Header image for article At the Bench: An Inside Look at Zeiss Cinema Lenses

At the Bench: An Inside Look at Zeiss Cinema Lenses

by Andy Shipsides

on November 17, 2016

Tutorials & Guides

Lenses & Optical Accessories cz2 superspeed zeisscp2

Home|Blog & Knowledge|Tutorials & Guides|At the Bench: An Inside Look at Zeiss Cinema Lenses

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"?

In the video, we cover the wide range of Zeiss Cinema Lenses, which feature interchangeable shimmable mounts that allow them to work with just about every camera. We also demonstrate how to shim a lens and what that means. Zeiss cinema lenses also have full frame coverage, and we give a demonstration of what that means as well. Finally we discuss what make a lens a "super speed" lens and what that looks like.

Watch the video above to learn all about Zeiss Cinema Lenses or jump to a specific topic using the links below.

00:33 - What makes a lens a cinema lens?

07:29 - What does it mean to shim a lens?

09:43 - How to shim a lens

17:58 - Unique characteristics of Zeiss Super Speed lenses

22:48 - What does it mean for a lens to have full-frame coverage?

29:12 - Characteristics of Zeiss Compact Zoom lenses

Andy Shipsides

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