New Zeiss Nano Prime T1.5 Full-Frame Cine Lenses Range from 18 to 100mm
Following a short teaser campaign and a lengthy hiatus in the interchangeable lens space, Zeiss has announced a new series of cinema lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The Zeiss Nano Prime lenses come in six focal lengths, ranging from 18mm to 100mm, and every lens features a fast T1.5 aperture.
“Nano Primes are lenses for all cinematographers. No matter if up-and-coming or seasoned DP. For all budgets. No matter if small or big. For all projects. No matter if for commercials, documentaries or music videos, for series, independent or features films,” Zeiss explains, promising that the new Nano Primes “won’t let you down.”
The six Nano Prime lenses are designed to match the look of Zeiss’ Supreme prime lenses, albeit at a more approachable cost. That isn’t to say the set of six lenses is cheap, as it will set customers back $25,950. However, the Supreme primes can cost as much as $160,000 for a seven-lens set. A nine-lens set from B&H cannot even be purchased online.
The new Nano Primes have a 95mm compendium ring and 86mm screw-in filter thread. They’re built for use in adverse conditions, including winter weather and rain.
While each lens sports the same general design, including unified gear positions, their lengths and weights vary slightly. For example, the 18mm T1.5 lens weighs 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms) and is 4.4 inches (112 millimeters) long. The 100mm T1.5 Nano Prime is similarly large and heavy, weighing 2.9 pounds (1.3 kilograms) and extending 4.4 inches (112 millimeters). Other lenses in the set weigh 1.9 to 2.5 pounds.
The lenses also differ in their minimum focusing distances, ranging from 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) for the 18mm lens and up to 39.4 inches (100 centimeters) for the 100mm prime. Speaking of focus, the lenses are all manual focus only. The lenses include electronic communication, though, for metadata, focus distance, and aperture. Additional lens data, like distortion and vignette info, is available in the Zeiss CinCraft ecosystem.
Each lens sports a 12-bladed circular aperture iris coupled with a manual aperture control ring. The aperture ring rotates 90 degrees, and the focus rings rotate 280 degrees.
While the new Zeiss Nano Primes ship with an E-mount, they feature Zeiss’ Interchangeable Mount System (IMS).
The Zeiss Nano Prime cinema lenses are available to preorder now, with prices ranging from $4,490 to $4,490 each.
The lenses are also available in the complete set with a custom hard case for $25,950. The case is available separately as well for $850. If each lens were purchased separately, the total cost would be $27,940 — plus $850 for the case. The six-lens bundle saves customers a total of $2,840.
Image credits: Zeiss
