FUJIFILM has developed the cine lenses of its MK series in response to the rapidly growing demand for videos and films on the Internet, which are produced on a relatively low budget and exclusively using compact system cameras.
As conventional cinema lenses are usually large and heavy compared to photo lenses and are more expensive to manufacture and purchase, FUJIFILM has created an equivalent alternative with the MK series. It offers the high image quality and easy handling of classic cine lenses, but has an overall more compact and lighter design.
The new MKX lenses are based on the same concept as the first MK lenses that FUJIFILM launched for the E-mount*2 in spring 2017. In contrast, however, they have the electronic contacts for communication with the camera that are compatible with the X series, so that optical aberrations such as distortion*3 and color fringing can be corrected automatically.
The classic FUJINON Cine lenses marketed by FUJIFILM were honored with the 69th Engineering Emmy® Award in 2017. Thanks to their pioneering technology, they are used worldwide today and have proven themselves in countless film and TV productions. When designing the new MK series, the engineers were therefore able to benefit from extensive know-how and many years of expertise in the development and production of high-precision cine lenses.
Outstanding image quality and compact, lightweight design
The optical construction of the MKX lenses consists of 23 glass elements in 17 groups, including six Super ED and two ED lenses in the MKX18-55mm and two Super ED and two ED lenses in the MKX50-135mm. This design guarantees high imaging performance across the entire image area, regardless of the selected focal length. Nevertheless, the MKX lenses are exceptionally compact and lightweight for cine lenses thanks to the small flange focal distance of the X-mount. Filmmakers and videographers therefore gain flexibility and can achieve outstanding results even without a large team.
Both lenses have a continuous open aperture of T2.9, with which a shallow depth of field and the associated bokeh effect can be achieved. At the same time, the high light intensity minimizes the need to adjust the subject lighting, which saves time during shooting.
Optomechanical design ideal for video recordings
The MKX lenses have an optomechanical construction that is designed entirely for manual operation. This means that minimal latency times, which are unavoidable with electronic focus systems, can be avoided and very smooth and harmonious camera movement can be achieved.
In addition, the front focus group and the zoom group are controlled independently of each other, which prevents so-called focus breathing during zoom movements; the focus therefore does not have to be adjusted when changing the focal length.
As the internal focusing is realized via a lens group in the front area of the lens, "lens breathing" is prevented during focusing; the image angle therefore remains unchanged during focusing. In addition, MKX lenses feature a technology already familiar from FUJINON's classic cine lenses, which prevents the optical axis from shifting when zooming.
Convenient handling
The MKX lenses are designed to be intuitive and very convenient to use when shooting video and to fit perfectly into the film workflow. They have three manual adjustment rings for focus, zoom and iris (diaphragm), each equipped with a gear ring and uniform gear pitch of 0.8mm*4. This makes the new lenses, just like the classic FUJINON cine lenses, compatible with standardized third-party video accessories, such as a follow focus system, which facilitates particularly smooth and precise focusing.
The focus ring has a rotation angle of 200 degrees, allowing precise focusing even with a shallow depth of field. The iris can be adjusted continuously, which allows very precise exposure control and prevents possible vibrations and annoying clicking noises.
Optomechanical design ideal for video recordings
The MKX lenses are designed to be intuitive and very convenient to use when shooting video and to fit perfectly into the film workflow. They have three manual adjustment rings for focus, zoom and iris (diaphragm), each equipped with a gear ring and uniform gear pitch of 0.8mm*5. This makes the new lenses, just like the classic FUJINON cine lenses, compatible with standardized third-party video accessories, such as a follow focus system, which facilitates particularly smooth and precise focusing.
The focus ring has a rotation angle of 200 degrees, allowing precise focusing even with a shallow depth of field. The iris can be adjusted continuously, which allows very precise exposure control and prevents possible vibrations and annoying clicking noises.
Standardized design
The external design of the lenses differs only slightly. In terms of dimensions, they are even identical: both have a front diameter of 85 mm and a filter thread of 82 mm, so that only one lens hood and one filter size are required. The three adjustment rings with gear rims are also positioned exactly the same on both lenses so that the accessories do not have to be realigned after a lens change.
Both lenses have a macro function, which allows close-up shots with shooting distances*5 of 0.38 meters (MKX18-55mm) or 0.85 meters (MKX50-135mm) at the wide-angle position.
When using different cameras, the flange focal distance can be adjusted using an adjustment function*6 so that the full optical performance of the lenses can be used at all times.
*1The T-value indicates the light intensity of a lens based on the open aperture value and the transmission rate. The smaller the value, the faster a lens is.
*2Lens bayonet E-mount was developed by the SONY Corporation.
*3Optical phenomenon in which an image produced by a lens is partially contracted or expanded at the edges.
*4Distance between the gear teeth
*5Distance between image plane and object
*6The position of the image plane can be set according to the flange focal distance of the camera used. The flange focal distance corresponds to the distance between the sensor plane and the contact surface of the lens.
