Fujinon UA70x8.7BE
As houses of worship get larger and larger the need for bigger glass continues. Let's face it, chances are you are not going to be able to take up prime seating real estate with camera platforms no matter how much you think you need them. The need to pack chairs in is going to win over the need for good camera locations. As result, your cameras are likely to be relegated to the back of the room and far from the stage and, as a result, out of the best shooting locations. The good news is that if you have the budget for some big-time glass, that isn't nearly as terrible as it sounds. Take, for example, the recent release from Fuji Film, the UA70x8.7BE.
As the name implies, Fuji Film started life as a film company. From X-rays to motion pictures they were involved in all of it. With the digital revolution, Fuji transitioned up the workflow from film to camera and glass. Since then Fuji Film has expanded from just plain film to imaging systems, optics, medical film and imaging. Needless to say, all the imaging experience means you should have a high expectation for their products.
Zooming in
The UA70x8.7BE is a box style lens that uses the standard 2/3 inch sensor Bayonet-mount. These have become common at sporting events, large concert venues and more recently houses of worship. These box style lenses tend to have a few notable features, which are also in the UA70x8.7BE. They tend to be large and heavy, have a massive zoom range often with an optional 2x extender, and they are expensive.
... if you are 200 feet away from the stage, this is a lens you should be considering.
If your camera position is 10 feet off your stage, you don't need this lens. In fact, with minimum object distance (M.O.D) from the front of the lens of 3.05m, approximately 10 feet, you will not be able to get the lens focused that close. Conversely, if you are 200 feet away from the stage, this is a lens you should be considering. The 70x zoom ratio gives the lens an equivalent focal length of 8.7mm to 610mm. When you add the 2x extender it becomes a whopping 17.4mm-1220mm at an aperture of 1:1.7 (8.7-340mm)1:3.05(610mm). 8.7mm is a really wide field of view, great for establishing shots of the venue and showing off the large crowd. While 1220mm is going to render a fairly tight shot in just about any closed venue. Typically the 2x extender is going to cost you 2 stops of light, nothing in the spec sheet leads me to believe one way or the other that this was the case with this lens, but I think it’s probably a safe assumption that the 2x extender is going to change the maximum aperture to something more along the lines of f2.8 at 17.4mm to f5.6at 1220mm.
Weighing in at 23.8kg (52.47 pounds) your camera mounts to the lens, not the other way around.
To say the UA70x8.7BE is large heavy lens is a huge understatement. Weighing in at 23.8kg (52.47 pounds) your camera mounts to the lens, not the other way around. Obviously this means an investment in a large tripod is going to be required. The physical specs are equally impressive at 258x264x610mm or 10x10x24 inches. Meaning this is likely going to double the length of you camera rig, an appropriate tripod head and supporting rig are also going to be needed. These large supports will help keep the lens pointed where it needs to be, but the UA70x8.7BE also uses an anti-vibration mechanism, which accurately corrects even camera shakes caused by movements of your footing to deliver stable video footage.
More to note
Some other notable features of this lens include the nine-blade diaphragm. This is important when using lenses with large focal lengths, because at full telephoto the depth of field is going to be fairly shallow and the 9 blade diaphragm will render smoother more perfect circular bokeh in your images. While on the subject of focus, the lens also features a floating focus system, which controls multiple lens groups according to the shooting distance. This minimizes fluctuations in optical performance caused by changes in shooting distance. As a result the lens is able to deliver sharp footage across all shooting distances from close-up to infinity.
While the spec sheet didn’t include the list price, comparing these box style lenses to standard lenses on the price front is not going to be a fair comparison. I am not aware of any standard lenses that have a 1200mm focal length. This incredible zoom is typically only achieved in the box style lenses. When you add up the needed extras, to include studio controls, heavy duty tripod, large heavy duty head, and mounting supports, this system is not going to be the most budget-friendly, but again, if you have a large venue and you don’t have optimal camera positions, this lens may be exactly what you need to get the job done.
