New PL-Mount Lenses Feature T2.0 Apertures, a Nine-Blade Iris and Focal Lengths from 20 mm to 135 mm

Another reason to welcome the feature-gap-filling "future ahead of schedule" F55 and F5 CineAlta cameras announced today that Sony is aiming at music video, commercial and reality TV production: The company is also set to release the second-generation of its PL-mount cine primes. The new primes feature newly refined glass and will continue to let users choose their own optics, whether from Angénieux, Canon, Carl Zeiss, Cooke, FUJIFILM or Leica. Each one, ranging in focal lengths from 20 mm to 135 mm, will also be certified for full 4K capture and is outfitted with the same T2.0 aperture, external diameter, matte box diameter, and gear locations found in the previous-generation series.

The 4K optimization means geometric distortion, vignetting and breathing—all enemies of those who "harvest the light," as Sony calls it—will be minimized in the new cine lenses."There is no crop factor or loss in angle of view," said Juan Martinez, senior product manager at Sony Electronics' Professional Solutions of America. Thanks to a new standard nine-blade iris, the primes should also produce "gorgeous bokehs," he said.

The company will be offering a full set of six lenses in a 20, 25, 35, 50, 85 and 135 mm focal length version, as well as a smaller set of three. Pricing has not yet been determined. Sony says the new primes, like the announced CineAlta cameras, are the result of a careful two-year design, engineering and planning process the company developed prior to rolling out the new line in the interest of delivering the best quality and range of features. "They are all the same size, except for the 135mm, and all metal," Martinez added. "There is no cheap plastic here." When the PL-mount adapter is removed, the native FZ mount will work with still lenses like the Canon EF, Canon FD, Nikon DX, Nikon G, and Leica M series.