04 Apr 2010, Posted by David Torcivia in Articles,Filmmaking,General,Tech, 4 Comments

Zeiss Compact Prime II Cine Lenses coming to a DSLR Near You

It seems I’ve been a late prophet with previous article in which I predicted the eventual creation of DSLR compatible cinema lenses. Over a month ago, Zeiss previewed their new Compact Prime II lenses to some of the pioneers in the DSLR world. These lenses come with both a Canon and PL mount which can be swapped with nothing more than a torx bit. Let’s emphasize that previous point: These lenses are hybrid cinema lenses shipping with both a Canon EL and cinema PL mount. This fact emphasizes not just that the DSLR video world is here to stay, but that it has already gained the acceptance and market steam to warrant cross compatible cinema lenses.

The optics of the glass, while important and assuredly phenomenal, are not the biggest draw of these lenses for filmmakers. Instead, the cinema specific ergonomics and build are what draws the lust of DP’s, camera ops, and 1st AC’s. Each lens in the series, 8 in all, carries a 14 blade aperture for super smooth bokeh, the best optics Zeiss offers, precisely milled marks, a 300º focus barrel rotation, and geared focus and aperture rings. The significance of these improvements are vast when compared to the still lenses more commonly found on DSLR’s.

The precise marks and 300º focus barrel rotation are arguably the two greatest benefits of owning a cinema specific lens. Still photo lenses today are technological wonders of instant and silent auto focus and image stabilization that are far cries from the decade old entirely mechanical design of the Zeiss Compact Primes. However, this technology which has become essential for the still photography world, cripples cinema production. Modern lenses, at least the more expensive ones, do not have direct drive focus rings. They instead use a fly-by-wire system which manipulates a tiny magnetic motor which performs the actual element manipulation. This means focus can be obtained much faster and with near silence, however it becomes a hindrance when not using autofocus. Because the focus rings are not directly manipulating the lens, focus marks can drift making hitting marks nearly impossible for 1st AC’s. To further exacerbate the problem, still lenses often have minuscule focus barrel rotations. Some of my lenses have focus marks which cover from 3 feet to infinity in less than 0.25″ again making it nearly impossible to hit marks consistently. The precise marks of the Compact Primes, the direct mechanical drive, and the wide focus barrel rotation mean less shots ruined by missed focus, less time on set, and more money saved.

The full set will be released at NAB 2010 and will be available for sale in May. A standard kit of 6 will retail for less than $20,000 with individual lenses available at a higher price than the kit varying from $3,000 – $5,000. A bargain for cinema grade glass. If this should prove too pricey for your filmmaking needs, Zeiss manufacturers a still oriented set of primes called the Zeiss ZE series which possess the same mechanical drive and wide focus barrel rotation but lack the 14 blade aperture (instead possessing 9), focus gear teeth, PL mount option (though there is a Nikon mount), and slightly inferior optics for $800 – $2000 per lens.

[Zeiss Compact Prime II Cine Lenses]