NYC-Based TCS Purchases 10 FUJINON PL Mount Zoom Lenses
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FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Optical Devices Division announced that TCS — a camera rental house in New York City — took delivery of 10 new FUJINON PL19-90 Cabrio (ZK4.7×19) PL mount zoom lenses soon after they became available. Established in 1978, TCS rents digital and film camera equipment and lenses to customers shooting motion pictures, scripted television series, documentaries, reality shows, commercials, and other high-profile projects.
Introduced at the 2012 NAB Show, the PL 19-90 is one of the newest members of the FUJINON PREMIER PL digital cinematography family. With a 19-90mm focal range and weight of only 2.7kg with servo, this lens has the longest focal range available in a lightweight zoom. It features an exclusive detachable servo drive unit, making it suitable for use as a standard PL lens or as an ENG-style lens. The PL 19-90 can be controlled using cinema industry standard wireless controllers, as well as existing Fujinon wired and wireless units. Whether you are from a film background or a video one, the Premier PL 19-90 offers uncompromising quality and unprecedented flexibility.
“When we first saw this lens at NAB, we were extremely impressed with its focal length, size, and T-stop—all in a lightweight, compact form factor,” says Erik Schietinger, president of TCS who co-owns the company with his brother, TCS’ VP and Chief Operating Officer, Oliver Schietinger. “There’s no other lens on the market like it. As soon as the Cabrio lenses came in the door, they went right out on a variety of production projects, including documentaries, reality TV shows, and commercials.”
Jay-Z: Made in America, a documentary currently in production was among the first TCS customers to rent and use the new FUJINON PL 19-90 Cabrio lenses. This documentary, which is being directed by Ron Howard who co-produced the film with legendary Rapper Jay-Z, features footage from the “Budweiser Made in America” music festival, held in September this year in Philadelphia. The two-day festival featured four large stages for performances by many music icons, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Pearl Jam.
“Our digital cinema and broadcast production customers keep coming back for these lenses,” said Erik Schietinger. “We have our sights set on buying several of the latest Cabrio lenses – the new 85-300mm.” With a focal length of 85-220mm at T2.9 and 300mm at T4.0, and a 200-degree focus rotation, the new PL Mount zoom lens (model ZK3.5×85) is ideal for shooting documentaries, nature and wildlife, car commercials, among other demanding types of production.
According to Thom Calabro, Director, Marketing and Product Development, FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Optical Devices Division, “Cinematographers like that these lenses accept industry-standard cine motors and matte boxes, while videographers appreciate the ENG style servo drive,” Calabro said. “All camera operators appreciate a digital cinema quality lens that’s lightweight and ergonomic enough to be used in a dynamic, handheld mode—a breakthrough that will revolutionize high-end productions.”
The PL 19-90 covers 31.5mm sensor diagonal size on a digital cinema style camera. While sensors on standard broadcast cameras are all the same size, sensors on digital cine cameras vary greatly. This ensures the image captured will cover the latest large sensors for optimal, full-frame resolution. A nine-blade iris part of the design as well, creating the most natural-looking imagery possible.
The lens has all the lens data output that appeals to a Cine-style shooter. LDS and /i metadata compatibility is very useful when you want to record the position information of zoom, iris, and focus for computer animation and other uses. The digital servo on the PL 19-90 has 16-bit encoding, so operators can be assured that all lens data output is extremely accurate. The data is available at the Hot Shoe mount, or a connector located on the servo.