Lens testing is like learning – it never stops! Keeping up with the latest technology can be a daunting task, but one that’s important in our field. Back in 2017, I did a Behind the Lens series looking at a wide range of documentary zooms to see how they can achieve specific needs for a project. The options for cinema glass have certainly grown since then, so I decided to add a few more lenses to the list.

Since we recently wrapped our Behind The Lens series, where we took a closer look at 11 documentary zoom lenses, we thought it would be appropriate to take some time to step back and reflect on what we learned.

The Canon Compact-Servo 18-80mm T4.4 lens is the newest release in Canon’s extensive lens lineup. The lens was designed to bridge the gap between their EF still zooms and their cinema zooms, blending features from both form factors. This lens fills an important space for documentary cinematographers looking for a small, inexpensive lens with high functionality on a wide range of shoots. The zoom range of the lens is great for all-around verite shooting, covering the most-used standard focal lengths.

Fujinon recently released the Cabrio 20-120, an economical version of their popular Cabrio Compact Lenses. Despite being smaller and lighter, the 20-120 is still a member of the elite “Premier” series of Fujinon lenses, offering exceptional optical performance across the board.

The Canon Cine-Servo 17-120mm made some waves when it was released in 2014. Finally, we had an ENG-style servo lens with a long zoom range for Super 35 sensors shooting in high resolutions. This made a lot of people happy in the documentary and TV world, eliminating the need to carry multiple lenses and bringing us back to broadcast camera / lens design. Let’s take a deeper look at this lens.

The Sony E PZ 18-110 is a native Sony-E mount lens for Super35 / APS-C sensors designed for cinematographers needing the sharpness and color of a professional 4K lens, while still retaining the electronic characteristics familiar with traditional fixed lens video cameras.

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm and Canon EF-L 24-105mm lenses have been a staple in documentary film productions since the advent of DSLR cameras for video. They are compact and light lenses that cover a great range and pack easily into small configurations.

Fujinon released the Cabrio Compact lens series back in 2012 as a lightweight option to their impressive Premier line of cinema lenses. The Cabrio line includes the 14-35mm, 19-90mm, 20-120mm, 25-300mm and 85-300mm. Despite being smaller and lighter, they are still members of the elite “Premier” series of Fujinon lenses, offering exceptional optical performance across the board. Let’s take a closer look at the Fujinon Cabrio 19-90.

Zeiss has had a line of reasonably priced cinema zooms for a few years now, but the introduction of the Zeiss LWZ.3 21-100mm takes things up a notch. The 21-100 covers a much longer focal length range than any of their other lenses, and is more than a pound lighter than its predecessors.