Ecosystem for Millennium DXL 8K Camera Also Includes HDR Viewfinder, PX-Pro Filter Prototype, and iOS Remote App

Panavision is debuting a new set of 11 T/1.8 primes developed for use with its 8K Millennium DXL camera today at Cine Gear Expo.

Panavision said the new Primo Artiste lenses will include integrated motors and metadata capabilities and have been designed to evoke a vintage look with a large-format imager. The new lenses have been built with focus-breathing control, even field illumination, and optimized close-focus performance, the company said.  The lenses accommodate an anamorphic glass attachment that induces anamorphic artifacts such as directional lens flares and distorted bokeh.

“The primary goal of the Primo Artiste line is to balance the intricacies of aberration control and the art of lens design to create a lens that produces images that resonate with our instinct to relate to painterly images that are identified by smooth transitions between surrounding objects,” said Panavision VP Optical Enginer and Lens Strategy Dan Sasaki in a prepared statement.

The first 11 lenses in the Primo Artiste series — 27mm, 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm, 80mm, 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 200mm and 250mm — are set to ship by the end of 2017 with more to come next year, Panavision said.

Panavision Primo viewfinder

Panavision Primo viewfinder

More Accessories Out Now and on the Way

Alongside the lenses, Panavision will show the new Primo viewfinder, featuring a 600-nit (thus HDR-capable) OLED screen with image smoothing, a heater, and specially made glass that the company says makes it easier to focus in challenging light environments and reduces eye fatigue. Also new is PX-Pro, a prototype of a color spectrum filter designed to increase color separation and precision and reduce optical artifacts by cutting IR and UV light. It’s being developed specifically for the DXL, Panavision said.

Finally, users who rent the DXL will have access to DXL Control. Developed by Mikael Lubtchansky, maker of the Foolcontrol software for controlling Red cameras on iOS, the software is already a free download via the iTunes app store.

Panavision: www.panavision.com