ARRI Signature Zoom: Picture- ARRI
ARRI Signature Zoom: Picture- ARRI

ARRI Announces the Signature Zooms: “The Largest Zoom Range in the Industry”

2020-09-23
3 mins read

ARRI has just announced the complementary zooms to its award-wining Signature Primes. Meet the new Signature Zoom family which is dedicated to Super 35 and full-frame imagery and defined by ARRI as “The Largest Zoom Range in the Industry”.

The ARRI Signature Zoom family
The ARRI Signature Zoom family

ARRI Signature Zooms

ARRI Signature Zooms were developed to match the natural skin tones, smooth focus fall-off, and timeless look of the Signature Primes. Indeed, any Signature Zoom includes many characteristics of the Signature Primes. This new family contains four Signature Zoom lenses, plus an extender to cover a focal length range of 16-510 mm which is “the widest on the market”. Furthermore, ARRI claims to a consistent look and fell over the entire zoom range. 

Signature Zoom lens
Signature Zoom lens

The Largest Zoom Range in the Industry

ARRI

Multi-format lenses: From Super 35 to Full-Frame

According to ARRI, the Signature Zoom was designed to match Super 35 as well. These are multi-format lenses and not just dedicated for full-frame, and they were planned to perform very well on cameras with both small and large pixel pitches. ARRI says that the Signature Zooms are basically distortion-free, to a degree only possible with prime lenses. However, the Signature Zoom will show more distortion by comparison (to the Signature Primes), but considerably less than one might see in other zooms. As for focus breathing, the Signature Zooms do show some of this at longer focal lengths, where it is less noticeable to the eye. At the wide end, where backgrounds tend to be sharper and focus breathing is more obvious, they show no visible breathing.

For examination of image quality, check out the ARRI Signature Zoom Showreel “Be my sisters” below:

“New look for digital cinema”

The Signature Primes are characterized by an advanced and unique optical design and the use of machined magnesium in their housings contributes to reducing their weight. ARRI emphasizes that the Signature Zooms were built from scratch to fulfill ARRIs standards for look and feel. Furthermore, ARRI adds that the Signature Zoom manufacturing partner produces high-precision optics for a number of other industries, and has never made a cinema lens before. This made them receptive to crafting a lens with a radical new look for digital cinema, as they had no preconceived notions regarding what a cinema lens should look like.

Have a look at the ARRI Signature Lenses – Primes and Zooms Configuration Overview document below:

[pdf-embedder url=”https://ymcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/3.1.0-ARRI-Signature-Primes-Zooms.pdf” title=”ARRI Signature Lenses – Primes and Zooms Configuration Overview”]

ARRI Signature Zoom highlights

16-32 mm

  • Minimal distortion
  • Exceptional sharpness
  • Length: 21.2 cm
  • T-stop: 2.8
  • Front diameter: 156 mm
  • Weight: 3.8 Kg
  • Close focus: 19.4 cm
  • Price: $69,965
ARRI Signature Zooms 16-32 mm
ARRI Signature Zooms 16-32 mm

24-75 mm

  • Lightweight and versatile
  • Length: 24.4 cm
  • T-stop: 2.8
  • Front diameter: 114 mm
  • Weight: 4.1 Kg
  • Close focus: 41 cm
  • Price: $49,940
ARRI Signature Zooms 24-75 mm
ARRI Signature Zooms 24-75 mm

45-135 mm

  • Compact, lightweight, and well-balanced for handheld and stabilizer systems
  • Length: 30 cm
  • T-stop: 2.8
  • Front diameter: 114 mm
  • Weight: 3.7 Kg
  • Close focus: 65.6 cm
  • Price: $49,940
ARRI Signature Zooms 45-135 mm
ARRI Signature Zooms 45-135 mm

65-300 mm

  • No ramping all the way to 300 mm
  • Integrated handle
  • Length: 42 cm
  • T-stop: 2.8
  • Front diameter: 156 mm
  • Weight: 8.1 Kg
  • Close focus: 133 cm
  • Price: $74,975
ARRI Signature Zooms 65-300 mm
ARRI Signature Zooms 65-300 mm

Signature Zoom extender 1.7X

The ARRI Signature Zoom 1.7x Extender is a high-performance optical device that is optimized for the Signature Zoom 65-300/T2.8 and Signature Prime 280/T2.8. It delivers its best optical performance with just those (and only!) two lenses. The extender turns the 65-300 mm T2.8 into a 110-510 mm T4.9 and the 280 mm T2.8 into a 480 mm T4.9. Learn more about the extender in the ARRI Tech Talk session below:

Final thoughts

The invention of the Signature Zooms was pretty much expected. Those zooms were designed to complement the Signature Primes and to allow filmmakers to get the same clean and esthetic imagery but with broader focal lengths. The price of the Signature Zooms starts at $50,000 and goes up to $75,000 per lens which means it’s a relatively high price point, and thus, we expect to see these glass stars mainly in high-end productions that can afford them.

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.
Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Canon ME20F-SH as a recipient of the 2020 Technology & Engineering Emmy
Previous Story

The Canon Super Sensitive ME20F-SH Multi-Purpose Camera Gets Emmy

EOS C70: Hybridization between R5 and C300 Mark III
Next Story

Canon Introduces the EOS C70: Hybridization Between R5 and C300 Mark III

Latest from News

Sora: The Digital Equivalent of Junk Food

Sora: The Digital Equivalent of Junk Food

The big news in the world of AI is that Sora, the much-hyped generative AI platform, is now accessible to the public. Promising to revolutionize video production, Sora has been marketed as…
Go toTop

Don't Miss

The Best Digital Cinema Cameras for 2024

The Best Digital Cinema Cameras for 2024

In the ever-evolving landscape of filmmaking, the tools we use shape the stories we tell. Digital cinema cameras have become the cornerstone of…
ARRI ALEXA 265: FAQ & Sample Footage and Concept

ARRI ALEXA 265: FAQ, Sample Footage and Concept

Introduction The ARRI ALEXA 265 marks a groundbreaking addition to the world of high-end cinematography. Featuring a compact structure armed with state of…