Beginning with the ARRI/ZEISS LDS Ultra Primes in 2001 and Cooke's S4/i primes in 2004-2005, many cinema lenses have been able to transmit a lens’ focal length, serial number, current aperture, and the current focus distance via digital encoders wired to the focus and iris rings on their barrels. Many of these metadata-enabled lenses have also featured a multi-pin Lemo port to allow for this data stream to be sent directly to an on-camera monitor (such as the Starlite series of displays from Transvideo). The information would then be shown as an overlay, along with picture, to aid First ACs in focus-pulling and disseminating lens info throughout the set.

Cinematographer Arthur Albert and his son, Nick Albert, a Camera Operator, worked together on the last season of Sneaky Pete. Recently, they spoke to us about the project and why they chose Sigma FF Primes.

Recently I had the opportunity to take a first look at the brand new Fujinon Premista 28-100mm T2.9 zoom lens. One of the few full frame zoom lenses, this lens will also have a sister lens released by the end of 2019, the Premista 80-250mm T2.9-3.5.

I got the chance to stop by Fujinon’s booth at NAB 2019 and spoke with Tom Fletcher about Fujinon’s brand new line of full format cinema zoom lenses, called Premista. The first two lenses in this series are a 28-100 T2.9 and a 80-250mm, which is a constant T2.9 from 80-200mm and then gradually ramps up to a T3.5 from 201-250mm.

Canon announced their new Sumire Cinema Prime lenses today. This new set of full format PL-mount lenses builds on their popular Cinema Primes, which are exclusively in EF mount.

The Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4 Servo Zoom is lightweight and versatile, making it a great choice when you're shooting in ENG mode. In this blog, I go through the steps you'll take in order to set back focus on this lens.

Recently, AbelCine’s Matt Livingston came up with a stunning way to show off the new Angenieux Optimo Ultra 12x FF/VV, a night flight over Manhattan.

Anamorphic seems to be enjoying a renaissance lately, and we’ve received some questions about how to acquire and deliver this format when shooting with ARRI’s ALEXA Mini.

You may be familiar with Matt Porwoll from last year's Behind the Lens blog series, but did you know he's also an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer who used to work in the AbelCine rental department? It's true! Luckily for us, Matt enjoys sharing what he's learned about the technical aspects of his craft. Recently, we had the chance sit down for an in-depth discussion on his current favorite gear.