Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1357405
CAMERAS & LENSES www.postmagazine.com 24 POST MAR/APR 2021 For those wishing to compare the performance of the various Cooke lens families, the website www.shotoncooke.com is a curated motion gallery where invited cinematographers upload the best examples of their work, with notes on why they chose a specific lens type. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar captured with Sony's Venice & Cooke lenses DP Toby Oliver, ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society), and director Josh Greenbaum selected Cooke Optics' (www.cookeoptics.com) Anamorphic/i Standard and Special Flair (SF) prime and zoom lenses to tell the story of friends Barb and Star, who leave their small Midwestern town for the first time to go on vacation in Vista Del Mar, FL, where they find themselves tangled up in adventure, love and an evil plot. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar was written by its two leads, Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig. Lionsgate specified that the production's image quality and resolution meet Netflix's 4K requirements. "That decision meant that we couldn't use a regular Arri Alexa camera that only goes up to 3424x2202 resolution," Oliver explains. "So, we had to find a 4K camera. We eventually decided to use Sony's Venice camera, loaded with the latest firmware update, so that we would have the most available features enabled. When it came time to selecting the lenses for the project, Josh made it very clear from the beginning that he wanted to shoot in anamorphic 2.39 to capture the vistas in the film." Oliver is a regular user of Cooke lenses and owns a set of Cooke S4/is. "At the time, about 12 years ago or so, it was the premium 35mm format lens for me," explains the DP. "I used them on several projects in Australia; I loved the look and still do." Since then, Oliver has also used Cooke Anamorphic/is, rehoused original Speed Panchros, as well as Cooke's S7/i Full Frame Plus lenses on all ten epi- sodes of Dead to Me (Season 2). "I tested different lenses to show Josh," Oliver explains. "They were all ana- morphic lenses, but I didn't tell him what manufacturer's lenses he was looking at. We just kept going back to the Cookes." For his kit, Oliver had the Cooke Anamorphic/i primes in 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm Macro, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, and 180mm focal lengths for the SF coated lenses. In addition, he also had the Anamorphic/i 35-140mm 4x zoom. "With the Cooke lenses, I had a consistent look throughout the entire proj- ect," says Oliver. The 'Cooke Look' is a number of things, some more tangible than others. What I really like about Cooke lenses is that they are not overly harsh. They give you ways to take the digital edge off the cameras, which are so sharp in higher resolutions — sometimes being too digital looking is somewhat unflattering. That's a concern of DPs worldwide. Cookes are sharp, but with a certain gentleness and are more flattering than other modern lenses…but it's not a vintage kind of look. It's sort of how they are made. They're infused with a hand-made quality that extends to the image as well." Red's Komodo shoots 6K in compact form factor Red Digital Cinema (red.com) recently introduced the Komodo 6K camera — one of the smallest cinematic cameras to date equipped with a global shutter sensor that allows for capture of fast-moving action without the typical arti- facts, object warping or strange patterns that plague many current traditional cinema cameras. Komodo is packaged into a small, four-cubic-inch form factor that weighs just 2.1 pounds, and is capable of capturing 6K at 40fps, 6K WS at 50fps and 4K at 60fps. Prior to Komodo, cinema cameras have used rolling shutter sensors because global shutters came at the expense of dynamic range. Red engineers put considerable time into resolving that limitation. The Komodo's global shut- ter captures geometry much more accurately for fast-moving images, since rolling shutters, as the name suggests, roll capture through the sensor usu- ally from top to bottom, line by line. The difference in time between the top row and bottom row happens at different narrow moments in time, causing objects to appear distorted. In the past, some studios limited the use of specialty cameras because of added difficulties to the workflow. But Komodo comes with an RF mount for content creators to leverage adaptors for a wide range of lens systems, including anamorphic. It also uses inexpensive, readily available memory cards, and comes with wireless capabilities, a phase detect based autofocus, an integrated LED touchscreen display, and hot swappable battery connectors for long-lasting power. While Komodo ($5,995) was conceived as a utility camera, the cam- era has quickly moved into many A-camera positions. It has been used on a number of new and upcoming films and shows, including The Matrix 4, Magnum PI (Season 3), Outer Banks (Season 2), Red Notice, Songbird, Let Them All Talk and Prehistoric Planet. Sony adds to G Master lens series Sony Electronics (sony.com) re- cently unveiled the newest addi- tion to its G Master full-frame lens series — the FE 50mm F1.2 GM (model SEL50F12GM). The lens delivers the high level of resolu- tion and dramatic bokeh known to Sony's G Master line, leading autofocus capabilities and profes- sional control and reliability in a compact and lightweight design. The lens's maximum F1.2 aperture combines a shallow depth of field, for maximum creative expression, with high light gathering capabilities, allowing for fast shutter speeds and low ISO in low-light settings. Priced at $2,000 and avail- able in May, the FE 50mm F1.2 GM features the latest optics, including three XA (extreme aspherical) lens elements that contribute to high resolution across the entire image. The new lens also ensures clear images in backlit scenes thanks to Sony's Nano AR Coating II, which effectively minimizes internal reflections so that flare and ghosting do not occur.