Canon and Zeiss both unveil new high-end, cinema lenses

Both Canon and Zeiss have recently unveiled new cine lenses, bulking up their glass collections for high-end video recording. Canon unveiled the CN-35mm T1.5 L F, which will be available in December, and Zeiss the Compact Zoom CZ.2 15-30/T2.9 and ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic MA 100/T1.9, the former of which will be available in April, and we don't yet know on the latter.

Canon's CN-35mm T1.5 L F prime lens is designed to work with full-frame DSLRs and the company's C-series of digital cinema cameras. It's the sixth EF-mount cinema prime lens by Canon, and provides a full-frame 36mm x 24mm image circle. As with the other primes in the series, it features "consistent color balance, minimal focus breathing, water-resistant rubber gaskets, and an 11-blade aperture diaphragm," as well as stepless gear-positioning, and identical lens front diameters. The 35mm lens will debut for $5,200 in December of this year.

Zeiss' new offerings are even more high-end than Canon's. The Compact Zoom CZ.2 15-30/T2.9 is the third compact zoom cine lens from Zeiss, joining the Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 and CZ.2 28-80/T2.9. It has a lightweight design, tipping the scales at 5.7lbs, and an interchangeable mount system so it can be modified to fit on PL, EF, F, MFT and E mounts. It features full-frame coverage, and meets 4k production standards. These lenses are also protected against "typical environmental influences on the set such as splashing water and dust." The Compact Zoom CZ.2 15-30/T2.9 will debut at NAB in 2014, and according to Zeiss "The recommended price will be under €20,000 (excluding VAT)." That's around $26,000.

Less is known about the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic MA 100/T1.9. It's the fourth in a planned line of seven collaboration lenses between Arri and Zeiss. “What makes the Master Anamorphic family which we have developed with ARRI so special is that it renders particularly distortion-free widescreens for big-screen productions,” said Anna Rausch, product manager from ZEISS Camera Lenses in a press release. “Our anamorphic lenses are the first on the market in which the cylindrical lens elements are positioned at strategically important points in the lens. These lens elements are responsible for creating an anamorphic widescreen.”

You can read more about this lens line on the ARRI or Zeiss sites, and while there's no official price stated, online retailers are pegging it at $46,500.

(via Phoblographer, Steve's Digicams)