Latin America. ARRI Rental introduced two new series of large format lenses: ALFA anamorphic lenses and Moviecam spherical lenses. Both series were conceived and built by ARRI Rental's global lens development team, which was also responsible for the company's successful DNA lenses for full-frame and 65mm cinematography.
The ARRI Rental ALFA lens set comprises eight lenses with a focal length of 40 mm to 190 mm. Like DNA lenses, they evolved from artistic collaborations with filmmakers looking for new ways to tell stories and convey emotions. Available at ARRI Rental facilities worldwide, they are fast in T2.5 for most focal lengths, solid construction and offer a unique anamorphic look for large format.
The original idea behind alfa lenses grew out of ARRI Rental's long-standing relationship with cinematographer Greig Fraser ACS, ASC, who was also a key contributor to the DNA lens program. In response to Fraser's request for new large-format anamorphic options, ARRI Rental and ARRI worked together to modify Sets of Master Anamorphic lenses. In addition to adapting them to cover the larger format, ARRI Rental technicians customized the lenses internally for specifically requested image attributes.
More prototypes of the ALFA lenses were made with the participation of German cinematographer Nikolaus Summerer, another old friend of ARRI Rental. From these collaborations and extensive R&D within ARRI Rental, specifications for a series of ALFA lens production were defined. The sturdy, purpose-built lens housings still contain master anamorphic glass, but are accompanied by other custom optical elements and modifications that combine to create a whole new look.
ARRI Rental Moviecam lenses combine vintage glass and a cinematic history with modern, high-performance lens housings. Impressively compact and lightweight given their full-frame coverage, they come in 11 focal lengths from 16mm to 135mm and feature a T2 stop in most of that range.
Moviecam lenses were first produced in the 1980s, using very high-quality donor glass dating back to the 1970s. In the 1990s, ARRI acquired moviecam and incorporated some of its camera technologies into ARRICAM ST and LT, which were, and still are, the most advanced 35mm cinematic film cameras ever produced.
While cameras were the focus of ARRI's Moviecam acquisition in the 1990s, ARRI Rental has sought a rather different benefit in the 2020s: Moviecam lenses. Recognizing its growing appeal to digital filmmakers looking for a vintage look, ARRI Rental has created a host of consistent Moviecam sets, which will be offered across its global territories. Following Moviecam's original design, ARRI Rental's lens engineers have built the same optics from the 1970s into new lens housings.
In general, Moviecams are characterized by combining a vintage look with a very practical ease of use. Apart from the 100mm and 135mm in T2.8, all lenses are T2, although the 60mm goes a step further up to T1.5, offering an additional option for low-light situations and bokeh-enriched portraits. Optical performance is consistent across the range.
Both the ALFA and Moviecam series are LPL-mounted and incorporate LDA chips for efficient lens data workflows, making them suitable even for productions with lots of visual effects. The lens housings are manufactured in-house at ARRI Rental, incorporating all the expertise of the lens development team in the creation and customization of various optics for customers. Highly uniform in lens ring size and placement, the Moviecams and ALFA are as fast and easy to work with as any other modern series of cinema lenses.
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