Lenses

There were more HD-quality lenses for 2/3in. cameras, and they goteven better than before, with "cine-style" design-optimized maximumaperture, T-stops instead of f-stops, cam-driven internal focusing,large engravings, uniform size and shape-making greater inroads.

Venerable Cooke introduced its first zoom for 2/3in., theSeries 4 HD 8-46mm, T 1.7, featuring a robust yet finely calibratedback-focus adjustment.

Thales Angenieux premiered its Optimo 12x9.7 HD (9.7-166mm)at T 1.6. In truth, it's a 2/3in. version of its Optimo 24-290mm for35mm.

Fujinon introduced new Cine Super E Series zooms for2/3-inch, the HAe3x5 (5-15mm), T 1.6, and HAe10x10 (10-100mm), T 1.8,plus several new primes. The primes cover 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 34mm, and40mm, all at T 1.5, while there's a 54mm prime at T 1.6. One nicetouch: All Fujinon Cine Super E Series lenses provide a lens dataread-out on a Pocket PC when used with an optional encoder.

Zeiss announced two additions to its DigiPrime line: the 28mmand 70mm are both T 1.6. With a close focus of 13in., the 70mm almostqualifies as a macro.

From left field-well, it can see detail that far away-Canonintroduced the world's first triple-digit zoom, the XJ100x9.3 IE-D(9.3-930mm) a.k.a. "DIGISUPER 100X." Leveraging Canon's leadership inlens image stabilizer technology, this big broadcast-style box lensproduces awesome close-ups at great distances.

To collimate (i.e., ensure precise back-focus) of 2/3in. HD lenses,two new tube-shaped collimators with illuminated Siemens Star patternshave joined Zeiss' pioneering Sharp Max, introduced at NAB last year.This year Century Optics and Fujinon introduced similardevices. The Century HD Collimator (designed at the suggestion ofClairmont Camera), for one, takes its illumination from a small Magliteflashlight. Clever.

What about a decade's worth of existing 35mm motion picture lenses?P+S Technik of Munich introduced the Pro35 Digital ImageConverter, a big brother to the Mini35 Digital Adapter that adapts 35mmlenses to Canon's XL-1. The Pro35 Digital Image Converter accepts anyPL-mount lens and causes it to form an image on the converter'sinternal ground glass, which oscillates to blur its own grainy surface.The image from the PL-mount lens is then relayed to a 2/3in. video orHD camera. The result? The 35mm depth-of-field and angle-of-view areperfectly reproduced.