Director of photography (DP) Jon Nelson, owner of Production Hero in Orange County, CA, recently acquired a new FUJINON PL 19-90 Cabrio (Model ZK4.7x19) Premier PL Mount cinema-style zoom lens, which he paired with a new Sony PMW-F55 CineAlta 4K digital cinema camera.
Nelson shoots all types of advertising and marketing video projects, including commercials and Web media. He upgraded to the FUJINON lens when he purchased his new Sony camera.
“Once I decided to move up to a 4K camera, I needed to have better glass,” said Nelson. “While image quality is without question extremely important, I decided to buy this particular camera and lens because they offer very beneficial operational and logistical advantages.”
Nelson often has to pack up his camera gear on short notice to fly to production locations around the United States. On occasion, he is required to shoot in two different cities in a single day. Since he flies on commercial aircraft, Nelson is wary of checking many heavy bags because it adds to travel costs. When he arrives on-location, he wants to set up his camera gear as quickly as possible and minimize lens changes to save time.
“Every time you need to change a lens, that’s time away from shooting, lighting or talking to the director,” said Nelson. “With Cabrio’s 19-90mm focal range, I don’t have to interrupt the shoot for lens changes as often. Saving time is especially valuable since I work on jobs with smaller crews and very tight deadlines. With its compact, lightweight package, the Cabrio is also very easy to transport and set-up.”
“I shoot a lot of interviews where the subject is between eight to 15ft away from the camera,” said Nelson “Doing critical focusing in 4K in low light situations can be extremely frustrating with a zoom lens with a focus ring that doesn’t rotate much in the critical 8ft to 15ft range. The Cabrio is an exception because the focus ring rotation gives you ample ability to focus the lens for critical 4K focusing, and the barrel markings are extremely accurate. The features on this lens just make my life a lot easier.”
