Most cinema cameras today can work with lenses designed for cinema use, as well as those designed for still photography, but there are still important differences between these lenses. I teamed up with Snehal Patel from Zeiss to answer the question "what makes a lens a cinema lens"?

For this Tech Talk, Snehal Patel of Zeiss joined us to talk about the different lenses they are exhibiting at NAB, from the popular CP.2s to Compact Zooms, and the new Otus 1.4/28mm.

RED's WEAPON 8K camera, announced at this year's NAB show, has many people excited. RED has always pushed the boundaries of digital cinema, and the WEAPON 8K is another great example of this. The most interesting, and perhaps confusing, aspect of this new camera is the size of its sensor.

There are currently many new cameras hitting the market, often with new lens mount types. It comes as no surprise that everyone is trying to determine the best lenses for their new camera system, while others are trying to utilize lenses they already own with a new camera. We all know that lenses often outlive our cameras, so it only makes sense to get the most out of them.

You've selected a lens family, but choosing which focal length to use for each shot is an art in itself. A few things to consider when choosing your focal length are: proximity of the camera to the subject, whether the camera is a character in the story or purely observational, and whether you'll be using the lens to control the subject's perspective and their relationship to the background.

One of the great features of the Zeiss CP.2 Prime lenses is the ability to change lens mounts.

Zeiss has carried on the tradition of the Super Speed family with its latest additions to the CP.2 line. These new T1.5 lenses come in 35mm, 50mm and 85mm focal lengths and share many of the same features as the other CP.2s, including a 114mm front diameter and interchangeable mounts.

Zeiss has expanded their CP.2 line with a 15mm T2.9 rectilinear lens with full frame coverage, as well as a 135mm T2.1 portraiture lens. They have also released the first lenses in their super speed series - 35mm, 50mm and 85mm, all of which feature an aperture of T1.5.

Zeiss today announced their new Compact Zoom, a 70-200 T2.9. The Compact Zoom covers not only Super-35, but in fact the full frame 36mmx24mm format, just like the Compact Primes.