ZEISS has unveiled the ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses, an exclusive new set of seven high-end cinematography lenses with controllable flare.
The new large-format Radiance lenses are based on the high-speed ZEISS Supreme Prime lens family with the benefit of the new T*blue coating, which offers an uncompromising look and controllable consistent flares without any compromises.
“The ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses deliver stunning, consistent flares across all focal lengths that cinematographers can create at will,” says Christophe Casenave, Product Manager for Cinema Products at ZEISS. “The new lens family has been infused with ZEISS’s experience and passion for premium-quality cinematography lenses – combined with its aspiration to support moviemakers throughout the creative process,” says Casenave.
Images by Zeiss
The “vintage look” produced by old-school lenses, prone to flares and other softer characteristics have been gained significant popularity and created a whole market subsegment of rehoused old vintage lenses. Those vintage lenses produce lovely and vibrant images, but they usually cover only up to S35 sensors and are real dogs to work with.
So to see Zeiss, the legendary cine lens maker known for pristine image quality, bring purpose built modern large format lenses that flare is a sure sign that this style of shooting is not just a fad, but here to stay. The new ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses are catering to those cinematographers looking to shoot large format, but longing for that nostalgic lens look.
The Supreme Radiance lenses are available as a set of seven focal lengths of between 21mm and 100mm, all with a maximum aperture of T1.5. A set of Zeiss Supreme Radiance lenses include the following focal lengths: 21mm T1.5, 25mm T1.5, 29mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5, 85mm T1.5 and 100mm T1.5.
“When we spoke to moviemakers and experts, we took a close look at the appeal of flares and their unique impact on the atmosphere of a movie,” says Casenave. He describes how ZEISS is responding to users’ needs to integrate flares to ensure greater creative freedom with the lenses:
“We didn’t just want to reproduce the effects, but to create tools that would allow this effect to be achieved at any time and in a controlled manner, and so the T* blue coating was born.” The new coating allows users to create flares in the right light without any losses in contrast or transmission – and in the high quality that customers have come to expect from ZEISS.
The versatility of the lenses can be used to create this visual look, which is due to the smooth depth of field and elegant bokeh, thus meeting users’ every artistic wish – from a blockbuster to a high-end commercial or a film d’auteur.
Images by Zeiss
The Radiance lenses share the same high-quality DNA as their ZEISS Supreme Primes large format brethren on which they are based. The Supreme Radiance lenses have an image circle diameter of 46.3mm, covering the latest large format full-frame cinematography sensors on digital cinema cameras such as the Sony VENICE, ARRI Alexa LF, and ALEXA Mini LF and RED Monstro 8K.
The Radiance lenses come with a standard 95mm front diameter and also have consistently positioned focus and aperture rings to make lens swaps a breeze. Each lens weighs around 1,5kgs on average.
The lenses are equipped with the ZEISS eXtended Data metadata technology launched in 2017, providing frame-by-frame data on lens vignetting and distortion in addition to the standard metadata provided using the Cooke’s /i technology1 protocol. This simplifies and speeds up workflows, particularly for VFX and Virtual Production.
Supreme vs Radiance – Practical Comparison:
The ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses will have limited availability and are now available to pre-order from authorised Zeiss dealers until 31st March 2020. First deliveries are expected from April 2020.
See “Metamorphosis” below, a promo film shot by cinematographer Takuro Ishizaka, JSC on the Zeiss Supreme Radiance primes with Sony VENICE:
Zeiss Supreme Radiance Behind the Scenes:
From the 9th -16th November 2019, ZEISS will be unveiling its ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses for the first time before a large audience at the CAMERIMAGE International Film Festival in Toruń, Poland. The short movie R&R by Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman, The Wolf of Wall Street and Brokeback Mountain) filmed using the ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses, will also be shown at the festival.
After CAMERIMAGE, ZEISS will be running a series of events at various rental houses around the world to give cinematographers the chance to try out the new lenses.
For more details on the Zeiss Supreme Radiance primes visit: www.zeiss.com/cine/radiance.
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