Ultra 16
Five super fast Zeiss wide angle primes for Super 16
ARRI and Zeiss are announcing the development of a new line of prime lenses for the Super 16mm film format, the Ultra 16 lenses.
Recent improvements in film stock performance and changing needs in post production, as well as advancing CGI work, suggest that cinematographers will welcome these new lenses, which are of higher performance in color fidelity, contrast, even illumination, control of flare and ghosting, sharpness and detail rendition, distortion and color fringing control.
The Ultra 16 lenses consist of five prime lenses with focal lengths of 6mm, 8mm, 9.5mm, 12mm, and 14mm; all cover the full Super 16mm format and their barrels are fully compatible with the optical quality and ergonomics of the Zeiss/ARRI Ultra Prime lenses.
These short focal length primes can be easily mixed with longer focal lengths of the 35mm Ultra Primes. The Ultra Primes, of course, cover the full Super 35mm aperture and offer a choice of 16 lenses from an 8mm T2.6 to a 180mm T1.9. The speed of the new "Ultra 16" is a super fast T1.3, which facilitates shooting on tight lighting budgets or under a lot of time pressure, especially common in TV drama production. In addition, T1.3 allows for the creation of a shallow depth of field, a look that is inherent in the Super 35 format, and often sought after in other formats. The T1.3 is one of the outstanding features of these new lenses, hardly matched by any other cine lens manufacturer.
Although the Ultra 16 and 35mm Ultra Primes have exactly the same lens rings for full mechanical compatibility, the lens scales are distinctly color coded in order to avoid confusing the different lens types. The "Ultra 16" will come with yellow scales for focus and aperture, while the Ultra Primes traditionally have white scales. The "Ultra 16 lenses" also come with a blue ring next to the PL-mount, while the Ultra Prime barrel is completely black. Both details should prevent confusing the two lens types accidentally, be it on or off camera.
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