensitive to light, does it matter, for example, if a lower cost lens is a stop less sensitive? “Developments in electronics have led to digital cameras with
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