Lens category nominations announced
From the perspective of the video production industry, the highlight topic of interchangeable lenses in 2022 is the release of power zoom compatible lenses from Sony and Fujifilm. The focal length can be changed with the zoom lever on the lens, enabling stable zoom operation. In particular, the Fujifilm XF18-120mm F4 LM PZ WR is a hot topic because it has a focal length that is just right for movies, from F4. Also, the lens has power zoom capabilities.
In addition, an increasing number of companies are releasing video lenses that have a unified lens barrel size and support for suppressing the change in the angle of view (focus breathing) that occurs when the focus is moved from the front to the back and from the back to the front. It seems that the video shooting environment is becoming more complete even with mirrorless cameras. Also, Asian cinema lens makers such as DZOFilm, SIRUI, and LAOWA are doing well and seem to be gaining momentum.
The products nominated in the lens category are as follows.
■Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm/F1.7 ASPH.
Release date: June 23, 2022
Suggested retail price: 60,940 yen including tax
The LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm is an interchangeable lens for Micro Four Thirds system equivalent to 18mm in 35mm format. This lens clears Leica’s own optical standards and achieves a brightness of F1.7. In addition, LUMIX’s first ultra-wide-angle half-macro shooting has been realized by realizing half-macro with a shortest shooting distance of 9.5cm and a maximum shooting magnification of 0.25x. Even during movie shooting, the breathing phenomenon is suppressed, and by controlling the aperture in microsteps, sudden changes in brightness are suppressed, enabling natural image expression.
■Panasonic LUMIX S 18mm F1.8
Release date: October 20, 2022
Suggested retail price: 121,000 yen including tax
The LUMIX S 18mm F1.8 is an interchangeable lens for the L-mount system for full-size mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. The S lens F1.8 single focus series has been developed to 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. It is characterized by its small size, light weight, and unification of depiction and operability to match the size of the body. In addition to high-speed, high-precision and quiet AF control with a built-in linear motor, suppression of breathing phenomenon when the focus position changes, switching between linear/non-linear during MF, rotation angle during linear, in addition to high-speed, high-precision AF control to meet video shooting needs. can also be set. It also realizes smooth exposure control when brightness changes.
■SIRUI 50mm T2.9 1.6x
Release date: April 1, 2022
Suggested retail price: 220,000 yen including tax
SIRUI also released an anamorphic lens for full size. The first is the “50mm T2.9 1.6x”, and four of them, 35mm T2.9 1.6x, 75mm T2.9 1.6x, and 100mm T2.9 1.6x, are on sale. In this AWARD 2022, the standard lens 50mm T2.9 1.6x was nominated. The 50mm T2.9 1.6x has gears on the focus ring and aperture ring, allowing seamless adjustment with accessories such as follow focus and motor units. There is a 1/4-inch screw hole on the lens body, and a lens support can be attached. The 50mm lens with a squeeze factor of 1.6x is said to enable a horizontal angle of view of 31mm and natural background blur.
■SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
Release date: February 25, 2022
Suggested retail price: 97,900 yen excluding tax
The SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary is an ultra-wide-angle lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The I-series lineup features a lightweight and compact body with a high-quality metal exterior. The lens configuration uses three high-precision glass-molded aspherical lenses, one SLD glass, and one FLD glass to reduce aberrations. well suppressed. In addition to the design that takes flare and ghost into consideration, a super multi-layer coating and nanoporous coating (NPC) are used. Its excellent backlight resistance makes it suitable for any shooting scene.
■ Sony E PZ 10-20mm F4 G
Release date: June 24, 2022
Suggested retail price: Open, Sony official store price is 99,000 yen including tax
The E PZ 10-20mm F4 G is a wide-angle power zoom G lens that covers the entire zoom range with a focal length of 10-20mm (equivalent to 15-30mm in the 35mm format) with a maximum aperture of F4. Equipped with a power zoom mechanism, quiet control over a wide range of zoom speeds is possible. In addition, the inner zoom structure does not change the overall length of the lens when zooming, so there is little fluctuation in the center of gravity of the lens, and it is characterized by the realization of stable shooting even when using a gimbal.
■ Canon FLEX ZOOM LENS series
Release date and price:
CN-E20-50mm T2.4 LF/FP: Early June 2022: Estimated market price is 3.3 million yen including tax
CN-E45-135mm T2.4 LF/FP: Early September 2022 : Estimated market price is 3.3 million yen including tax
The FLEX ZOOM LENS series is a large aperture ratio zoom lens that inherits cinema-style operability. The 20-50mm wide-angle and 45-135mm telephoto lenses cover the focal length range of six Canon lenses. In addition, by supporting various communication functions, it supports efficient video production and can be used in a wide range of production sites such as movies, dramas, and TV commercials.
■ FUJIFILM XF18-120mmF4 LM PZ WR
Release date: September 29, 2022
Suggested retail price: 145,200 yen including tax
The XF18-120mmF4 LM PZ WR is a lens that covers the focal length of 18mm wide-angle to 120mm telephoto (equivalent to 27-183mm in the 35mm format). It achieves close-up photography with a maximum aperture of F4 and a maximum magnification of 0.2x over the entire focal length range. It also has excellent video characteristics, suppressing the fluctuation of the angle of view that occurs when focusing and the optical axis misalignment that occurs when zooming. Furthermore, in addition to the usual zoom and focus rings, it is equipped with a “zoom/focus control ring” that allows variable speed zoom or focus, and a “zoom button” that allows the zoom to be moved at a constant speed, providing comfortable video shooting. there is
■LAOWA 24mm T14 2x Macro Periprobe
Release date: September 2, 2022
Suggested retail price: Open, estimated market price is around 440,000 yen including tax
The LAOWA 24mm T14 2x Macro Periprobe is a full-frame macro lens that comes with two lens modules, a 0° direct view module and a 90° module, which can be replaced according to the shooting scene. While inheriting the functions of the LAOWA 24mm F14 2X Macro Probe, the 90° module enables a completely new periscope-like perspective in shooting. With a maximum shooting magnification of 2x, a wide angle of view of 85°, and a very close minimum focusing distance of 2 cm from the front of the lens, it is possible to create unique and powerful images that cannot be captured with other lenses.
■ZHONGYI OPTICS SPEEDMASTER CINEMA 50mm T1.0
Release date: December 8, 2022
Suggested retail price: 77,000 yen including tax
The SPEEDASTER CINEMA 50mm T1.0 is a cinema lens for Micro Four Thirds mount that achieves a T value of 1.0 at the maximum aperture position. By making good use of lens flares and ghosts that are unique to cinema lenses, you can enjoy expressions that are distinct from conventional lenses. The focal length is approximately 100mm in terms of 35mm version. The large aperture makes it suitable for shooting in dark environments such as concert halls and night scenes.
Below are the nominees for the lens category.
■PRONEWS AWARD 2022 Lens category finalist
- Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm/F1.7 ASPH.
- Panasonic LUMIX S 18mm F1.8
- SIRUI 50mm T2.9 1.6x
- SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
- Sony E PZ 10-20mm F4 G
- Canon FLEX ZOOM LENS series
- Fujifilm XF18-120mmF4 LM PZ WR
- LAOWA 24mm T14 2x Macro Periprobe
- ZHONGYI OPTICS SPEEDMASTER CINEMA 50mm T1.0
Who wins this year’s 2022 Lens Category Award……?
PRONEWS AWARD 2022 Lens Category Gold Award
Panasonic LEICA DG SUMMILUX 9mm/F1.7 ASPH.
Panasonic president Mr. Shinji Watanabe’s comments on receiving the award.
I am very honored to receive such a prestigious award. We take pride in being a pioneer in commercializing the world’s first mirrorless camera system, and this lens was developed through integrated production and sales to meet creators’ relentless pursuit of expression that is not bound by conventional ideas.
I am very happy with all the people involved.
Wide-angle photography has become more familiar to artists, as can be seen from the wide-angle of smartphone cameras in recent years.
In light of these trends, we have pursued development aimed at realizing a large-aperture, ultra-wide-angle lens essential for video creators in a compact size and light weight that can only be achieved with Micro Four Thirds.
However, the hurdle to commercialization was extremely high, as it was a novel lens that had never existed before. During development, in addition to the expression created by a large-aperture, ultra-wide-angle lens, the development team proposed the value of new expression by “getting close”, and modified the existing lens to preview various images and videos. As a result, it is possible to achieve bokeh that could not be achieved with conventional ultra-wide-angle lenses, such as “expressing subjects such as flowers and the scenery at the same time” and “shooting together with the atmosphere of the venue while standing close to the ring in the bridal scene”. We were able to bring this lens to the world by making new dynamic image expression possible, including the sense of depth and perspective.
This lens can be experienced at “LUMIX BASE TOKYO” in Aoyama, Tokyo, which is the transmission base of LUMIX.
We hope that more creators will use this lens, which has the diverse power of expression that only Micro Four Thirds can provide, and that it will help creators in their relentless pursuit of expression.
We will continue to realize product value that exceeds the expectations of creators and continue to support the shooting life.
PRONEWS AWARD 2022 Lens Category Silver Award
SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary
Ms. Akiko Adachi of the Domestic Sales and Marketing Department of Sigma Corporation’s comment on receiving the award.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved in receiving this prestigious award.
The SIGMA 20mm F1.4 DG DN | Art is based on the concept of “a 20mm F1.4 for full-frame mirrorless cameras that boasts uncompromising ‘starscape’ performance” and pursues ease of use targeting professional astrophotographers. Product.
As a feature, it is equipped with high optical performance that can withstand astrophotography, and three mechanisms (rear filter holder, MFL switch, and lens heater retainer) required for astrophotography.
In addition, a φ82mm front filter, which was not supported on the previous model, can be installed, and the weight has been reduced by about 35%, and the total length has been reduced by about 20%, making it lighter and more compact.
The 20mm focal length angle of view is also frequently used for cinema shooting, and we expect that this lens, which boasts overwhelming optical performance, will be used in many shooting scenes. Also, although the lens is designed for still photography, focus breathing is kept to a minimum.
The compact housing makes it easy to introduce even for one-operation shooting, and we believe that it will be widely used in cinema shooting in the future.
There are now 4 types (20/24/35/85mm) of the Art line F1.4 series dedicated to mirrorless cameras, making it a series that can be used for both still and cinema shooting.
Encouraged by the evaluation we received this time, we will continue to develop lenses that are easy to use even for cinema shooting and further expand our lineup.
