New PODCAST 🎧 ep99 - What's the camera of the future? Trying out new features on CineD.com Listen or watch now!
LISTEN to PODCAST 🎧 ep99 🎬
What's the camera of the future?
Education for Filmmakers
Language
The CineD Channels
Info
New to CineD?
You are logged in as
We will send you notifications in your browser, every time a new article is published in this category.
You can change which notifications you are subscribed to in your notification settings.
At NAB 2024, lens manufacturer BLAZAR has just announced CATO, a new lens set that adds to their full-frame anamorphic line-up. The lenses are 40mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 125mm, feature a consistent 2x anamorphic squeeze ratio, and cover large format sensors. Let’s take a look at them!
BLAZAR, previously known as Great Joy, is a Chinese lens manufacturer that focuses on the production of accessible anamorphic lenses. Their Remus 1.5x anamorphic full-frame lens series is getting quite popular among independent filmmakers due to its affordable price and vintage-inspire look.
This family of lenses was recently expanded with the introduction of the a 35mm T1.6 for Super35 as well as a 33mm T1.6 covering full-frame. And now, the company seems ready to bring 2x anamorphic lenses to the mass.
Upon launch, the BLAZAR CATO FF 2x anamorphic lens series will consist of four focal lengths, namely a 40mm T2.2, 50mm T2, 85mm T2.8, and 125mm T3.2. All lenses are available in both PL and EF mounts, don’t exceed 1kg/2.2lbs (weight varies between 853g/1.88lbs and 940g/2.07lbs), and are pretty compact, measuring between 105mm and 133mm in length.
Just like the Remus 1.5x lenses, the CATO 2x set uses barrel distortion. However, they only come with a neutral silver flare options, which means that the color of the flare picks up that of the light source hitting the lens (for the Remus series, you can choose between blue or amber flare). The overall design is similar to the Remus, with a silver/black housing, and focus markings in both meters and feet.
For the full technical specifications, please check the table below:
If you are familiar with BLAZAR, then you know their prices are affordable compared to what anamorphic lenses usually cost. However, we don’t have information about the price of the CATO series yet. The lens set will be available for pre-order in July and will start shipping in August 2024, with the 40mm shipping in October.
For more information, please check BLAZAR’s website here.
What do you think of the BLAZAR CATO series? Did you know the brand, or have you used their lenses before? Let us know in the comments below!
Δ
Stay current with regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-to’s and more.
You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. For further details, see our Privacy Policy
Want regular CineD updates about news, reviews, how-to’s and more?Sign up to our newsletter and we will give you just that.
You can unsubscribe at any time via an unsubscribe link included in every newsletter. The data provided and the newsletter opening statistics will be stored on a personal data basis until you unsubscribe. For further details, see our Privacy Policy
Jose Prada is a London based filmmaker and musician who loves to tell stories. He started in the industry twenty years ago, working in different areas of filmmaking. He co-founded JRVISUALS, where he works as a director, DoP, editor and colorist.