Tokina 50-135mm T2.9 Mark II lens has been one of the new lenses at Tokina’s IBC booth. It features a compact design, covers super35 sensors, and offers the same 95mm diameter and same gear rings position as Tokina 11-20mm T2.9 cinema zoom lens. The new 50-135mm lens will cost around $3,500 and should start shipping in early 2020. Tokina cinema lenses portfolio includes the original Vista prime series, the Vista One prime lenses (announced earlier this year), 100mm macro lens, and few zoom lenses. At IBC 2019, Tokina showed its new 50-135mm T2.9 MKII cinema zoom lens and the Tokina 135mm T1.5 Vista prime. If you are interested in the new 135mm T1.5 Vista prime lens, check our other article. In this article, we only focus on the new super35 50-135mm T2.9 cinema zoom lens. Tokina 50-135mm T2.9 Mark II Cinema Zoom Lens The new Tokina 50-135mm T2.9 Mark II cinema zoom lens features a compact design. It is an update to the original 50-135mm T3 cinema zoom lens from Tokina. It features an all-metal mechanical housing with industry standard 0.8 MOD cinema gears, 300 degree focus throw, updated T2.9 iris, and 95mm front diameter for common cinema accessories. Its optical structure produces a 31.2mm image circle, which is enough for super35 (APS-C) sensors. The position of focus and iris rings as well as 95mm diameter matches the Tokina 11-20mm T2.9 cinema lens. Both lenses in the series feature an interchangeable mount between PL, EF, Sony E, MFT, and Nikon F mounts. The 50-135mm lens is parfocal to retain focus while zooming, it has dramatically reduced focus breathing and image shift, and low distortion. There is a de-clicked, 9-bladed, curved iris for round bokeh and precise exposure control. Close focus is available from 3.3 feet distance. There is an 86mm front filter thread. Future Tokina Cinema Zoom lens – The 25-75mm T2.9 At the end of our interview with Chris from Tokina, we got a little sneak peek at the future of Tokina cinema zoom lenses. Tokina is now offering two super35 cinema zoom lenses – the 11-20mm T2.9 and the new 50-135 T2.9 Mark II. To fill the focal length gap between these two lenses, Tokina will introduce a 25-75mm T2.9 cinema lens next year. It is going to have the same 95mm diameter and same gear rings positions as existing cinema zooms to complement the lineup. Price and Availability The price of the new Tokina 50-135mm T2.9 MKII cinema zoom lens will be around $3,500. Tokina plans to start sending the lens to its distributors at the end of this year, so it should ship to first customers in January or February 2020. What do you think of the new Tokina 50-135mm T2.9 cinema zoom lens? Do you have experience with the first generation of this lens or with the 11-20mm T2.9 cinema zoom? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

FUJINON Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 PL announced: FUJIFILM Corporation just recently introduced their newest Premista series lens to complement the 28-100mm T2.9 PL zoom lens released in August this year. Together they’re covering a wide range of nearly 10x zoom ratio from 28mm – 250mm to fully support large image sensors. They are intended to present some of the highest grade quality, rich gradation and suitability for HDR for cinematic purposes. Let’s take a closer look at its features. FUJINON Premista 80-250mm – Full View. Image credit: FUJINON The FUJINON Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 was explicitly designed to cover large sensors that measure 43.2-46.3mm diagonally. The lens incorporates large-diameter aspherical lens parts and a sizeable 13-blade design that almost reaches a perfectly circular aperture shape. The intention is to create the highest possible image reproduction on the large image sensor, accompanied by a natural bokeh and a shallow depth-of-field to create a profound cinematic look. The latter is unique to large format in combination with high-resolution image sensors. Main Characteristics, Look and Line-up Consistency FUJINON usually implements patented or exclusively created technologies, techniques and systems in their lenses, just like their main competitors. In this case, they are working with their design of a zoom/focusing system to reduce chromatic aberration in long-range cinematic zoom lenses. This characteristic usually needs precise and individual attention in a complicated lens system for the highest purposes, like here. Additionally, FUJINON has applied its necessary procedures to minimize flares and ghosts responding to and abiding by cinematic standards. A lot of cinematic lenses are alleged by their manufacturers to have a particular level of sharpness or a certain degree in the spectrum of “vintage soft sharpness” and a somehow distinctive mellow look to them. On the contrary, in this specific case, Fujifilm claims to have reached stunning levels of sharpness and clarity with this cinematic lens. Thereby they are also highlighting that this lens is instead intended to produce film footage in naturalistic colours. This detail includes a representation of colour tones that properly fits in with other popular FUJINON series like the XK, HK, MK and ZK, instead of standing out from the host of available lenses. The latter is especially vital when working with multiple lenses on a single camera or shooting complex scenes with multiple cameras and thus requiring different angles. Therefore finally, FUJINON offers consistency amongst lenses across the board. It also simplifies processes in the colour grading suite and contributes to the value of their whole lineup that ultimately serves as easily interchangeable. FUJINON Premista 80-250mm T2.95 – 3.5 PL – Side View. Image credit: FUJINON Premista 80-250mm – Operability Features Since the Premista 80-250mm is a top-range product, it especially gives credit to aspects of operability, among others, that many directors of photography around the world fully expect from lenses in that price category. These include a Flange Focal Distance correction function with a ring, attached to the lens barrel that effortlessly adjusts the flange focal distance. The lens also sports a long rotation of the focus ring with 280 degrees, end to end. The latter is particularly crucial for precise focusing required by the shallow-depth-of-field characteristic of large-format lenses and within cinematic environments and exigencies to focus pulling in the film industry. To supplement that, the Premista 28-100mm and 80-250 share their essential measurements such as front diameter and iris, zoom and focus control gear/ring positions. Thereby the same configuration of follow-focus and matte box among other accessories is trouble-free interchangeable. FUJINON Premista 80-250mm – Focus, Zoom and Iris. Image credit: FUJINON The FUJINON Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 comes with the “ZEISS eXtended Data” (firmware update required) conforming with the Cooke “/i® Technology” standard for lens communication and will be available this December. What do you think about the new lens? Would you like to see a version of it in the MK category of lenses? Please share with us your thoughts in the comment section below. 

Canon introduced two “compact-servo” cine lenses back in 2016. One of them, the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 made its way into my gear bag more often than I might have thought it would. Time for a personal review of this lens! What kind of lens do you prefer? The answer might be hidden between seemingly polar concepts: versatility vs performance, zoom vs prime, cine lens vs photo glass. To be honest, I’m a prime lens person, and I try to shoot on primes as much as possible. That fact doesn’t render zoom lenses useless for me, far from it. If I’m on a one-man-band shoot, a zoom lens can be very helpful indeed, less pain carrying stuff around, more versatility for fast paced shooting. Today I’m looking at the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 zoom lens which I’ve been using on several jobs throughout the last three years since its introduction in 2016. The other one, namely the Canon 70-200mm T4.4, I didn’t use that often. As stated above, I mainly use zoom lenses if I’m shooting alone as a one-man-band or with just a very small crew and in these cases, the 18-80mm is a very handy focal range to work with. My current setup: Canon C300 Mark II with Canon CN-E 18-80mm lens Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 This lens is special in various ways. It feels a bit like a hybrid between Canon’s long standing expertise in photographic lens design and features you find in modern broadcast lenses. But first things first, here comes a list of main features of this lens: Super 35 / APS-C sensor coverage 18-80mm zoom range (4.4x ratio) Constant aperture of T4.4 (F/4.0) Manual iris Auto & manual focus (but NO hard stops) Minimum focus distance: 50cm / 19.7″ Optical Image Stabilization Back focus adjustment Servo handgrip can be detached Servos are powered through lens mount or connector Weight: 2.6 lb / 1.2 kg Length: 7.2” / 182.3 mm When I first laid hands on this lens more than two years ago, I instantly was surprised how light and compact it actually is. All the “normal” broadcast zooms like the ones from FUJINON are bigger and heavier despite the fact that the Canon CN-E 18-80mm covers APS-C sensors, which the classic broadcast zooms do not since they were designed for 2/3″ broadcast cameras. Canon CN-E 18-80mm next to its “photo pendant”, the 24-70 F2.8 (which is full-frame). The overall build quality of the Canon is pretty good and on par with their lineup of lenses. The aforementioned compact size is really a plus, and on fast turnaround jobs, I like working lightweight and with as little clutter as possible. The focal range might sound a bit limiting but in reality, I never had a problem with the servo stopping at 80mm. In fact, more than once I had the 70-200mm “bigger brother” with me but I barely needed it. Optical Performance The optical quality of the Canon CN-E 18-80 is pretty solid. (Please bear in mind that this is not a technical test, but my personal impression!) I barely experienced chromatic aberrations, just a little vignetting and virtually no breathing. It is a little bit on the soft side (which I like) and the colors are rendered nice and pleasingly natural. Of course, bokeh is not as soft and creamy as with fast prime lenses but since the Canon covers decently large APS-C sensors, you’ll get nice soft backgrounds when opening up the iris. The minimum focus distance is only 0,5 m which is a pretty good value for a lens with this zoom range and although it lacks a dedicated macro feature, you can get pretty close up on things when shooting on 80mm. One of the main features is the servo, no doubt about it. This piece of gear transforms the 18-80mm zoom lens into a solo-shooters weapon of choice for doc work. The grip lets you hold your camera in a broadcast way with one hand holding the lens (plus the camera attached) while the other is free for operating the focus barrel. Even if you don’t want to zoom within a shot but use this lens only as a “variable prime” this way of operating the lens is very handy. The zoom rocker offers a good resistance for your finger in order to pull off a smooth zoom on the first take. The harder you press the faster it zooms. To me, the servo sits between pro grade broadcast zoom lens servos (which are priced accordingly) and entry level zoom controls. More expensive ones offer more steps in order to render an even smoother “zoom curve” than the Canon CN-E 18-80mm is capable of pulling off. So while looong & slooow zooms might not be the flagship feature of the Canon servo it is very capable and I never had any issues on real life shoots with it. The best thing, and a valid feature for labeling this lens a cine zoom, is the fact that the Canon CN-E 18-80mm hold focus throughout the zoom range, in technical speak the lens is parfocal. Virtually all photo zooms are NOT parfocal, because they were never designed for continuous video work. A photo zoom doesn’t have to be parfocal, just set your desired focal length, (auto-)focus, click. For a video/cine zoom lens, on the other hand, being parfocal is kind of mandatory. Have you ever tried to zoom in with a photo zoom lens in order to check focus? Well, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you? If you don’t need the zoom servo, you can detach it completely from the lens itself but you’ll need a tool for that. For adjusting the position of the handgrip just loosen a screw, adjust the handgrip and fasten it again. A servo needs power to operate and thankfully there are different options for powering the Canon CN-E 18-80mm: It can draw power from the host camera through the lens mount or – if you use some kind of dumb adapter – you can feed 12V power directly into the lens through a dedicated connector. Powering trough the lens mount works with native EF mount camera such as my Canon C300 mk.II but it also works with Sony cameras (FS7 for example) using a Metabones adapter such as a Speedbooster for example. In that case, the Sony handgrip with build-in zoom rocker is able to control the zoom servo of the lens. Very neat! One thing is a bit weird, though. You have to connect the handgrip to the lens itself in order to work and that connector sticks out in a very awkward way indeed. It even gets a bit in the way of your hand holding the grip which is really weird. Zacuto offers an angled extension for solving this problem but it would be nice if such adapters weren’t necessary in the first place. Photo vs. Broadcast vs. Cine Speaking of weird design decisions: Canon is labeling this lens as “cinema zoom lens” but the focus barrel lacks hard stops. This is another proof of the best-of-both-worlds concept between photo and cine lenses Canon is working with here. Canon states that they had to drop hard stops on the focus barrel in favor of implementing their dual pixel autofocus system. For me, this is a fair trade as I’m using this lens for solo projects most of the time. But labeling it “cine” which implies things like wireless focus control for example, the lack of hard stops leaves me a bit puzzled, to be honest. Another feature from the photo world is the optical image stabilization which comes, just as you know it from other Canon photo lenses, in three modes, A, B and C. I am personally not a big fan of this feature since it simply doesn’t look 100% good to my eye. It certainly smoothes out shakes but it does it in a slightly strange and artificial way. I prefer a little camera shake when shooting handheld because that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Leaving the human factor in and not trying to flatten out everything until nothing is left. Adjusting the flange back distance. One feature most broadcast lenses have but virtually all photo lenses lack is the ability to adjust the flange back distance. With it, you can micro-adjust your lens to any given camera body in order to operate at peak performance (read: sharpness). While you won’t use that feature all the time it’s nice to have it so you can tweak the rear lens element in order to work perfectly with any given camera – as long as you can adapt its mount. Conclusion I really dig this lens. It’s lightweight, it’s relatively small and compact and it’s very versatile for doc and one-man-band work. You can use it on native EF mount cameras but you also can use it on other cameras, using an adapter (that’s the beauty of the long flange back distance of EF glass). Sure, T4.4 isn’t great but most of the time this isn’t an issue at all. If you’re about to shoot in dark environments you might want to think twice, though, or use a high-ISO camera. A faster aperture would have resulted in a much more heavy and bulky (and certainly more expensive) lens. It’s about balance here, I think. The zoom grip is great and it enables you to operate your camera very ergonomically over extended periods of time. If you are on the lookout for a one-does-it-all lens for your kit, the Canon CN-E 18-80mm might be your guy. To wrap it up, you can watch a short piece I shot with the camera/lens setup displayed above: It’s a review of a high-end Hi-Fi active speaker system but since we’re talking about optics, only the image counts this time around. However, if you are eager for more: head over to John Darko’s YouTube Channel here. Links: Canon What do you think? Do you have any experiences, good or bad, with this lens? Let us know in the comments below!

Canon released their all-in-one full-frame 10x zoom lens for the RF mount. The Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM is now available for pre-order and it will ship during September 2019. New Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Lens There are not that many 10x zoom lenses out there that cover full-frame sensors. In mirrorless world, there has actually been only one such a lens – Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens for Sony E-Mount. Reviews of this lens on B&H are actually quite good in general. Furthermore, there are a couple of full-frame DSLR lenses that cover 10x or more zoom range. Please note, that the massive zoom range always comes with trade-offs – mostly in form of a lower image quality. Simply put, you cannot expect such a lens to perform the same way as two or three zoom lens covering the same focal range. The development of  the lens was already announced in February 2019 (Together with five other RF lenses). Now it looks as if Canon is really committed to provide their new full-frame mirrorless cameras with enough native Canon RF lenses. There are currently two cameras within the RF mount ecosystem – the flagship Canon EOS R, which was released last year (see our review here), and its lower-specs, lower-price brother Canon EOS RP, which was released in February 2019. Canon EOS RP (left) and EOS R (right). Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Lens As its name implies, the lens features 10x zoom range and an optical image stabilizer, which compensates for up to five stops of camera shake when shooting handheld – that is usable for both stills and video. The lens incorporates Nano USM autofocus motor, which according to Canon delivers quick, quiet, and precise focusing performance. This focusing system also affords full-time manual focus control when working in the one-shot AF mode. Additionally, the new Canon lens also features a unique customisable Control Ring, which can be configured to adjust a variety of exposure settings, including aperture, ISO, and exposure compensation. Minimum focus distance of the lens is 1.64′ (50 cm). It has a 72mm front thread for filters. Dimensions of the lens are (ø x L) 3.2 x 4.8″ (81.28 x 121.92 mm) and the weight is 1.65 lb (751.26 g). What do you think of the new all-in-one Canon Zoom lens? Do you have experience with the same focal range lens? Would such a lens fit in your workflow? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

FUJINON Premista are two new cine zoom lenses that cover large format sensors. Standard 28-100mm T2.9 zoom lens and telephoto 80-250 T2.9-3.5 zoom lens are both going to be available within this year. During NAB, we interviewed Toshihisa Lida-san from FUJIFILM about these new lenses. As you might already know from our initial news post, FUJINON announced two new large format cine zoom lenses called Premista. Those zoom lenses will support up to a 46.3mm image circle (diagonal) without vignetting. They both come with PL mounts. FUJINON Premista – large format cine zoom lenses The name Premista comes from a combination of the words “Premier” and “VistaVision”, which is a widescreen variant of 35mm film created by Paramount in the 50s. This name should imply high quality optics covering large format sensors. FUJINON’s reason to introduce these new lenses are the latest trends in cinematography technology: A number of camera manufacturers have introduced large format (full-frame or slightly larger than full-frame sensor) high-end cinema cameras (RED, Sony, Canon, ARRI …). FUJIFILM and FUJINON have been monitoring this trend in the cine market over the last two years and they decided to launch these large format zoom lenses. FUJINON Premista – large format cine zoom lenses have PL mount The standard 28-100mm zoom lens has a consistent speed of  T2.9 throughout the zoom range. As for the 80-250mm telephoto zoom lens, FUJINON says it stays at T2.9 until about 200mm and then slowly ramps the aperture to T3.5. I suppose it was optically not possible to offer such a long range with constant aperture without making the lens design even heavier and larger (and thereby also more expensive to build), so FUJINON decided to offer the long reach with a slightly slower aperture. FUJINON Premista Specifications The first lens with standard zoom range of 28-100mm will be launched in August 2019. The other telephoto zoom lens FUJINON 80-250 will be available within this year (no exact date yet). FUJINON Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 The price of the 28-100mm will be $38,800 and the 80-250mm will be $39,800, so the main customers are most likely going to be rental houses. FUJINON claims to have already received huge response and demand from rental houses. You can, however, already pre-order these lenses now. Links are included below the article. What do you think about the FUJINON Premista lenses? Do you have experience with other FUJINON cine lenses? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

The race is on. As sensor sizes continue to expand, especially in the case of the newly announced ARRI Mini LF, lens manufacturers are working hard to stay ahead of the curve and provide cine lenses that cover large format cameras. With NAB on the horizon, FUJIFILM and FUJINON just announced the Premista 28-100mm T2.9 and 80-250mm T2.9-3.5. Details below: The Premista 28-100mm (shown below) has a consistence speed of  T2.9 throughout the zoom range, but FUJINON says the 80-250mm stays at T2.9 until about 200mm and then slowly ramps to T3.5. While a constant aperture would certainly be preferred, the wide range of 80-250mm is a bonus. Consistent with past FUJINON zooms, both lenses will be available in PL mount. In the past, companies like Duclos Lenses have converted PL FUJINON zooms to an EF mount, so that may be possible again here in the future. FUJINON Premista 28-100mm FUJINON lists both lenses as supporting up-to a 46.3mm image circle (diagonal) without vignetting. This covers all current large format digital cameras such as the RED Monstro with the exception of the ARRI Alexa 65 (54.12 mm x 25.58). FUJINON Premista 80-250mm Specifications: FUJINON Premista Specifications Pricing and availability: The FUJINON Premista 28-100mm T2.9 is expected to ship over the summer with the 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 landing “before the end of 2019”. Pricing is currently set to $38,800 and $39,800 respectively. We are planning on going hands on with both lenses at NAB so stay tuned for updates. What do you think? As this is the beginning of a new era for FUJINON, would you like to see them enhancing the more affordable MK lenses line with lenses covering large format sensors too? Please share with us your thoughts in the comment section below.  

In this Canon 18-80mm review I’ll be finally taking a look at Canon’s compact servo video lens. It is one of only a few such lenses made for large-sensor cameras, has a “cine” touch with autofocus functionality and could be a very useful asset for many large-sensor shooters. Canon 18-80mm Review – A Compact Servo With a “Cine” Touch Back when the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo Lens was announced in 2016, many large-sensor video shooters had their eye on it as it seemed to combine the lightweight design of photo lenses with some “cine” properties and offered a zoom rocker, all at a relatively affordable price. Later we noticed that this lens, marketed as a “cinema zoom lens”, had no hard stops, making it quite hard to use as an actual “cinema lens”. But regardless of the “cine” labelling, this lens still looks pretty interesting for many large-sensor shooters, so I took it for a test drive to the park (see video with test shots above) and put it on the test bench. Canon 18-80mm – Most Important Features at a Glance: 18-80mm zoom range (4.4x ratio) Constant aperture of T4.4, equivalent to F/4.0 Minimum focus distance: 1.6′ / 0.5 m Optical Image Stabilization Manual smooth iris Auto Focus / Manual Focus (no hard stops) Powered through lens mount or connector (works with Sony Cameras) Compatibility with FS7/FS5. The 18-80mm Canon lens + metabones adapter works with the FS7 zoom rocker and also supports iris control. Filter: 77 mm thread for screw-in front filters (I used a Vari ND filter for my test) Weight: 2.6 lb / 1.2 kg Length: 7.2” / 182.3 mm Servo handgrip: included and easily detachable Back focus adjustment Super 35mm sensor coverage My Canon 18-80mm Review was shot with a Sony a6300 Camera Hands-On Experience with the Canon 18-80mm Compact cine lenses are awesome. In my book, the Canon 18-80mm already has a plus, just because it is so small, lightweight and thin! In terms of size, it is comparable to the FUJINON MK Cine Lenses. I recently reviewed both the FUJINON MK 18-55mm and the MK 50-135mm. By now I think I have tested all compact and “affordable” cine/video lenses on the market, and this field is still very young. Manufacturers are only now slowly starting to realize that photo lenses simply don’t cut it for most large-sensor shooters, and that we need video equivalents with a large-sensor coverage. In the case of the Canon 18-80mm, it works with Super 35mm and APS-C sensors, and I used it on my small but capable Sony a6300 to put it to the test. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time, so this test shoot was not as elaborate as some of my previous ones. I had, however, worked with the lens on a different project before, so I already had a pretty good idea of how well it performs. The focal range of 18-80mm is the first thing you should bear in mind when considering this piece of kit. Sony offers a 18-110mm lens that arguably has the best range in this field. However, one should keep in mind that the change in field of view is exponential, so the gap between 81 and 110mm on the Canon lens is not as large as it appears. During my shoot, for example, I noticed that I was able to zoom in more than I expected. In practice, the 18-80mm range is limiting, but does offer an extra tele “touch” when compared to a lens like the FUJINON MK 18-55mm for example, and is definitely very convenient to use this lens as a wide-angle and mid-range zoom. The Servo For me, the servo is the biggest thing about this lens and it is a delight to use. Not only does it allow you to get a nice grip on your lens (and in my case also the camera, seeing as the Sony a6300 I used is so small), but it also has a smooth motor that lets you control your focal length much more precisely and quickly than with any other lens at this size and price. In comparison to the Sony 18-110mm Cine Lens (Review Here), Canon’s servo feature is in a different class entirely. The Sony only has a miniature zoom rocker and offers less precision. In terms of speed, the servo of the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 gives you a large amount of control. You can quickly zoom in, get your focus and zoom out, as it holds focus at any focal length just like cine and video lenses should. In terms of smoothness, I must say I did expect a little more. I felt the servo of the Canon 18-80mm had fewer steps of speed than professional and more pricey video zooms. During the last test shot in my video, I zoomed in and out on that tree and as you can see it was a bit hard to get a completely smooth zoom. I would not use this lens in a broadcast environment where smooth zooms are sometimes crucial. Servo Cable of the Canon 18-80mm T4.4 obstructing and being stressed when the camera is on a flat surface. Another thing that bugged me about the servo is the cable that connects to the lens. It sticks out and points down right into my wrist. After only a few hours of shooting with the lens I already had a bruise. Another downside of this design is that the connector is the main point of contact when I put the lens down on a flat surface. This is especially true when the lens is used with a small camera like the Sony a6300. Zacuto sells a solution to this problem –  the Zacuto Right Angle Extension Cable – but in my opinion they ask for a ridiculous amount of money for it. If the cable is a problem for you, another solution would be to simply have a right angle connector soldered onto the lens. If you don’t need the grip, note that it can easily be detached. Unfortunately, a tool is necessary to move or even reposition the grip. Cable that connects the servo with the lens, sticks out into the wrist. Another positive thing to say about the servo is that it works with Metabones adapters on Sony cameras and gets power through the lens mount. All in all, I really like the servo on the Canon 18-80mm T4.4 and the convenience of it alone is a reason to get the lens, even though it might not be up to broadcast standards. Autofocus & Cine Lens Gears The Canon 18-80mm T4.4 has a gear ring for focusing with a follow focus or remote focus, but lacks hard stops just like with traditional Canon photo lenses. Video shooters and cinematographers alike will have a more difficult time controlling focus, especially when using focusing tools. One could argue that the lens is not intended for cinema applications – frankly I find the lens is a great option for single shooters, a setup which rarely requires a follow focus. However, marketing the lens as “cine” can be misleading for customers and I am not a fan of that. According to Canon, they had to incorporate soft stops on the lens in order to achieve the much-applauded Dual Autofocus functionality. I must mention that the Canon Dual Autofocus system has impressed us and really makes autofocusing an option in the world of large sensor shooting. For many, myself included, the tradeoff with the hard stops is acceptable as long as we are aware of the lens’ limitations. Optical Quality For my Canon 18-80mm review I grabbed our test chart and took some shots that I compared to the Sony 18-110mm F/4 lens. I noticed that the Canon seemed to have good optical qualities altogether, both in these test shots as well as in my short video. I noticed very little chromatic aberration and, as far as I could tell, the lens had a little less sharpness in the corners compared to the Sony 18-110 (without digital optimization), but it was still ok in my book. There is one aspect in which, in my opinion, the Canon falls short in comparison to the Sony 18-110: the Sony offers in-camera optimization which basically entirely removes the optical flaws of the lens. This is a killer feature. On the other hand, the Sony lens cannot be used on Canon cameras. Canon 18-80mm Review – 200% crop from a 4K image. Upper right-hand corner. Canon 18-80mm Review – Distortion and Vignetting at F/4.0 Distortion appeared stronger on the Canon than on the Sony, although I had disabled Sony’s digital optimization feature for my test shots. The Canon also seemed to exhibit more vignetting. I would say the distortion on the wide end is comparable to the FUJINON MK 18-55mm, although the problem of the FUJINON is that it distorts strongly in the opposite direction as soon as you start zooming in. This is not as pronounced on the Canon 18-80mm T4.4 (see screenshot below). Canon 18-80mm Review – Lens @ 35mm F/4.0 (ISO 1600) The optical verdict of my Canon 18-80mm review is that this is a good lens for 4K applications. I did not notice any major flaws and, on top of that, I did not notice any breathing. See my test video where I took some shots to emphasize that. Another great thing about the Canon is its minimum focus distance. Although there is no macro, a distance of  1.6′ / 0.5 m at 80mm allows you to get some decent close-up shots. I was surprised at how close I could get to the bees in my test video. The Sony 18-110mm F/4.0 lens is less convincing in this regard with its 0.95m minimum focus distance (Review Here). Optical Stabilization This is a good lens that I want to like, but the optical image stabilization of the Canon 18-80mm T4.4 doesn’t do it for me. It looks just like the stabilization you get on some Canon photo lenses, where the movement does not appear natural. I think this becomes apparent in my test video in the wide shot at 0:40, which I shot entirely handheld. The biggest problem for me is that the rotation axis is not stabilized well – if at all! – thus resulting in distracting mini rotations in almost every shot. For a lens that costs over $5,000, this is a bit upsetting. There are three optical stabilization settings (A, B and C). It seemed like mode B and C are simply weaker. I used mode “A” for my test video, but if I use this lens on future projects I will be leave image stabilization off. Canon 18-80mm Review – Conclusion The Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo Cinema Zoom Lens is a very interesting lens. The idea of combining cine properties with the strengths of photo lenses to give you a lightweight and compact solution with a full servo grip is a great approach. Also, right now it is the only “cine” zoom of this type and price for Canon cameras. When I started my Canon 18-80mm Review I think my expectations were a little too high. In my opinion, this lens has little “cine” about it (especially due to the lack of hard stops), so I will simply call it a lens with a”cine touch”. It is clearly a video lens that has inherited a few features from broadcast zooms thanks to its full servo grip. BUT, the grip is a delight to use. I wish I had something like that on all the lenses I use, and it is definitely the one reason to get the lens as it adds so much more convenience and improves ergonomics a lot. If you have no other grip solution, or if you want to revive your DSLR or mirrorless camera, look at the Canon 18-80mm T4.4. Even though the motor smoothness seems a little basic, I think the advantage of precise zoom rocker control can make a huge difference on documentary style productions. Putting aside that the optical image stabilization is not the kind I would use on my projects, overall the lens offers a good balance between performance and size. If you’re struggling with photo lenses, you should definitely try the Canon 18-80mm T4.4 and experience the difference it makes. The price of over $5,000 may not make it a very attractive proposition for everyone but, if you can afford it, the Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 Compact-Servo is definitely worth considering and we welcome it to the very small family of compact video lenses for large sensor cameras.

At this year’s NAB, we had a little chat with FUJIFILM’s general manager Toshihisa (Toshi) Lida about their current product range, and especially about their plans regarding video-related cameras. Let’s see what they have in store for us filmmakers. State of Play FUJIFILM clearly wants to take aim at the cinema market. With the introduction of their FUJINON MK18-55mm T2.9 manual zoom lens (you can read our review of that lens here) they followed the concept of developing a product as compact and lightweight as possible. This meant making a few compromises. Firstly, they choose to limit the mount options to X-mount end E-mount only, as they require a very small flange distance. The chances of an EF mount version becoming available in the near future therefore seem to be very small, but who knows? FUJIFILM also seem to be very aware of their customers’ needs and wishes. The FUJINON MK18-55mm T2.9 X-mount manual zoom lens at NAB 2017 Delivering a compact product at an affordable price also means that the lens is currently a fully-manual device without any electronic connections. For now, this means no data flow between lens and camera, although FUJINFILM intends to implement an electronic interface for this purpose in the future it will be reserved for the X-mount version only. This makes the FUJINON MK18-55mm T2.9 and MK 50-135mm T-2.9 an entry product with a lot of potential for future versions. The (Video) Future of FUJIFILM The company has been quite busy for the last 6 years developing a variety of cameras such as the FUJIFILM X-T2 (read our review here), XT-20 (read our review here), or the X-Pro2 (review here). Though all three can shoot video, they are clearly aimed at the stills photography market. However, one thing is clear: FUJIFILM is capable of building very decent lenses. They have a massive lineup of X-mount lenses but, as mentioned above, they keep exploring new fields with products like the freshly-introduced FUJINON MK18-55mm T2.9 manual zoom. A new FUJINON MK50-135mm T2.9 is also in the works and be ready to ship soon. As Toshi Lida puts it: The customers love our glass, the lenses.” That claim is mostly related to their lineup of still lenses. But with such an expertise in making quality glass, there’s a lot of potential for upcoming (indie) cinema lenses, as well! More Video Features The FUJIFILM GFX 50s is the latest and greatest (and actually biggest) FUJIFILM mirrorless camera, featuring a massive 51.4MP medium format sensor. What’s interesting about it is that, despite being a stills camera, the GFX features Full HD video recording and, even more astonishing, an audio input jack. Why would you need an audio jack in such a stills camera who’s video capabilities is not a priority ? And if this beast is supposed to be a video camera after all, then can it do in the future better then Full HD? FUJIFILM GFX 50s. Maybe the fine folks at FUJIFILM have yet to make up their mind about developing a proper video camera with all the features you could ask for, but I think that little audio jack might be an indication of the path FUJIFILM is willing to explore regarding the video side of things. Actually, they already have everything that’s needed, they just have to put these things together. Maybe the solution is a more diverse lineup with more options, following the model established by Sony, who are leading the way with their line of a7 cameras: an entry-level model, an R model for stills photographers, and an S model for video shooters. Conclusion Granted: since FUJIFILM has made no concrete promises yet, the future of their video-related products is speculative at best, though there does seem to be a silver lining. Toshi Lida seems very positive about their future as far as video-capable cameras and lenses are concerned. Hopefully we’ll see some killer products at some point soon that will compete with established products like the Sony a7 / a9 line. What are your thoughts about the current line up of cameras and lenses by FUJIFILM? Share your ideas in the comments below!