Fujifilm North America Corporation, Optical Devices Division (“Fujifilm”) is introducing the Fujinon Duvo HZK24-300mm Portable PL Mount Zoom Lens (“Duvo 24-300mm”), a dual format lens supporting two types of large-image sensors, a super 35mm sensor and a full-frame sensor, with a 1.5x expander engaged. The lens is designed for a shallow depth of field and bokeh. Fujifilm currently expects Duvo 24-300mm to be released into the U.S. market in spring, 2024.
Complementing Fujifilm’s Duvo HZK25-1000mm F2.8-F5.0 PL Mount Cinema Box Lens (“Duvo 25-1000mm”) — Fujifilm’s first Duvo Series lens — Duvo 24-300mm delivers 12.5x zoom, covering 24-300mm, a focal range that is frequently used on set. The use of the built-in expander shifts the focal length by 1.5 times to 36mm-450mm, allowing users to capture far-away subjects in desirable fields of view. At 10.6 inches long (270.5mm) and 6.5 pounds (2.95kg), Duvo 24-300mm is compact and lightweight, designed to be portable for all types of live production; it can be operated in the same style as a broadcast lens using zoom and focus demands, is able to be used with a variety of accessories specifically designed for portable Fujinon lenses, and can be utilized for shoulder-mounted operation, as well as with a Steadicam or for high-angle shooting using a crane.
“Offering as long a focal length in as small and lightweight a package as possible, Duvo 24-300mm gives handheld positions in live production the opportunity to take advantage of that classic Fujinon cinema look that’s been developed over Fujifilm’s almost 90-year heritage, from making film to making cinema lenses, bringing that unique color space, latitude, and shallow depth of field to the show,” says Stosh Durbacz, national sales manager, Optical Devices Division, FUJIFILM North America Corporation. “The most dramatic, shallow depth-of-field shots in live shows often come from those intimate handheld positions, providing viewers with an immersive cinematic experience; Fujifilm's expanded range of our portable and long Duvo lenses provides directors with that highly desired cinema look from nearly any position.”
In today’s broadcast environments, cameras equipped with large-image sensors are increasingly used amidst the growing needs for immersive cinematic expressions involving the use of shallow depth of field, bokeh and high dynamic range. “While cinema lenses are commonly used for those applications, they are optimized for shooting scripted production, and therefore have a smaller zoom magnification ratio than that of broadcast lenses,” the Fujifilm announcement explains. “They also often require a specialist in focus operations, which is uncommon in the broadcast industry. The introduction of this compact, lightweight portable lens to the Duvo Series lens lineup will enable high mobility and portability in realizing cinematic coverage of live sporting events, music concerts, documentaries, and wildlife cinematography.”
Key features of Duvo 24-300mm:
Supports cameras with Super 35mm sensors and sensors equivalent to full frame
- The lens natively works with the Super 35mm sensor and supports a sensor equivalent to full frame by engaging the built-in expander to expand the image circle by 1.5 times.
- When mounted on a camera equipped with a sensor equivalent to full frame, the lens delivers its maximum optical performance while maintaining the same angle of view as when used on a camera with a Super 35mm sensor.
Creates cinema-quality imagery with bokeh
- With Duvo 24-300mm's use of large-diameter aspherical elements and Super-ED (extra-low dispersion) lenses, polished to advanced precision, various forms of aberration are controlled thoroughly to achieve optical performance. Ghosting, lens flair and color bleeding are also suppressed to deliver natural, controllable, cinematic footage.
- The lens has a maximum aperture of T2.9 at the wide-angle end despite being a high magnification lens that supports a large sensor. This enables filming in low-light conditions, such as indoor concerts and evening sporting events.
- With Duvo 24-300mm, out-of-focus areas naturally fall out-of-focus from the focal plane into the background. This produces the popular cinematic look with textures and bokeh, allowing the storyteller to naturally draw the attention of the viewer to the in-focus subject.
Access to a wide variety of accessories
- Duvo 24-300mm supports multi-camera operations to facilitate efficient production.
- The lens can be connected to a third-party wireless lens controller, a setup commonly used for movie and TV commercial production, to remotely control focus, aperture and zoom. This also supports focusing by a dedicated focus operator.
- The lens focus ring has a gear pitch of 0.8M, which allows the use of all standard, third-party accessories for movie production.
Features to support comfortable shooting and editing
- Duvo 24-300mm features Breathing Compensation Technology (BCT), which automatically corrects focus breathing (fluctuations in the angle of view) to produce natural footage while maintaining the subject being filmed in the established field-of-view during changes in focus.
- The lens also features Remote Back Focus (RBF), which enables the control of the flange focal distance from either the control panel of the camera or the robotic system that supports the RBF feature. It allows for precise adjustment with a large, high-resolution monitor and controlled lighting in a studio control room or in an OB van/production truck as opposed to via the onboard viewfinder.
- Duvo 24-300mm is compatible with the “Zeiss eXtended Data” system developed by Zeiss based on the open /i Technology standard. It enables the recording of lens metadata (focus, zoom, and iris position), as well as of lens distortion and shading corrections.
Expected Availability
Duvo 24-300mm is currently expected to be available in the U.S. market in the spring of 2024 but will be previewed at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands from September 15 to 18, 2023 along with Fujifilm’s third Duvo Series lens, a wide portable zoom lens covering a focal length of 14-100mm. For more information on the Duvo 24-300mm PL Mount Zoom Lens, please visit https://fujinon.com/duvo.
