Even if your interest in photography is fringe at best, you've probably heard the name
Carl Zeiss. The optics company has planted its lenses all over the places, from DSLRs to numerous point-and-shoots, and now it's catering directly to our love of
DSLR filmmaking. Ol' C. Z. took time at least week's NAB to unveil what it's dubbing "the world's first set of cine lenses designed especially for HDSLR cameras." The Compact Prime CP.2 lenses, pictured, and the more handheld-friendly Lightweight Zoom LWZ.2, should be compatible Canon EF, Nikon F and Arri PL mounts, which should cover your video-enabled photo-snapper lineup. We won't get too into the nitty-gritty details here, except to say the former is claiming no vignetting and the latter less than two kilograms in weight. Both sets should be available in June, and as for price... well, mum's the word, but we wouldn't be surprised if these guys didn't end up about midway into the four-figure range.
posted April 18th 2010 9:38AM
looks like one hell of a camera attachment sure witha price to match as well
@Bocefuss4500 Yeah photo is nice, copy-paste of the article from other web site not so much.
Carl Zeiss... is better than sex.
@Miakandogadget I don't think we'll ever be in agreement on this one.
@sydcinema
Oh but can you imagine watching the steamy union of Scarlet and Carl Zeiss, yeah baby
@Cy Starkman unless that last name is Johannson and I change my name to Carl, I'm still not aroused
@Bocefuss4500 Pricing is a 6 lens set for under $20K or around $4K for each independent lens.Very cheap for cinema lenses but expensive compared with still lenses.
@Bocefuss4500 Oh, and the LWZ lightweight zoom is "mid $20K's". Again cheapish for a cine lens, expensive for a still lens.
Or buy a Sony TX7, for the pocket movie maker in you. Also Carl Z equipped, but a tad slimmer... ;)
If they use a Canon 5D MK II for their advertisement image they might as well ask Canon for permission and leave the logo on the camera...
@DetlevCM
Just noticed - especially if they left the "5D" on it...
@DetlevCM And possibly alienate Nikon or Nikon owners. Better off to go brand agnostic.
@dougdeep
I suppose you are right there - but the design still shouts Canon from 5 miles away... then the covers... and the left over "5D"...
@DetlevCM It's not about people knowing what camera it is, it's about showing a blatant preference to one company. Also, a big white "CANON" logo would be pretty eye catching in that image, and the focus should be on the lens.
@DetlevCM I'm pretty sure they remove the brand labels until Canon forks over a tonne of cash.
@dec
That would be the other way round as far as I am aware.
Zeiss would have to pay a "license fee" to use the Canon logo - unless Canon let's them use it for free.
I suppose AnalogRebellion got the answer - event though to me personally it wouldn't make a difference.
here's the price list:
http://www.zeiss.com/cine
@huskiiiii
Wow... if I were 20 and looking at film school I think I skip it any just buy gear, hook up with a theater company and start shooting. Might even be cheaper than college.
And get some income by shooting weddings on the weekends.
@huskiiiii
This video was made with the Compact Prime CP.2. Looks great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYhVKSgEikQ&feature=related
@AnalogRebellion Or better yet, in much better quality! http://vimeo.com/10875907
@(Unverified) Knowledge > Equipment
@Tommy Five
and film school= access to lots of equipment.
@huskiiiii this is expensive. Not sure it is really worth it.
http://www.assolux.com
If it's going at around $500 then that's a deal!
@Billy Keep dreaming. These are Cine lenses and they start at €2,900 up to €20,000 for the complete set.
sweeeet
@Billy is rightly confused. Engadget wrote: "...end up about midway into the four-figure range." This should be 'midway in' or 'midway inside of'... meaning halfway along the range of four-digit numbers, or $5,000. Meanwhile 'midway into' [as was written] would mean halfway towards the four-figure range, or $500.
The full range is just shy of €20,000.
So you'd be surprised if it DOES end up midways through four digits?
You don't mess with double negatives, they mess with YOU!
I think I'll be holding onto my Canon and Sigma glass. The PL-mount Zeiss Ultraprimes are excellent so I believe these will be too, but goddamn they cost a lot. They are still pretty cheap compared to other Cine-glass.
Excuse my ignorance but that camera looks like Optimus Prime failed at transforming into a Canon DSLR...
Wow. This looks like something I'd be interested in for my 7D. Video is my main use for it.
Have any sample videos been shot with these yet??
@AnalogRebellion Id be anxious to see some myself.
Midway to four figures is propostorous! This thing is going to be released WAY over that.
@AnalogRebellion You come to engadget with questions like this? Really? This forum of iPhone photographers?
@FrankieV
I think "midway into four figures" was meant to mean about $4-5,000. i.e. somewhere in the middle 4-digit numbers, rather than half way to 1,000.
I know they are for filming, but I would also like to see how these puppies handle stills too
@Blakberi you won't see any difference, except that you can't put anything on auto.
@sydcinema
Which suits me fine as I always have my camera on manual. Looking for some creamy smooth CZ love, and not so much the razor sharp Canon goodness
@Blakberi
An m42 adapter and vintage glass would get you there for 1/40th the price, but whatever floats...
@Blakberi then you'd be better off with the ZE series lens set. They use the same glass as this one, yet cost less than half the price.
@sydcinema
Oh don't let my curiosity fool you guys - I am far from being able to afford anything right now let alone these babies, I just want to see the results from someone rich enough to afford 'em
@Blakberi you'll see the results in the manual iris that none of the still lenses support... that's about it. If you don't have a need for manual iris, there's really no need to buy this lens. It won't make the pictures look any prettier
$3900 each, a slight discount if you buy three or more, the more you buy up to 7 the ever so slightly bigger the discount. They use the same glass as their ZE series lenses. If you don't need to ride your iris during a shot, and/or you don't use cinema motors, these lenses are not for you, or simply put, you're not going to see any improvement in your shot over say, an L series lens or the existing ZE series lenses.
@sydcinema Googling 'ride iris' and the ilk is coming up barren. I'm a amateur photographer looking to step into video and am strongly considering a purchase later in the year. Perhaps your referring to constant focus changes? Briskly enlighten me?
@Ultracrepidation I'm referring to opening and closing the iris on the lens, on still cameras they're referred to as the aperture, on a video lens, it's called the iris (Mostly). Less expensive video cameras usually come with some sort of zoom, focus and iris control built into the lens mechanism, but the higher end you go, the less it's built in. There's a lot of reasons why, but a good one is that the person running the camera in the narrative world rarely if ever controls the lens controls such as focus and iris... Even on a tripod the operator is running the camera movement with two hands with gears controlling the axis, as opposed to the typical tripod with fluid head seen in lower end productions. The camera's on a steadicam, dolly, crane, etc. a lot of the time, so a wireless control unit is the preferred method of control. Mine is called a Preston, go to prestoncinema.com to see what the controller looks like. So basically, these lenses are now compatible with the industry standard lens control found on much more expensive lenses. You probably don't need them though. The motors that control each function on the lens range from $1500 - 3500 each. Then you need a rail system with matte box... It's just not worth it financially unless you really want that manual iris control.
put this on my next Nokia smartphone, and I'm the beast of the tech world for 48 hrs.
What Lord Vader doesnt work on the weekends? Yeah I am calling you out! My Schwartz is bigger than yours!
@Lord Dark Helmet
He's on vacation. Now, prepare to die!
@Darth Maul No thats ok, President Skroob, gives WAY better benefits than Emperor Palpatine. So ... hows it going? The Empire still contracting out to unions?
@Lord Dark Helmet
just stop... no
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