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Hands on with the ZEISS Supreme Primes

June 3^rd, 20183

by Graham SheldonJune 3^rd, 2018

The recently announced ZEISS Supreme primes are here and we had a chance to go hands on with the new line of large format primes at Cine Gear 2018. Spoiler alert – these lenses aren’t only created for perfect sharpness and that’s very much by design.

Reacting to filmmaker feedback that sharpness and a clinical look may not create the perfect lens, ZEISS set out to design a prime series that has character. Available in interchangeable EF, LPL (the new ARRI mount) and PL, only time will tell if DP’s are drawn to the unique characteristics of this new lens line, but the ability to cover a 46.2mm frame from the likes of Alexa and RED is welcome.

The new ZEISS Supreme Prime 50mm on an ARRI Alexa.

If you thought ZEISS already covered full frame, at least in the case of the ARRI Master Primes, you are only partially correct. It turns out that only some of the master primes cover full frame. Thus, we have the Supreme line aiming to do just that.

Priced at $18,000 each (a CP3 goes for between $5,000 – $6,000), the full line from 15mm to 200mm will be released in various stages throughout the next two years and will include the eXtended data protocol first introduced with the CP3 primes at NAB 2017.

For now, only the 25mm, 29mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm will be available this year and all are T1.5.