A lot has been said about the powerful film which is an ARRI/IMAX masterpiece: Avengers: Endgame. However, there is no much info regarding the lenses being used to shoot the movie. That’s because it’s an extraordinary piece of glass. Read below about the Ultra Panavision 70 lenses.
Panavision’s FB post has revealed the lens
The Avengers Endgame’s glass has been shown on Panavision’s FB post, as stated by Panavision:” From BEN HUR to THE HATEFUL EIGHT and ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, the Ultra Panavision 70 lens contributes its classic, soft, glamorous look to Marvel Studios’
This old glass has a unique and honorable history which has derived from the MGM Camera 65.
Ultra Panavision 70
The Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were, from 1957 to 1966, the marketing brands that identified motion pictures photographed with Panavision’s anamorphic movie camera lenses. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were shot at 24 frames per second using the Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65’s anamorphic lenses that compressed the image 1.25 times, resulting with an extensive aspect ratio of 2.76:1.
The Ultra Panavision lens is characterized by its soft, glamorous, classic-looking images
Ultra Panavision lens squeeze factor
The Ultra Panavision lenses squeeze the image with two different optical techniques: traditional front anamorphic element, or a distinctive pair of prisms that give the lens an unusual wedge shape. Besides, one of the lenses allows you to vary the squeeze from 1.25 to 1.50. There is an extremely educating article regarding the lens’ structure on American Cinematographer which you can read here. Quentin Tarantino used those lenses in his film, The Hateful Eight. Click on the BTS image below to explore the lens attached to the Panavision 70 camera:
Ultra Panavision 70 lens Characteristics
- Ultra wide 2.76:1 aspect ratio
- Anamorphic artifacts
- Flares
- Vertical defocus
- Elliptical bokeh
- Organic focus roll off
- Intrinsic edge-layering depth cues
- Updated with modern mechanics
- Soft, glamorous, classic-looking images
Those lenses are compatible with film and digital cameras fitted with a PV 65 mount.
Ultra Panavision 70 as a rare piece of glass
It’s important to mention that only a few films have been recorded digitally in conjunction with Ultra Panavision 70 lenses: Rogue One (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) with the Arri Alexa 65 camera and The Hate U Give (2018) with the Panavision Millennium DXL camera.
Ultra Panavision 70 lenses on ARRI/IMAX camera
The two Avengers movies (Infinity War and Endgame) were the first features that were shot entirely with IMAX digital cameras, which is a joint customized camera combination of IMAX and ARRI’s 2D large format camera, the Alexa 65. IMAX digitally processed the footage and released in a 1.90:1 aspect ratio exclusively in IMAX theaters. Director Joe Russo said that because many of the characters are tall, the “IMAX aspect ratio works for those types of characters,” and also for the exotic landscapes shots which are stunning.
Click on the image below to explore the very unique combination of the ARRI/IMAX plus the Ultra Panavision 70 lens used on the of Avengers:Endgame:
Director Joe Russo said that because many of the characters are tall, the “IMAX aspect ratio works for those types of characters,” and also for the exotic landscapes shots which are stunning
Click on the images below to explore the Ultra Panavision 70 lens used on the set of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY:
Check out the video below which you can explore a bit on the making of Avengers: Endgame. You can see for a second the Ultra Panavision 70 lens on the ARRI/IMAX camera:
Final thoughts
This is just a magnificent combination between an old respected piece of glass and a state of the art cinematography technology of ARRI and IMAX. Pairing those powerful cameras with an ultra expensive historic lens is a genius idea (and execution) and that’s what filmmaking is all about.
What do you think? Comment below!
Please reply!
So, Avengers Endgame was shot on 2.76:1 but how they presented it in 1.90:1 IMAX? Did IMAX horizontally crop the image from 2.76:1 to 1.90:1?
I hope this will answer your question- look at the comparison video: https://ymcinema.com/2019/03/04/avengers-endgame-trailer-as-a-reference-for-imax-comparison/
I was fascinated by the merging of the Auto-Panatar lenses to modern digital cameras when I heard that Greig Fraser did it for Star Wars Rogue One. I had been wondering who used the lenses next but never researched it. Imagine my surprise when I came across your article! I’m amazed that I’ve seen both Avengers movies and never knew they were filmed with the classic glass. If you know who is using the lenses next, let me know. Great article. Thank you!
Hi Terry and thx for commenting.
I’m not familiar with other movies shot on this lens. Anyway, you might find this interesting. Have a look: https://ymcinema.com/2019/12/11/pre-oscar-lenses-chart-arri-cooke-angenieux-and-a-lot-of-panavision/
Stay safe!