Lens testing is like learning – it never stops! Keeping up with the latest technology can be a daunting task, but one that’s important in our field. Back in 2017, I did a Behind the Lens series looking at a wide range of documentary zooms to see how they can achieve specific needs for a project. The options for cinema glass have certainly grown since then, so I decided to add a few more lenses to the list.

Jeff Lee, AbelCine's Director of Education & Product Specialization, sits down with JC Sciacca, our Integration Design Engineer, to discuss the practical applications of the Sony FR7. They discuss use cases for this full format, interchangeable lens, PTZ camera with internal recording.

We recently had the chance to test Sony's new FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II lens on the FX3 Full Frame Cinema Camera.

Cooke announced the launch of a new line of Full Frame (aka Full Format) prime lenses – the S8/i series. These new flagship lenses slot in at the top of Cooke’s range of spherical Full Frame primes. The set will initially comprise focal lengths of 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, and 135mm. Nine additional focal lengths are anticipated in Fall of 2022, including 18mm, 21mm, 27mm, 35mm, 65mm, 85mm MACRO, 180mm, 250mm, and 350mm.

Since their release in Fall 2019, ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance lenses have offered DPs a unique creative choice in lens selection that's applicable to a wide variety of projects. These lenses feature highly expressive, yet also highly controllable, flare behavior thanks to their T* Blue coatings.

Following Sony’s recent release of firmware version 3.0 for their popular PXW-FX9 full frame cinema camera, we thought it would be interesting to continue exploring and documenting some of the new features in this latest free update, as we did with version 2.x in July.

In this blog, I sit down with Simon Marsh, VENICE Product Manager at Sony, and Tim Nagasawa, DIT, for a comprehensive first-look at the recently-announced Sony VENICE 2 digital cinema camera.

Sony has announced a new version of their flagship full frame VENICE camera, VENICE 2. VENICE 2 shares much in common with the existing VENICE body, while bringing a host of new features and advantages, including an 8.6K sensor version (a 6K sensor version, as on the original VENICE is also available; both are full frame), true internal RAW and ProRes recording to AXS media, 16 stops of dynamic range, and new dual native ISOs of 800 and 3200.

The Sony alpha FX3 is an E-mount full frame camcorder that bears a striking resemblance to the a7S generation of mirrorless cameras. It can live in the world of no-budget indie filmmaking or as a complement to more advanced digital cinema cameras, such as the FX9 or VENICE.