Zeiss announces new CP.3 and CP.3 XD Cine lens family
Zeiss has launched the update to its popular CP.2 lens line up by announcing the new CP.3 and CP.3 XD family of lenses. The CP.3 XD lineup of lenses has metadata.
These CP.3 and CP.3 XD lens versions expectedly covers the 35mm full frame sensor and aims to create a premium quality and future-proof lens set which is affordable. The Zeiss CP.3 and CP.3 XD lenses come with interchangeable mounts and are available in EF, PL, E, F and MFT mounts.
The ten compact prime lenses of the ZEISS CP.3 cine lens family are available with or without metadata.
These are also more compact than the previous CP.2 version. These lenses have standardized positioning of the focus rings and all of them have a consistent 95 mm front diameter.
Zeiss claims extraordinarily smooth focus rotation even in extreme temperature conditions due to a new, sophisticated construction design.
The T stops in the lenses are T2.9 for 15 to 21 mm, and T2.1 for 25 to 135mm. This helps in sets as one can then light for a particular T stop.
According to Zeiss “CP.3 XD version features innovative and ground-breaking lens data technology to speed-up and simplify the workflow on set and in post-production.
The ZEISS eXtended Data is a unique technology which is based on the Technology and provides information about the lens’ distortion and shading characteristics in real time. With the ZEISS CP.3 XD lenses, even small productions on a limited budget gain access to the advanced techniques common in state-of-the-art, big budget films, commercials and television shows.”
The Zeiss CP.3 and CP.3 XD lenses have ten focal lengths from a wide 15 mm to intermediate focal length of 135 mm. “The ZEISS CP.3 lenses feature advanced lens coatings, painted lens rims and special light traps within the barrel to eliminate unwelcome veiling glare and flares. The result is higher contrast, richer blacks and more saturated colors, Clean and crisp ZEISS look which matches perfectly with other ZEISS cinema lenses. The set has colour matching and has special lens coatings that support high-dynamic range projects.”
New ZEISS eXtended Data technology
According to ZEISS the eXtended Data unifies two data sets: key lens data based on the open /i Technology standard which is supported by a wide range of cameras and accessories, plus ZEISS specific lens data that contains precise lens characteristics.
This technology provides information about the distortion of the lens and the shading characteristics in real time which helps in speeding up the workflow on set and in post-production.
The lens settings are digitally captured on every frame. This avoids the need to manually record the lens settings for every shot. Since the lens characteristics are recorded for every frame it becomes easy during post-processing of complex moves.
The CP.3 lenses are priced lower than the CP.3 XD lenses. Pricing Information of the CP.3 and CP.3 XD family of lenses and their availability is provided in the press release below.
PRESS RELEASE
New ZEISS CP.3 XD Cine Lens Family: “Hollywood Technology for Everyone”
The ten compact prime lenses provide metadata and enable the correction of distortion and shading. For the first time, even low-budget productions can employ visual effects.
OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 24/04/2017.
No matter if it is Star Wars, Harry Potter or Avatar: these days, just about every film features special effects. For many small film productions, having visual effects in their movie would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, making the image fit the look of the footage has required expensive tools – until now. At the NAB Show in Las Vegas, ZEISS presented new metadata technology that makes this possible: the company has equipped its new ZEISS CP.3 XD compact lens family with ZEISS eXtended Data.
ZEISS eXtended Data supports and enhances /i-Technology
What exactly is this? “ZEISS eXtended Data is the first metadata technology which stores the lens distortion and shading – for every single frame,” explains Christophe Casenave, Product Manager at ZEISS. “Moreover, all /i-Technology metadata are recorded, including the focus distance, aperture value and depth of field, which is supported by most cameras.” This makes the technology ideal for working with visual effects: by using the metadata, it just takes a few clicks to modify the image generated on the computer to fit the lens characteristics, and to then splice it together with the footage to create a realistic image. Distortion and shading can be corrected or even amplified in post-production.
“It used to be that only big blockbusters could take this approach,” says Casenave. “Cine lenses that provide metadata are relatively expensive and, up until now, distortion and shading had to be manually measured – a time-consuming and expensive process.” However, since ZEISS has incorporated the technology into its compact CP.3 XD cine lens family, low-budget productions can now take the same approach to creating their own special effects. “With ZEISS eXtended Data, we are offering Hollywood technology for everyone, providing small film teams with new creative opportunities.”
An end-to-end solution: cooperation with Ambient and Pomfort
With the ZEISS CP.3 XD, ZEISS not only offers the lenses with metadata, but has also given thought to storage and processing. It has teamed up with partners in the industry: the company Ambient has developed the MasterLockit Plus system together with ZEISS. It records all metadata along with a time code in case the technology is not supported by the camera. “This way truly everyone can work with ZEISS eXtended Data, no matter what equipment they use,” says Casenave.
Thanks to the cooperation with the software developer Pomfort, distortion and shading can be modified on the set in real-time using the Pomfort tool LiveGrade Pro. The film crew already gets a sense of what the final look will be during the shoot. The film clips and lens data can be consolidated and organized with Silverstack, Pomfort’s file manager.
ZEISS plans to further expand the new metadata technology in the future. “Our customers will then be able to upgrade to the new version, making the CP.3 XD a long-term investment,” says Casenave.
Compact and light-weight
In addition to the metadata, filmmakers have even more reasons to get excited about the new lens family: the ten prime lenses between 15 and 135 millimeters cover full-frame. As is typical for ZEISS, the image has a clean, crisp look, and ZEISS says the image quality is excellent. “These lenses deliver outstanding results, even in light situations with a large dynamic range, i.e. highlights and shadows within the same scene,” says Casenave. The maximum speed of the seven focal lengths between 25 and 135 millimeters is T2.1, the 15, 18 and 21 millimeter lenses have a speed of T2.9. With a front diameter of 95 millimeters, the lenses are light-weight and compact. They are particularly well-suited for hand-held filming or shooting with gimbals, Steadicam or drones. ZEISS has also improved focusing: the manual focus is now noticeably smoother. According to ZEISS, it is comparable with the ZEISS Master Primes and can also be operated with a small motor. The focus rotation angle is 300°. The lenses are equipped with an interchangeable mount so that they can be used on almost any camera. In addition to the ZEISS CP.3 XD, there is also a version available without metadata: the ZEISS CP.3.
Price and Availability
Initially, a limited number of ZEISS CP.3 XD and CP.3 lenses will be available at dealers.
ZEISS CP.3 XD
| Focal length | Recommended retail price (EUR/USD) | Available from |
| 15mm/T2.9 XD | 6,400 Euro / 7,490 USD | September |
| 18mm/T2.9 XD | 5,800 Euro / 6,690 USD | September |
| 21mm/T2.9 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | September |
| 25mm/T2,1 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | September |
| 28mm/T2.1 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | October |
| 35mm/T2.1 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | September |
| 50mm/T2.1 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | September |
| 85mm/T2.1 XD | 5,000 Euro / 5,790 USD | September |
| 100mm/T2.1 XD | 5,800 Euro / 6,690 USD | September |
| 135mm/T2.1 XD | 6,400 Euro / 7,490 USD | September |
ZEISS CP.3
| Focal length | Price (EUR/USD) | Available from |
| 15mm/T2.9 | 4,900 Euro / 6,090 USD | September |
| 18mm/T2.9 | 4,300 Euro / 5,290 USD | July |
| 21mm/T2.9 | 3,500 Euro / 4,390 USD | June |
| 25mm/T2.1 | 3,500 Euro / 4,390 USD | June |
| 28mm/T2.1 | 3,500 Euro / 4,390 USD | October |
| 35mm/T2.1 | 3,500 Euro / 4,390 USD | June |
| 50mm/T2.1 | 3,500 Euro / 4,390 USD | June |
| 85mm/T2.1 | 3.500 Euro / 4.390 USD | June |
| 100mm/T2.1 | 4,300 Euro / 5,290 USD | September |
| 135mm/T2.1 | 4,900 Euro / 6,090 USD | September |
B&H link for Zeiss CP.3 and Cp.3 XD lenses:
Sabyasachi is available for Hire as a DP for shoots any where in India.
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