Over 100,000 media and entertainment professionals and 1,789 exhibitors descended upon Las Vegas to attend this year’s NAB show. The TLS team spent time last week at the show where we showcased our lenses and had the opportunity to speak with clients and lens engineers.

Lens manufacturers had already announced that they had big surprises ahead of the show, so the expectations were high for innovative and exciting new products. Innovation, enhancements and iterations are always welcome within the industry – below are some highlights: 

Canon had some exciting new products that were announced, notably, the new Compact Servo 18-80mm. The new cine lens is affordable, compact and combines the functionality of an EF lens with 4K optical performance. With full external servo control and an optional grip designed exclusively for this lens, Canon is helping to support a wider range of shooting styles, therefore targeting the documentary, broadcast and low-budget film market.

The newest addition to the Angenieux anamorphic line-up is the 44-440mm T4.5 Optimo. It features traditional 2x horizontal squeeze and a great close focus of 4ft 1in, and produces a long range organic look without loss of quality. It’s a classic cinematic look from Angenieux and a very welcome addition to its zoom range.  

Cooke Optics has expanded its series of Anamorphic/i lenses with the 35-140mm lens. The optics have been designed to give maximum performance at full aperture and is a true front anamorphic with 2x squeeze. The colour and depth of field match the anamorphic/I prime lenses so the Cooke Look can be achieved across your production needs.

Fujifilm announced the Fujinon UA107x8.4 which is being described as achieving the world’s highest zoom ratio of 107x in a 4k-compatible broadcast zoom lens. Perfect for sports, concerts and live broadcasting, the lens was another addition to the market for 4K footage.

For those asking for performance and affordability, Fujinon also showcased the 20-120mm T3.5 (Cabrio XK6x20), a lightweight super 35mm zoom lens designed for the video production and PL cine markets. The fifth member of the Cabrio line shares many features with its predecessors and especially prides itself on being compact and lightweight.

TLS also showcased a selection of new lenses at the show. Our new 85mm T2.3 Typhon lens is ideal for use as a portraiture lens. Its cam driven focus system and chassis style lens housing allows matte boxes and other accessories to be attached to the front of the lens, without affecting the focus movements. It gives a swirl effect bokeh with a sharp center and has typically 2'10" minimum object distance. 

Our new Kowa 20mm T2.6 Cine Prominar and 75mm T2.3 Cine Prominar lenses were also on the stand at NAB. Both lenses have the benefit of zero backlash and image shift which gives accurate dual focus scales that repeat on direction, giving a wide spread of markings through the scale. The lenses are light and compact, and are therefore great for hand held shooting and Steadicam work.