ZEISS Supreme Zoom Radiance offer cinematographers flexibility, consistency and controlled flares, allowing them to add texture and atmosphere to their cinematic creations.
ZEISS Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses are one-of-a-kind modern cine zooms with unique character. A set of three purpose-built T2.9 high-end cine zooms – 15-30mm, 28-80mm and 70-200mm, which let cinematographers create their distinct look with beautiful, consistent, and controlled flares and a pleasing cinematic image character, defined by a smooth focus fall-off and a beautiful bokeh.
“With the new Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses, we offer the only modern cine zoom family with a very characteristic look that not only matches the look of ZEISS Supreme Prime Radiance but is also well suited to be used with other prime sets such as regular Supreme Primes to add nice flares and thus provide more creative versatility on set,” says Christophe Casenave, head of business unit cinematography at ZEISS.
Beautiful and controlled Flares
Like the Supreme Prime Radiance line, the Radiance Zooms can add texture and atmosphere to visuals via their unique ability to control flare. “Flares can elevate the emotional depth of a scene, but they must be plannable and consistent to ensure the desired effect,” Casenave explains.
The Supreme Zoom Radiance’s T* blue coating enables predictable artistic optical flares in a controlled and reproducible way when aiming focused light down the lens barrel.
Pleasing and versatile image character
True to the ZEISS Supreme lens philosophy, the Radiance Zooms deliver a versatile and aesthetically pleasing image character. Thanks to their gentle sharpness combined with an aesthetic focus fall-off, a very shallow depth of field and elegant bokeh, the lenses offer exceptional shooting versatility. That’s why they also mix well with other regular prime lens sets like Supreme Primes to selectively add some stronger character when needed.
Consistent high-end ergonomics
Engineered with professional workflows in mind, the Supreme Zoom Radiance feature consistent and standardized positions for iris, focus, and zoom rings, along with a front diameter of 114mm, ensuring easy interchangeability between Supreme Prime and Zoom lenses. This uniformity streamlines the on-set experience, reducing time spent on adjustments and increasing overall efficiency during production.
Warmer colours
The T* blue coating not only facilitates the iconic blue flares but also provides a warmer colour rendition compared to standard coated lenses. This warmer tone adds vitality and contrast to the overall frame, helping to create a more vibrant feel.
Full lens data support
Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses are equipped with the ZEISS eXtended Data technology, providing frame-by-frame data on lens vignetting and distortion in addition to the standard metadata provided using the Cooke /i technology protocol. This simplifies and speeds up workflows, particularly for VFX and virtual production.
Furthermore, the lenses are integrated into the ZEISS CinCraft ecosystem and available through the ZEISS Supreme Lenses Virtual Lens Package (VLP) that comes free of charge with the CinCraft Scenario camera tracking system and allows for skipping the laborious lens calibration process, when shooting with the Radiance Zooms.
Cinematographer Markus Förderer ASC BVK summarised his experience using the new Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses for his short My View: “I think ZEISS came up with something very unique: Full Frame zooms with character and lens data. […] With the nice blue flares, you get a colour contrast. Even if you don’t see the flare, it creates a warm-cool contrast. The skin tones feel slightly warmer, and the shadows get richer. […] These are good zoom lenses for features, commercials and anywhere you would want character and high quality. They’re very pleasing. The micro contrast gives you beautiful skin tones. The bokeh is beautiful.”
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This article was sponsored by ZEISS.
