There’s a new massive glass by Canon. Two fast cinema zoom lenses for full-frame sensors: CN-E20-50mm T2.4 L F/FP, CN-E45-135mm T2.4 L F/FP, and a giant UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF (8.2 mm -1,000 mm) lens for 4K broadcasting. All details are below.
Let’s start with the Cine-zooms
Canon U.S.A. announced today the launch of a new series of lenses for the company’s EF Cinema Lens lineup — the Flex Zoom Lens series of lenses, which were developed to create cinema-style productions with greater workflow efficiency. The first lenses in the series are the CN-E20-50mm T2.4 L F/FP wide-angle zoom lens and the CN-E45-135mm T2.4 L F/FP telephoto zoom lens.
Covering the same range as Canon’s existing Cine-Primes
As Canon states: “Designed in the pursuit of cinematic beauty, the new large-aperture lenses feature both high-level optical design and performance while maintaining the style and ease-of-use of Canon’s EF Cinema lens series”. With the introduction of the zoom lenses featuring focal length ranges of 20-50mm for wide-angle and 45-135mm for telephoto, Canon now offers zoom lenses that cover the same range as its six existing prime (single focal length) lenses. Canon says that the versatility of these new lenses supports efficient production workflows for a wide range of scenarios, including film, TV programs, commercials, and much more.
Fast Cine-zooms for 8K imagery (T2.4 – 20-50mm and 45-135mm)
The lenses maintain a bright T2.4 aperture across their entire zoom ranges allowing for image capture in both natural light and darker environments. Furthermore, according to Canon, the new zooms were engineered with an optical configuration that creates the optimal placement of lens elements, including a large aperture aspherical lens and an anomalous dispersion glass lens, the CN-E20-50mm T2.4 L F/FP and the CN-E45-135mm T2.4 L F/FP lenses help reduce the potential for color smudging and chromatic aberrations. This enables them to maintain high optical performance from the center of the image to the periphery when paired with 8K cameras.
Metadata enabled
In addition to supporting EF-mount data transmission, the new lenses are also compatible with /i Technology from Cooke Optics. With this capability, recording metadata such as focus, zoom, aperture, and lens model can be transmitted via the lens mount for visualization on the camera itself. This additional information helps to contribute to more efficient workflows not only during on-location recording but also during post-production and editing.
Explore the table below with the Flex Zoom Lens specs (click on the table to enlarge).
Test footage and BTS
Here are two videos published by Canon Europe showing the capabilities and image quality of the lenses. Check them out below:
New Flagship AF Field 122x Zoom Lens for 4K Broadcast
Canon has also announced today the launch of the UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF, a new field zoom lens with autofocus for 2/3-inch sensor 4K broadcast cameras, featuring the world’s widest angle, longest focal length, and largest zoom. Along with the new lens, Canon will also release two new focus demand accessories – The Canon FDJ-S31 and FDJ-S41.
Built-in AF (AutoFocus)
The UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF is Canon’s new flagship field zoom lens for 4K broadcast cameras, and the company’s first 4K broadcast lens to include built-in AF. As stated by Canon: “With the addition of AF with superb high-speed and high-accuracy subject tracking, this new lens enables the capture of immersive, high-resolution video, thus meeting a wide range of needs at on-location 4K workspaces that demand extremely precise AF, such as sporting events, concerts and other indoor and outdoor events”.
Dedicated for 4K broadcasting
The DIGISUPER 100 AF (released in June 2006), Canon’s AF-enabled lens for HD broadcast cameras, garnered high praise from the broadcast market thanks to its high-performance phase-detect AF. Canon says that the new UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF carries this legacy into the next generation with support for a 4K video. The lens produces natural and smooth AF that can rapidly focus on subjects — even when initially far out of focus — as well as track fast-moving subjects while maintaining focus with high precision.
Zoom range: 8.2mm -1,000mm
Canon’s new UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF features a zoom range of 8.2 mm at the wide end and 1,000 mm at the telephoto end — a 122x zoom ratio, which is the world’s most powerful zoom range for AF-equipped field zoom lenses for 2/3-inch sensor 4K broadcast cameras. In addition, the lens employs a built-in 2x extender that allows users to increase the zoom range two-fold, featuring a 16.4 mm focal length at the wide-angle end and a 2,000 mm focal length at the telephoto end.
Focus demand accessories
Alongside the new lens, Canon will also release two new focus demand models for AF-equipped lenses used with HD or 4K broadcast cameras. The Canon FDJ-S31 and FDJ-S41 focus demand accessories enable focus control and provide a variety of powerful support capabilities, including the ability to switch between three sizes of AF frames, move the AF frame within the screen, AF mode switching, and three different focus curve modes.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon CN-E20-50mm T2.4 L F/FP wide-angle zoom lens and Canon CN-E45-135mm T2.4 L F/FP telephoto zoom lens are scheduled to be available in early June 2022 and early September 2022 for an estimated retail price of $22,000. We’ll update the Product List at the end of the article when these lenses will be available to preorder. The Canon UHD-DIGISUPER 122 AF lens and Canon FDJ-S31 and FDJ-S41 focus demand accessories are all scheduled to be available in early July 2022, however, there’s no info regarding the price yet.
Canon will showcase its latest digital imaging solutions and products, including the new field zoom lens and focus demand accessories, as well as the new Flex Zoom Lens series, at the NAB Show 2022 (Booth #C4432) in Las Vegas, April 24th-27th. We’re waiting for sample footage and updating the article accordantly. Stay tuned.
Product List
Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Canon CN-E 20-50mm T2.4 LF Cinema EOS Zoom Lens
- Canon CN-E 45-135mm T2.4 LF Cinema EOS Zoom Lens
