Zeiss hopes that their Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses will usher in a new era of filmmaking. These lenses aim to blend high-end precision with artistic depth to create an exclusive “Radiance” effect.

The “Radiance” effect mixes controlled, creative blue flares with warm color tones to create a rich, cinematic aesthetic that highlights skin tones and deepens shadows for a vibrant, dynamic image. These three T2.9 lenses — the 15-30mm, 28-80mm, and 70-200mm — are designed to stand out by providing unrivaled optical quality and stylistic warmth to each frame.

“With the new Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses, we offer the only modern cine zoom family with a very characteristic look that not only matches the look of Zeiss Supreme Prime Radiance but is also well suited to be used with other prime sets such as regular Supreme Primes to add nice flares and thus provide more creative versatility on set,” states Christophe Casenave, Head of Business Unit Cinematography at Zeiss & Company. “They even look great with some antique lenses like Canon K35s. Overall, this ensures a consistent appearance for movies that desire to use both prime and zoom lenses, increasing filmmakers’ creative possibilities.

Zeiss has long pushed the boundaries of cinema technology, and these lenses join the company’s renowned Supreme range. They are remarkable in that they can match the Supreme Prime Radiance lenses’ color warmth and controlled blue flare, both of which are characteristics of the Zeiss T* blue coating. The T* blue coating tries to provide modest, controlled flares that add a cinematic edge without detracting from the main picture. Under normal circumstances, the lenses render with no additional flare; but, when focused light strikes the lens, it creates a blue highlight that improves color contrast and adds drama to the scene.

Cinematographers should benefit from the T* blue coating’s reduced flare in addition to its aesthetic value. It should contribute to a warm-to-cool contrast by raising skin tones and deepening shadow detail. This contrast is ideal for high-end productions, as minor fluctuations in warmth can define an emotional beat or set the tone for a story.

The Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses’ unique selling feature within the Zeiss series is its ability to provide focal length versatility without losing image quality or consistency. Consistency from frame to frame is critical with cinema lenses, regardless of the lens used, therefore Zeiss engineers worked hard to ensure the new zoom lenses matched the company’s current Supreme Prime lenses.

Each Supreme Zoom Radiance lens features identical iris, focus, and zoom ring locations, as well as a front diameter of 114mm. This allows cinematographers to switch between Supreme Zoom and Supreme Prime lenses without changing their setups. The constant ergonomics eliminate friction in the filming process, which is especially important when teams are working under tight schedules.

The Zeiss Supreme Zoom Radiance lenses feature Zeiss eXtended Data technology, which provides critical metadata on vignetting and distortion frame by frame. This streamlines the post-production process for VFX and virtual production. Integrating this data allows for a more seamless transition from filming to post-production, as frame-by-frame data gives the consistency required for virtual effects to line with physical lens characteristics, saving time on digital alignment and calibration.

For those that work with ARRI cameras, the updated Firmware 1.90 offers even more. It allows the automatic transfer of lens scales and depth of field data to ARRI Hi-5 and WCU-4 handheld systems, removing the need for human calibration.