Blackmagic Design just released the final version of DaVinci Resolve 16.1. You now have access to enhanced tools on the cut page like a smart indicator, the new Boring Detector, Sync-Bins and other improvements – without having to worry using a beta version. The jump from DaVinci 16 to 16.1 doesn’t seem to be a very significant one but Blackmagic Design keeps impressing me with the vast number of new and improved features for each end every release. This time: New Boring Detector, new Smart Indicator, new Sync-Bins, new close-up feature,  auto-grouping multiple clips.. and that’s just the Cut page (full change log here) DaVinci Resolve 16.1 Blackmagic did something new this year. Not only did the company release its annual major release update on DaVinci Resolve on August 9th but also did they release version 16.1 as a beta version simultaneously. That way users could update to the stable version 16 on their production systems and still be able to play with some of the new features of 16.1 on another machine. That beta period is now over and the final version 16.1 is out in the wild. As always, you can download it for free. The Studio labeled version is $299 but this 16.1 update is free of charge if you already own a serial or usb dongle, of course. Watch the video below for a summery of DaVinci Resolve 16 (not 16.1, there’s no video for it, yet). For a full rundown of all the new features of version 16.1, head over to our article by Jakub Han where he’s covering the changes for 16.1 beta 2. The full change log for 16.1 can be found on blackmagicdesign.com, the list is a bit too extensive to be posted here, I think. Hopefully this final version of DaVinci Resolve, well, resolves all the wiggles users had with one of the beta versions. Make sure to post any bugs and/or weird behavior in the comments below! Blackmagic RAW 1.5.1 Also new is Blackmagic RAW in version 1.5.1 which seems to improve the overall stability of the developer SDK for various platforms such as the plugins for Premiere Pro or Avid Media Composer. With the publicly available SDK developers can compile their own plugins for decoding Blackmagic RAW files. Overall, Blackmagic Design keeps on pushing their software side of things. A few years ago nobody would have considered Resolve for something like editing or audio mixing. Now this piece of (free!) software is becoming a one-stop shop for all things video. Pretty neat! Link: Blackmagicdesign.com Do you use DaVinci Resolve for your editing/color/finishing jobs? What do you think about this update? Share your experiences in the comments below!

This is a quick (but rather huge) update on the previously covered online tool Lutify.me for creating and managing looks. The updated version is now capable of outputting your visual creations straight as a LUT file which you can then use in your host app of choice. On top of that main feature some additional controls are now ready for composing that perfect look. Lutify.me online LUT Previewer. I found the Lutify LUT Previewer is a pretty exciting tool when I first reported about it back in March 2019. Digging through heaps of pre-built LUTs never really satisfied me and I’m sure you’ll agree that a visual approach is much more seamless, satisfying and most importantly: productive. Lutify.me serves as an online service for allowing exactly that: Flick through LUTs, apply them to a still image of your choice, compare them, tweak them to taste, save intermediates, finalize your desired look. All in one sleek interface. Lutify.me LUT Previewer The update here is two-fold: First and foremost is the new ability to actually export your finalized look as a LUT. No need to recreate everything in your NLE again. That was the one major downside of the original Lutify for me. With that export functionality in place, you could think of the LUT Previewer as a dedicated LUT workspace for creating a desired look, distraction-free. Once finished, come back to your host app and continue where you left. Image credit. Lutify.me The second big update is a dedicated contrast control slider. It sits right next to the already existing exposure and white balance sliders. Tweaking the contrast opens up new possibilities in dialing in that perfect look. The very handy strength (opacity) slider is still there, of course. Other improvements include the support for sRGB color managed images and a reworked CPU shader for more accurate results and snappier performance overall. Lutify.me’s own Goran Ljubuncic put together a rather extensive video to walk you through all of these new features as well as a basic workflow when utilizing the LUT Previewer: The LUT Previewer works a bit like a layered image editing app so you can stack different layers and each of them will contribute to the final look. Using layers makes it a bit more streamlined when working with lots of different values, controls and settings. But keep in mind that multiple stacked looks, each set to 100% opacity might end up in a rather nasty looking image. Another neat feature is that everything updates in real time so every time you tweak any setting your image will update instantly. You really see what you get. This makes pretty granular changes really easy. Pricing and Limitations One thing to really keep in mind relates to the structure of differently priced tiers of the Lutify.me LUT Previewer. First, it is a subscription-based service. If you don’t like that, Lutify.me is not for you, unfortunately. Second, if you want to use your own LUTs (*.cubes format) instead of the ones Lutify.me offers, you are limited to the Professional tier. Same goes for the aforementioned LUT export feature. So in context of this post, we’re talking about the Professional tier, only. Since the price drops to $19.90 after one year of usage for each tier, maybe this is worth the extra amount for the first year. You could see it as a one-time premium to spend. I think this is a great tool, although I’m not a big fan of subscriptions. Creating LUTs in a dedicated workspace with handy but not overly complicated tools is a great way to dial in the desired look. It only works with stills for now, which I find sufficient – I’m not so sure if I want to upload giant video files just for creating a LUT, for me still images work just fine. Link: LUT Previewer Do you use something like Lutify.me for your workflow? If not, how do you manage all these LUTs? Share your experiences in the comments below!

A light meter as a standalone device. Do you even need it nowadays? And if yes, do you have to spend a rather high three-digit figure in dollars? The Luxi For All might be the first step into these waters. It utilizes your existing phone and therefore it’s cheap, it’s very easy to use and you can expand its capabilities by using third-party apps. Pretty neat, I’d say. The Luxi For All light meter is not a new product, far from it. Originally, it started as a Kickstarter campaign, back in May 2014. It is the successor of the original Luxi (Kickstarter campaign) but with an upgraded mechanism for attaching it to virtually any mobile devices – that’s why it’s called Luxi For All. Luxi For All This device is really nothing fancy but maybe that’s the beauty of it. It’s just a clip that holds a translucent dome. The whole thing can be clipped on to your phone so that the dome covers your front-facing camera. That’s it, the magic is being applied via software. So what’s the advantage of this over your average camera? Well, the camera measures the brightness of a particular scene by the intensity of light reflected from objects within the frame. However, a dedicated light meter detects and measures the incident light before it hits a surface, known as incident light measurement. This gives you far better control over what precisely you measure. You can use a professional, fully-featured light meter, like a Sekonic, and you’ll get what you pay for. But maybe you don’t really need all the features of such a device but you still want to get better readings. That’s where a cheap device like the Luxi For All comes in. It certainly isn’t the best tool out there but in order to get started that little thing is all you need, really. The accompanying app is basic but gets the job done. If you want to upgrade on features a little bit, other (third-party) apps work with the Luxi, too. Cine Meter II by Adam Witt would be a possibility here (iOS only, available on the App Store). For android users, Lux Light Meter by Doggo Apps could be worth a closer look (Google Play Store). The original Luxi app is also available for both iOS and Android. Price The Luxi For All is a mere $25 US. Whether it’s worth it is a question that you can only answer for yourself. I think it’s a great product and a door opener for beginners who want to get better results when exposing a scene, or just to learn a little bit about lighting. Contrast ratios, dynamic range, grey cards, you name it. Another good starting point is this article by Attila Kun of ExposureGuide.com. Alternatives I personally used to use a Sekonic L-758c but I sold it since I barely used it anymore. What I do use a lot is the Lumu Power light meter (see our article). It’s iOS only since it sports a lighting connector for attaching to your iPhone. There’s a version 2 but I haven’t upgraded to that one since the original Lumu Power works just fine for me. If your phone’s camera delivers more accurate readings with the Luxi attached I don’t know but since the Luxi depends on 1) the build-in camera of its host phone and 2) on the software running the measurements, there’s no real way to define its performance. But, and this is key, it enables you to take a real incident light reading, and that alone is a good thing to do. Sekonic L-758c (left), Lumu Power (right). Plus, the Lumu or the Luxi can live in your bag and won’t be in your way until you need them. A big light meter might be another story. Links: Website What do you think? Is a light meter still a thing? Do you use one? Share your experiences in the comments below!

EDIT: Our full SIGMA fp camera review is now online and can be accessed by click here. Back in July, we reported about the launch of the SIGMA fp full-frame camera. We visited the SIGMA factory in August, we asked questions about it at this years IBC in September and we posted about the official release of highly accurate 3D models of the camera and its available accessories in order to create an even further expanded pool of custom accessories. But one thing remained in the dark and that’s the price of the fp camera. Now the company spilled the beans and here it is: The SIGMA fp will be yours for $1,899 US. Preorders are open as we speak. The SIGMA fp is not your average pocket-sized point’n’shoot camera. It’s kind of two cameras in one and it sports a full frame sensor. You can choose between a dedicated cine mode as well as a stills mode, accessible via a hardware switch right on the top plate of the camera, no more menu digging! That’s a lot of functionality inside this tiny body and it’s a fresh apporach of tackling all these menu settings and controls for both, stills and cine applications. The SIGMA fp With the introduction of the L-Mount Alliance at Photokina 2018 (read all about it here) rumors started to sprout about SIGMAs development of yet another camera, this time fitted with an L-Mount, obviously. Fast forward to July 2019 and here it is, the SIGMA fp. Despite the modular approach, the clean cut between stills and cine applications and the overall look of it, one question remained: The price. The fp fits the palm of your hand easily. Fast forward another three months, that question is know being answered: The SIGMA fp is officially a sub-$2,000 full frame camera. And it really needed to be. The competition wasn’t idle and other cameras cost about as much as the fp. So another question surfaces in the aftermath: How does the SIGMA fp compare to the full-frame competition, namely the Sony Alpha a7 III, the Panasonic S1, Canon EOR R or Nikon Z 6? To be honest, I don’t know. The SIGMA fp is not out yet but we will definitely take it for a spin once it is (stay tuned, review is coming soon)! What we do know are some hard facts about the specificatons of the fp: 35.9 x 23.9 mm CMOS Bayer sensor with 6000 x 4000 pixels (25.38 MP / effective: 24.6 MP) cine mode _ internal recording: H.264 UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/59.94p/100p/119.88p cine mode _ external recording: 4:2:2 12-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/120p external recording to USB SSD is possible micro HDMI out for streaming to an external recorder 3.15″ fixed LCD touchscreen Single Slot SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) Size: (W x H x D) 4.43 x 2.75 x 1.78″ / 112.6 x 69.9 x 45.3 mm Weight: 14.89 oz / 422 g (Body with Battery and Memory) Also, SIGMA CEO Yamaki-san told us at IBC that internal CDNG recording will be possible, but only in 8-Bit internally (which is a bit of a strange combination to be honest). The full rundown reads as follows, but keep in mind that these specs are not finalized, yet: internal 8-Bit CDNG RAW in UHD 4K at 23.98/24/25p. internal 8 / 10 / 12-Bit CDNG RAW in HD up to 60p. external 8 / 10 / 12-bit CDNG RAW in UHD 4K/1080 HD at 24p. More questions sourcing from the filmmakers community circle around the absence of dedicated log profiles for smooth post production. Right now, there is no such option but we may see (hopefully) some kind log profile in a future firmware update. SIGMA is well aware of the demand here! However, there are some picture profiles available but these are more about looks, not so much about being flat for easy grading. Pricing and Availability The SIGMA fp is available for preorder as we speak. If you don’t own any L-Mount glass yet, there is also a bundle available which might be pretty interesting: Get the SIGMA fp along with a 45mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary L-Mount lens with a $250 saving over at B&H. There are L-Mount adapters as well, so you can easily adapt other glass to the fp camera. the fp is a pretty versatile piece of gear! Links: SIGMA website What do you think? Might this little camera be found in your bag in no time? Or do you prefer something bigger? Let us know in the comments below!

Flying a drone without the need of learn how to do it? No worries, Skydio 2.0 is here and it claims to do exactly that: It does the flying and filming, you just do whatever it takes to make the resulting footage a lasting impression. Skydio 2.0 is the successor of Skydio R1 (read our coverage here) and it is the result of over 10 years worth of R&D. Is this a serious DJI Mavic 2 competitor? The Skydio 2.0 (still a render). This is not just a drone. But it can be just that since you still have the freedom of choice whether you want to fully control it or if you want it to take over and fly autonomously. The unique selling point here is the auto-pilot mode, of course. First things first, watch the intro video in order to get a full grasp of what Skydio 2.0 can do for you (note the catchy featured image!): So you can fly the Skydio just like a normal drone using either a classic handheld controller plus your phone or the new Beacon, a tiny controller without the clutter of a joystick-phone tandem. Each controller extends the range of the Skydio 2.0 in which it can operate and reliably track you. The Beacon allows for a 1.5km range, the fully-fledged controller extend that range to 3.5km (But please bear in mind that you have to obey the law in your country – In Germany you have to maintain a line-of-sight to your drone at all times for example). Skydio 2.0 Drone – a DJI Mavic 2 Killer? This drone is being marketed as a DJI competitor, there’s a video on their website which shows a side-by-side comparison of the Skydio 2.0 and a DJI Mavic 2 try to follow a ATV pacing through the woods. As expected (since this is a video by Skydio) the Mavic fails. If that’s a fair comparison? I don’t know and it is certainly biased. But the point here is: You could perform such a chasing shot with a Mavic 2, no problem but you have to be a very skilled and trained pilot in order to pull it off. If you don’t want to do this full-time, the Skydio 2.0 might be your guy here. When watching some sample footage, the Skydio sometimes hunts a bit for something to track, loses the subject or keeps track of a face but frames the bike the subject is riding on just to the very edge of the screen. So, there is still potential, but it does look promising, indeed! Three ways of controlling Skydio 2.0.   Fancy Artificial Intelligence, Tech Specs and no 25 fps This thing is fully packed with fancy AI algorithms and it is meant to be used without study long manuals and tutorials. But in order to get you up to speed what this this drone can do for you, here are some of the main specifications: 223 x 273 x 74 mm (l x w x h) 4K video at up to 60 fps in HDR, up to 120 fps slo-mo in HD resolutions 12-megapixel (4056 x 3040 jpg or DNG raw) photos in HDR, including interval mode Sony IMX577 1/2.3” 12.3MP CMOS sensor 20mm (35mm format equivalent) f/2.8 lens Records MPEG-4 h.264 / h.265 @ 100Mbps to micro SD Cards (minimum V30 class) 3840×2160 30 fps / 3840×2160 60 fps / 3840×2160 48 fps / 3840×2160 24 fps / 1920×1080 120 fps / 1920×1080 60 fps / 1920×1080 30 fps 3-axis gimbal with pitch ±124°, roll ±120° & yaw ±12.5° Top speed: 36 mph (57.93 km/h), flight time: 23 minutes per battery These are the facts and one thing left me a bit puzzled: The lack of 25 fps recording. Maybe (hopefully) this is something that will be added once the Skydio 2.0 is available. Flying Autonomously This the one big thing which separates the Skydio 2.0 from the rest of the competition. The team behind it put a lot of effort into making this drone really autonomous. The Skydio 2.0 utilizes 6 4K 200° navigation cameras just for scanning, observing and interpreting its environment at all times. 6 times 4K results in roughly 45MP worth of image data just for keeping the drone on track and out of trouble, aka collision. This data is processed in real time and it results in a 360° always-on 3D map of the environment so it acts as a very sophisticated obstacle avoidance engine. In a nutshell: Skydio 2.0 just works and it won’t crash into things. Let’s hope it can hold that promise. Skydio 2.0 in its bag. If you want to adjust the way this AI-driven drone operates a little bit, you can use the Beacon to just drag’n’drop it to wherever you want it to be and start tracking you from that angle. Once you’re satisfied Skydio will track the Beacon and you can do what you do. The so-called Beacon offers an amazingly simple way of operating the drone without the need to operate a clutterd screen full of controls. The Beacon controller. For now, Skydio 2.0 can track (multiple) subjects or cars. Maybe more options, like the ability to track animals will surface over time. Pricing and Availability The first batch of preorders is already sold out so if you order now, you’ll have to wait until early 2020. Please note that Skydio 2.0 is currently only sold in the US and Canada, but according to their website, they’re planning to extend to other countries soon. If you choose to purchase the Skydio 2.0, here is what you get: Skydio 2.0 Drone One battery Two additional propellers (one of each type beyond the four required to fly) One USB (type C) cable for charging and data transfer plus a wall adapter micro-fiber cloth Custom-fit hardshell carrying case for transport. The drone itself is $999 and you need to pay a $100 deposit in order to get in line. The controller and the Beacon is not included in the kit though. You have to pay extra for these items: Controller $149 Beacon $149 Extra Skydio batteries $99 each Extra Skydio propeller sets $24 each Full-size controller plus phone. Of course you can control the drone with just your phone and the app but especially the Beacon seems to an interesting way to control the drone and if you want to do more complex jobs with this drone a real controller seems to be mandatory. If you want to order, please make sure to read the FAQ on Skydio’s website for all the details. link: Website What do you think? Might this be a worthy DJI competitor? Do you have experiences with the previous model , the Skydio R1? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

If you value endgame-performance and money is nothing to worry about, Cooke has everything you need when it comes to cine lenses. At this year’s IBC, the company had two new lenses on display: The Cooke S7/i 16mm T2.0 Full Frame Plus (spherical) prime and the Cooke Anamorphic/i 135mm T2.3 cine prime. High-end glass for the high-end cine market. The new Cooke S7/i 16mm T2.0 cine prime (spherical). Image Credit: cinema5D Yeah, I know. I won’t spend a cool $25.000 on a single lens, either. But there is a high-end, money-no-object market in which you just want to get that perfect shot. Check out the shotoncooke.com website for a brief overview of productions shot on Cooke glass. Do you want that Cooke-look? Well, you better get some Cooke glass, then! At this year’s IBC, Cooke introduces two new primes to their lineup. Cooke S7/i 16mm T2.0 Full Frame Plus Complementing their already impressive set of Full Frame Plus capable S7/i series of cine primes, the new 16mm T2.0 stays true to Cooke’s standards: It is a beast of a lens! Tipping the scale at 4 kg (8.82 lbs), you certainly know what you get for your dollars. All in all the S7/i lineup now covers the following focal lengths: 16mm T2.0 18mm T2.0 21mm T2.0 25mm T2.0 27mm T2.0 32mm T2.0 40mm T2.0 50mm T2.0 65mm T2.0 75mm t2.0 100mm t2.0 135mm T2.0 The 16mm T2.0 Full Frame Plus is the 13th lens and it won’t be the last one eventually. According to Cooke, they will develop and build every possible focal length as long as there is enough demand for it. Another aspect of the popularity of Cooke Cine Glass is the already mentioned Cooke Look, of which Cooke is quite proud (and rightfully so). It takes the edge of modern sharp and clean digital images and adds some warmth to the image, which is particularly desirable when reproducing skin tones. And that distinct look and feel are consistent through all the lenses since the very early days of the company, which is quite impressive. You can mix’n'(colour-)match them with all Anamorphic/i, S4/i, miniS4/i, 5/i and Panchro/i Classic lenses. Obviously, the new S7/i 16mm 2.0 includes the /i technology for recording all kinds of lens date (per frame), just as all the other lenses on the S7/i line, hence the name S7/i. All S7/i Full Frame Plus cine primes cover an image circle of at least 46.31 mm (RED Weapon 8K). These lenses come in PL mount only. Cooke Anamorphic/i 135mm T2.3 There’s another new lens in town, and it’s an anamorphic one. The Anamorphic/i 135mm T3.2 also sports the /i technology, and it is the 4th lens of the Anamorphic/i Full Frame Plus lineup. Cooke Anamorphic/i 135mm T3.2. Image Credit: cinema5D The complete Anamorphic/i FF+ lineup now covers the following focal lengths: 32mm T2.3 (not yet available) 40mm T2.3 50mm T2.3 75mm T2.3 100mm T2.3 135mm T2.3 180mm T2.3 (not yet available) These anamorphic prime lenses cover the so-called Full Frame Plus, which translates to a 24 x 36mm sensor coverage. The Cooke Anamorphic/i FF+ line of cine primes offer a 1.8x squeeze and again, they can be mixed and matched to all other Cooke lenses for painless post-production (especially grading) workflow. The iris and focus markings come two-fold on this lens, both full stops and 1/3 stop increments are engraved on each side of the lens barrel. The same is true to the S7/i lenses, of course. Price and Availability Yeah, this might hurt a little. But there is good news, too. Both the new Cooke S7/i Full Frame Plus 16mm T2.0 and the Anamorphic/i FF+ 135mm T2.3 will be available very soon, that’s the good news. Then there is the price and the sheer numbers target these lenses more towards rental houses, I guess: S7/i comes in at around  $27,000 and the Anamorphic/i 135mm at $32,000. ‘Nuff said. If you want to learn more about Cooke and great cinematography in general, you might want to head over to cookeoptics.tv, where A-list DPs talk all things cinematography (not only with Cooke lenses). Links: cookeoptics.com | shotoncooke.com | cookeoptics.tv What do you think? Did you ever shot something on a Cooke? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Four years ago, when Samyang/Rokinon introduced their own take on cinema prime lenses, the XEEN lineup was born. Now, for IBC 2019, they introduce a new and improved line, called XEEN CF. Again, the first triple of lenses cover 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm, all three rated T1.5. Image credit-XEEN XEEN CF lenses are more compact and much lighter than the original XEEN lenses. The CF stands for Carbon Fiber and that’s one of the reasons these lenses are pretty lightweight indeed. Compared to the original XEEN 24mm with EF mount which tipped the scale at 1.2kg (2.6 lbs), the newer XEEN CF 24mm (again, with EF mount) only weights 900g (2.0 lbs). It’s smaller in size as well: 98.5 mm (3.88″) in length. The original XEEN pendant measures 121.7 mm (4.8″). Older lens vs. new. XEEN CF Cinema Prime Lenses. Image credit-cinema5D XEEN CF Cinema Prime Lenses Since these are being advertised as cinema prime lenses, the XEEN CF sport all the good stuff you would expect: Smooth iris, long focus throw (200°), 0.8 pitched gears, lots of focus marks on the lens barrel, a decent number of aperture blades (11) and, of course, full-frame coverage! Image credit-XEEN   If that list above isn’t satisfying enough, fear not! There’s more: T1.5 aperture Bidirectional scales for pulling focus from both, operators or AC’s, side of the lens. Unified positions of gears and same front diameter (95mm) for swapping lens hassle-free Fully luminous paint for all markings on the lens “X-Coating” for controlling flares, ghosting and internal reflections Three mounts to choose from: EF, E-Mount or PL Supports resolutions up to 8K All these features are nice to see and they sure seem to be impressive on paper, but what about optical performance? Well, we haven’t had a chance to try one of these new XEEN CF lenses, yet (but we will sure do at IBC 2019 – our team is working the show floor as we speak!). The only hint we got so far is the video by Samyang below in which you can see some samples shot on XEEN CF lenses as well as some BTS footage. Unfortunately, the video is only HD, a 4K version would be more adequate in order to really judge these new lenses but that’s what we have so far. As you can see, the XEEN CF lenses make a lot of sense when used with a gimbal such as the Ronin 2 pictured in the video above. All three available lenses, 24mm, 50mm and 85mm, sport the same dimensions, same gear positions, and same front diameters. The 85mm is 100g (0.2 lbs) heavier than the other two, that’s it. perfect for quick lens swaps, especially on a gimbal or Steadicam. Specifications Here is a quick overview of all the specs regarding the three available XEEN CF cine primes: 24mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5, and 85mm T1.5. Parts of the lens body is made of carbon fiber but the overall lens body is made of aluminum. image credit: Samyang So what’s next, you might ask? The XEEN CF instruction manual offers more specs of upcoming focal lengths: The alert reader will find specifications about a 16mm T2.6 lens and a 35mm T1.5 lens. According to Samyang/Rokinon, the 16mm and 35mm primes will be released in early 2020. You can check out the manual here. 16mm T2.6 and 35mm T1.5? Image credit: Samyang (instruction manual) For now, only the 24mm, the 50mm, and the 85mm represent the official launch trio but as stated above, the lineup will grow quickly. Pricing and Availability The first three focal lengths 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm should be available soon. You can preorder these XEEN CF cine primes fitted with your mount of choice (EF, E, PL) through official channels. Each lens is $2,495.00. Image credit-XEEN Links: XEEN Website What do you think of these XEEN CF lenses? Did you use the original XEENs? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Earlier this year, SIGMA announced the development of a new line of cine primes: The new “Classic” line of SIGMA cine primes sports a vintage look while still aiming for modern full-frame digital camera sensors. Their already existing (and quite popular) high speed line of cine primes gets an upgrade as well, namely an overhauled PL mount with Cooke’s /i Technology build in. 20 new cine primes: 10x Classic Art Primes, 10x HS PL with Cook /i technology. We’re talking 2o new lenses here. The Classic line, just as the readily available high-speed line, consists of 10 lenses, ranging from 14mm up to 135mm. The only real difference is twofold: Sigma cine primes in high-speed flavoring aim for best-in-class sharpness and overall performance while their classic siblings add a more dreamy, vintage look in order to combat that digital edge modern camera sensors tend to deliver. SIGMA Cine Primes  – Classic Line First things first. The Classic labeled lenses use 1:1 the same optics than their high-speed counterparts. Except for the coatings. You might think that this ultra-thin layer of coating can’t tweak the resulting image that much, but actually it can! The imagery produced by these lenses alters dramatically from the “original” look of the high-speed cine primes. Furthermore, the alternative coating formula on numerous lens elements results in a slightly slower T-value. The majority of the 10 new primes is T2.5 (20mm – 105mm), the two extreme focal lengths come in T3.2 ratings. “Classic” 40mm cine prime. All lenses offer a special coating on the front and rear element to prevent your valuable glass from light scratches and other nasty stuff. Unfortunately, these SIGMA cine primes labeled with Classic are only available in a set of 10. No single lenses to be purchased here, so this offering seems to be targeted more towards rental houses and owners/operators with deep pockets. Since it is a bit hard to describe a look of a lens, please make sure to watch the below sample video (courtesy of SIGMA) and judge for yourself: 0:22 is a good example for extensive, yet finessed flaring, 0:49 shows some ghosting and at around 0:59 the whole frame gets soaked by light. All these features, if you will, are being well controlled by the high-speed variants of these SIGMA cine primes, and I think that’s the beauty: You can actually choose which look you prefer without studying a whole new set of lenses. Since the Classic line is based on the same glass and the same construction of lens elements and groups you pretty much know what you get. SIGMA Cine Primes “Classic” specifications. These Classic primes just add a certain dreamy/silky look but they still are very resolving, very high performing lenses capable to play nicely with modern sensors. Another neat feature for higher end productions: The PL mount incorporates Cooke’s /i data technology so you can record all the lens metadata which is necessary for extensive VFX straight to your camera (which should be able to handle that /i data stream, of course). The SIGMA cine primes Classic come in PL mount only (for now?) and will go on sale by the end of 2019. SIGMA Cine Primes with Cooke /i Technology The second update for today brings the aforementioned Cooke /i data technology to the existing line of SIGMA’s high-speed cine primes – to the PL mount variants to be accurate. Existing owners of PL mount versions might want to take a close look at the following statement and cross their fingers: For SIGMA customers who have already purchased a SIGMA PL mount lens, a new service to turn their lenses into /i technology compatible ones is under consideration. Just like with the new Classic line the existing high-speed line of cine primes will benefit from this technology since all aspects of the lens, like aperture, focal distance and focal length can be recorded along with the actual footage. Your VFX team will be delighted! New high-speed cine prime withPL mount and /i Technology. Conclusion Nothing brand new from SIGMA but thoughtful and well-executed additions to their already impressive lineup of cine prime lenses. The ability to choose a look without leaving a well-known ecosystem seems to be well played by SIGMA. Cooke’s /i Technology readies these lenses for prime time productions. And still, these lenses won’t break your bank just like other offerings will most definitely. They aren’t cheap but they aren’t uber-expensive, either. Link: Website What do you think? Are you using SIGMA cine prime lenses? Would you use one of the Classic ones if you could? Share your thoughts in the comments below!