Thales Angenieux, in collaboration with Band Pro Film & Digital Inc., and Jebsen Industrial Technology Co. Ltd., announces at IBC 2016 a new range of zoom lenses – the Angénieux Type EZ Series – two fast and light weight zoom lenses integrating an innovative modular design (Interchangeable Rear Optics IRO technology™) to cover S35 mm and larger image formats for cine and broadcast productions.
   

Designed for both Super 35mm digital motion picture cameras, and FF/VistaVision cameras, the new Angenieux Type EZ series has been created to fill the wide gap between still photography zooms, and the highly acclaimed OPTIMO / OPTIMO STYLE family of lenses used in the motion picture industry. For the first time, ENG-style productions will get the flexibility necessary for run-and-gun shooting, combined with high optical quality at an affordable price.

The Angenieux Type EZ Series features two new fast and light weight zooms, both lenses allow the rear lens group to be exchanged between S35mm (up to 30mm image diagonal), and FF/ VistaVision formats (up to 46mm image diagonal).

The Angenieux Type EZ-1 is a standard zoom lens with a zoom factor of 3x. When configured for S35mm cameras, the focal range and aperture are set to 30-90mm F1.9 / T2. By exchanging the rear lens group, the lens becomes a 45-135mm F2.8 / T3 covering an image circle up to 46mm diagonal.

The Angenieux Type EZ-2 is a wide zoom lens with a zoom factor of 2.7x. When configured for S35mm cameras, the focal range and aperture are set to 15-40mm F1.9 / T2. Byexchanging the rear lens group, the lens becomes a 22-60mm F2.8 / T3 covering an image circle up to 46mm diagonal.

Both lenses are built in a full metal casing, with internal thermal drift compensation, which allows focus to remain constant when the temperature changes. Focus / Zoom / T-stop can be controlled precisely due to the wide rotation angle of the 3 control rings, which are also equipped with cinema industry standard gear teeth. The lens size remains consistent across the zoom range due to the internal focusing & zooming mechanism. Users can easily configure these lenses to support different imaging formats (S35 or FF/VistaVision), and different lens mounts (PL, EF, or E) on their own, without returning their lenses to service centers.

The Type EZ series will address the requirements of independent videographers and cinematographers, who are seeking for cost efficient tools that enable cinematic expressions. The exceptionally fast T2 lens opening provides tremendous control of depth of field, only previously found in prime lenses. Thanks to the Angenieux innovative system, the ability to convert lens mounts, and the image circle size makes the Type EZ lens series a solid investment to all industry professionals.

“Being the worldwide leader in premium quality cinematography zoom lenses, it’s critically important for Angenieux to address the ever-growing, affordable digital motion picture camera market.”, noted Pierre ANDURAND, CEO of Thales Angenieux. “The challenge is to provide a cost efficient, professional quality lens that can be used on both current S35 cameras, and future cameras built around larger imaging sensors”.

“Type EZ lenses are one of the fastest zooms in the industry with an open aperture of F1.9 or T2. When converting the image circle between S35 & VistaVision, the field of view remains fairly identical, so there are no crop factors to worry about. The wide zoom can be used as a wide zoom regardless of the image circle size.” says Christophe REMONTET, Thales Angenieux Product Line Manager.

Deliveries are expected to start from the 1st quarter of 2017 through selected distribution partners.