I stopped by the Redrock Micro booth where I was joined by Brian Valente to check out their latest products.

In this installment of our NAB 2017 coverage, I’m here with Patrick Santucci from Sigma to discuss some updates and new lenses in the Sigma Cine series.

I met with Seth Emmons from CW Sonderoptic (Leica’s affiliate company for cinema lenses) about their exciting, new large format Leica Thalia lenses. The Thalia’s are a line of high-end spherical cine primes with extra-large 60mm diameter image circles. This is more than enough to cover ARRI’s ALEXA 65 and virtually any other digital format in use today. This includes RED’s 8K VistaVision, full format stills (36mm x 24mm) and, of course, all 3- and 4-perf Super 35 digital sensors as well.

Today I met with Jean-Marc Bouchut to get the rundown on Angenieux’s new offerings showing at NAB 2017. Included is the compact and lightweight Optimo Style 48-130, available this fall, with a 44mm diameter image circle, T3 constant maximum aperture, and 3’1” close focus.

I had ZEISS’ Snehal Patel over for a lively discussion about the new Compact Prime 3 and Compact Prime 3 XD lenses from ZEISS. This exciting new series of professional cinema lenses feature smaller and lighter housings than their CP.2 predecessors, consistent 95mm front outer diameters, and an updated focusing mechanism for a consistently smooth feel, even in cold weather.

When Canon announced the Compact Servo 18-80mm T4.4 last year, it was also announced that it would be part of a family of lenses. Today, the Compact Servo 70-200mm T4.4 joins the ranks as the second lens of the series.

Fujinon recently released the native Sony E-mount MK 18-55mm cinema zoom as an “ultra-compact, and 2 lb, 2 oz lightweight design lens that meets the needs of Super35 and APS-C sensor cameras.” The lens features “outstanding optical performance and low distortion with T2.9 speed across the entire zoom range, as well as fully manual lens rings for focus, zoom, and iris.”

As a documentary cinematographer, I am constantly struggling to decide which lenses I want in my kit for any given project. The options over the years have ranged from minimal to overwhelming. In the beginning, I was mostly restricted to DSLR-style lenses to interface with my EF or Sony E-mount cameras.

Everyone has an idea for their great passion project, but it takes a certain level of commitment to turn that idea into reality. For director and DP Alexander Hankoff, his short film Yellow was something he knew he wanted to make and it was his (along with his team's) creativity that made it possible.