It’s been another exciting year in our industry, with lots of evolutionary and revolutionary changes. Many of the trends we’ve seen coming for the past several years came to fruition in 2011, leaving some to wonder what comes next. Let’s take a look back and see if it can help inform us a bit on what’s to come in 2012.

So…is film dead now?

Pundits have been predicting the end to film as a production medium for decades, but now it seems that the writing is on the wall. Digital Cinema camera technology has advanced to the point that nearly all production for television has moved to electronic acquisition. Currently the majority of high-end features are still produced on 35mm film, but it appears only a matter of time before this completely transitions as well. Most lower- to medium-budget productions are already being shot digitally, and numerous notable high-end productions are as well. In particular, shooting digitally for 3D productions is significantly more advantageous compared to film. This has also spurred the rollout of digital projection, as this is again far easier to accomplish for 3D presentation. The final nail may be the financial advantage to studios distributing movies digitally rather than with film prints. Fox has already notified theater chains that it plans to eliminate film prints sometime next year. Without the steady income stream of film prints, plus TV and commercial production, the economic model supporting film stock producers and processing labs will eventually no longer function. We may look back on 2011 as the last year film had a significant, dominant position in the industry, before becoming relegated to “niche” productions.

…continue reading A Look Back From Behind The Lens

Zeiss has been the industry leader in motion picture optics for decades. The renowned quality of Zeiss optics married with the lower cost of the lightweight and rugged CP.2 Compact Primes led to a product that was a runaway success. Now the company has let its intentions be known for future cinema products. Coming soon will be additional focal lengths for the Compact Primes (there are currently nine sizes available), as well as a set of Compact Zooms to complement the CP.2s. Zeiss will also re-enter the anamorphic lens arena, manufacturing the only commercially available set of 2x anamorphic primes in the industry.

Our friend Jon Fauer talked to Zeiss’ Christian Bannert and Michael Schielen recently. Read the article in the latest edition of Film & Digital Times.

Sony has just announced details on their upcoming zoom lenses for the F3. The new SCL-Z18X140 lens is a 14x powered zoom in the native Sony F3 mount. It will ship in November with a list price of $12,200, but will likely retail for less. This zoom is the first servo driven lens designed to cover the Super-35 sensor found in the F3. It features full auto iris, auto focus and stabilization. At the wide end of the lens, it has an aperture of T3.9, which drops to around T6.8 at the end. However, the image stabilization and other functions add up to make it quite an amazing lens. Firmware version 1.20, which enables the use of the zoom rocker found on the side of the camera, is required to use the lens. The firmware will also be released in November; see yesterday’s blog for details. View the bottom of the post to see the full specs of the new lens.

Along with the 14x lens announcement comes a bit more information on Sony’s new wide angle 11-16mm zoom. This is a PL mount zoom lens, which is designed to match the 35, 50 and 85mm lenses that come with the PMW-F3K model. It will be available around the end of the year.

…continue reading Sony’s New Zoom Lenses for the PMW-F3

OConnor has a new labs section of their website, and they have been posting some great articles. In their article, Rod Standards Explained, they diagram the different standards for rod spacing that have developed over the years. This is an important read for anyone considering a new mattebox or baseplate system. Additionally they put together a chart with lens diameters of popular cinema lenses. Both of these articles are important resources, so visit OConnor Labs today.

Today, our friends Paul Berner and Neil Munroe from Hi-Def Pictures came by to check out the Sony F3 and our new HDx35 Optical Adapter. The adapter allows the use of 2/3″ lenses on Super 35mm-size sensor cameras like the F3, ALEXA and RED One. Paul and Neil put the adapter on the F3 with an Angenieux 2/3″ Zoom Lens and took some quick shots outside our shop in New York City. They shot 1080 24p footage, as well as slow motion footage in 720p. We were all impressed with the results, and we think you will be too. Watch the video above to see what they shot.

Note: Camera was set to default picture profile settings, and a slight gamma shift was added in post.

Neil Munroe (left) and Paul Berner from Hi-Def Pictures

Broadcast lenses are available in high zoom ratios with wide apertures in a relatively compact size, making them desirable for many large-sensor camera users. Designed and built for AbelCine by IB/E Optics, HDx Optical Adapters mount between a B4-mount 2/3” lens and a large sensor camera, expanding the projected light to cover the image area. HDx Optical Adapters are available in three versions to fit different camera models. Read on to learn all about the family of adapters.

…continue reading NAB ’11: HDx Optical Adapters

Angenieux just unveiled a new Optimo Super 35mm lens, which features a zoom ratio of 2.7x, T2.8 aperture, and weighs only 4.3 lbs. This new lens compliments Angenieux’s two other lightweight Optimo lenses, the 15-40 and 28-76 zooms, and has the same balance point for easy lens changes on a steadicam. The 45-120 has a unique optical design that keeps a long zoom lens in a very small package, making it perfect for handheld work and close-up shots. Watch the video above to learn more about the Optimo 45-120mm lens.