New monitors, lenses and cages in this week's news roundup

Portkeys has a new monitor, Tilta and 8Sinn have new GH6 cages, and Laowa has some new cine lenses are among the announcements in this week's packed news update.

Portkeys new PT5 II 5″ 4K HDMI touchscreen monitor

PORTKEYS new PT5 II 5" 4K HDMI Touchscreen Monitor comes with a compact, 5" touchscreen for on-camera monitoring. It features HDMI input and output, 3D LUT input via a USB Type-A port, and support for up to DCI 4K24 video signals. Like all small-sized monitors, it uses 10-bit (8+2FRC). Due to it’s small size, the PT5 II weighs just 130g / 4.59 oz which makes it suitable for small-sized cameras.For powering options, this monitor supports both Sony NP-F970/F960/F750/F550 and Canon LP-E6 batteries. You can also use Sony NPF or Canon E6 batteries to output 7.4V to power other devices. There is a USB Type-A port that you can use to upgrade firmware and load up 3D LUTs. 

The PT5 II: 5″ 4K HDMI Touchscreen Monitor with 3D LUT Support kit includes Sun Hood Kit, Tilting Shoe Mount, HDMI Type-A Cable, Micro-HDMI Cable, Safety Case and Limited 1-Year Warranty. The PT5 II retails at an affordable price of $125 or £115.Key features

• 5″ 1920 x 1080 supports up to HD 4K video
• 500nit brightness
• Wide color gamut
• 10-bit (8+2FRC)
• 3D LUT support via USB input
• Monitoring tools include focus peaking, false color, image flip, histogram, color temperature, custom RGB, and more
• 1000:1 Contrast Ratio

Four new M4/3 cine lenses from Laowa

Laowa has released four new M4/3 lenses. All lenses are moulded with mod 0.8 gear. The aperture ring and focusing ring in all of the lenses have the same position so switching between lenses is quick and easy:

• Venus Optics Laowa Zero-D Cine 6mm T2.1 Lens ($699)
• Venus Optics Laowa Cine 17mm T1.9 Lens ($399)
• Venus Optics Laowa Cine APO 50mm T2.9 Macro Lens ($549)

The Laowa 6mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine is a wide rectilinear lens featuring a 121.9° angle of view and a close focus distance of 9cm/ 3.54″. The optical design consists of 13 elements in 3 groups with two aspherical pieces of glass. The lens weighs around 180g/ 6.35oz and it has physical dimensions of Φ61 x 53mm/ 2.40 x 2.08”. The front filter diameter is 58mm.

Laowa 7.5mm T2.1 MFT Cine consists of 13 elements in 9 groups with two aspherical elements and three extra-low dispersion elements. The lens weighs around 170g and it has physical dimensions of 56 x 46mm. Bright T2.1 maximum aperture is well-suited for work under low-light conditions with an angle view of 110°.

Laowa 10mm T2.1 Zero-D MFT Cine features a 96° angle of view on the MFT sensor, providing a wide and unique perspective. The optical design consists of 11 elements in 7 groups and 2 pieces of ED glass and 2 pieces of aspherical glass. The lens has physical dimensions of Φ56 x 47mm / 2.20 x 1.85” and it weighs 150g.

The Laowa 17mm T1.9 MFT Cine features a 65° field of view on a Micro Four Thirds sensor. The lens has a 15mm / 5.9″ minimum focus distance (great for closeups). The 17mm T1.9 weighs around 175g /6.17oz and it has physical dimensions of Φ56 x 53mm (2.20 x 2.08”). 

Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens for FUJIFILM X-Mount and Sony E-Mount APS-C Cameras announced

The Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 lens covers APS-C sensors with a fully manual, dedicated focus and a de-clicked aperture ring. Japanese lens manufacturer, Tokina, has developed a manual fisheye lens for Sony E-Mount or FUJIFILM X-Mount cameras. 

The Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 is a pretty compact and lightweight fisheye lens with a length of only 6cm and a weight of 280g/9.8oz. This lens covers APS-C sensors and will give you a field of view of 180°. It comes with a removable lens hood so you can use the lens with a full-frame mirrorless camera. With manual fisheye features, so you have a dedicated focus and aperture rings for fine tuning.

The lens design of the Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 consists of 11 elements in 9 groups. The aperture diaphragm features 7 aperture blades. The minimum focusing distance goes as close as 10cm/0.32ft - great for artistic shots. 

8Sinn and Tilta Cages for Panasonic LUMIX GH6 Introduced

8Sinn

After every camera launch, third-party accessory manufacturers are quick to announce their dedicated cages for new cameras. 8Sinn is no different and it just introduced its new cage and rigging options for the Panasonic LUMIX GH6. This lightweight aluminium-made cage features 1/4″-20 mounting points with an optional HDMI cable clamp that gives this new camera the extra security. 

On the left and right sides of the cage, you’ll find a couple of 1/4″-20 mounting points.There’s a strap holder on the right side of the cage. The top of the cage offers multiple 1/4″-20 mounting points, one 3/8″-16 threaded hole with ARRI locating pins to attach a top handle, and one cold shoe mount. The cage secures to your GH6 via one 1/4″-20 screw at the bottom of the cage.

8Sinn also developed an optional HDMI cable clamp that screws to the left side of the cage via two M4 screws. The 8Sinn cage retails for $149.00. The optional HDMI cable clamp is $23.00. The 8Sinn Black Raven top handle bundle is $224.00, the Scorpio bundle is $257.00, and the PRO top handle bundle is $288.00.

Tilta

Tilta is well-known for making quality and at the same time affordable tailor made camera cages and ecosystems. The company is back with an entire range of accessories for the LUMIX GH6 co-developed with Panasonic.

The cage attaches to your camera via two 1/4″-20 screws at the bottom of your GH6. Also, you can screw the camera’s right strap eyelet to the cage for extra security. The bottom of the Tilta LUMIX GH6 cage features six 1/4″-20 mounting points. The kit comes with a magnetic screwdriver and a removable baseplate. On the right side of the cage, you’ll find three 1/4″-20 mounting points with locating pins. The left side of the cage features additional 1/4″-20 threads, a rosette mount, and a NATO rail.

The Tilta LUMIX GH6 cage retails for $69.00. The cage comes with two additional bundles: the Basic kit is $119.00, and the Pro kit is $399.00.

BLUESHAPE BMBP975plus and BMBP955plus Battery Pack for RED KOMODO announced

Since RED started working closely with Canon, BLUESHAPE announced its new power solution for both Canon EOS cinema cameras and RED KOMODO. These batteries are RED-approved and come with a camera communication by showing the residual capacity and runtime on the display. When the battery capacity approaches a critical state, the battery alerts the camera to initiate an emergency shut down to keep the data safe.

 The new battery packs from BLUESHAPE come in two sizes:

• BLUESHAPE BMBP955plus with 6400mAh (46Wh) capacity (to replace the Canon BP-955 type)
• BLUESHAPE BMBP975plus with 9600mAh (69Wh) capacity (to replace the Canon BP-975 type)

Weeylite Ninja 20 – Affordable 200W 5600K COB LED light introduced

Weeylite introduced its Ninja 20 that is a new 200W COB LED flicker-free light. Ninja 20 is a daylight-only 5600K fixture with a 200W output. The body of the light comes with all-metal construction with a dual-channel constant current LED driver and a steel pipe radiator for cooling. There is a built-in fan, but the light also features a button for silent mode. 

With the included reflector, the Ninja 20 can output up to 79,000 lux at 1m (according to Weeylite). Without the reflector, output is 7,800 lux at 1m and it is 0-100% dimmable. The Ninja 20 has a control interface at the back with an LCD screen, two adjustment knobs, and four buttons. Additionally, the light has a DMX console control connector.The Weeylite Ninja 20 has a built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi wireless connectivity so it can be controlled by remote control as well as a mobile app. With the app you can control 6 different built-in effects – thunder, burst, flash lamp, faulty bulb, weld, and SOS. 

The Ninja 20 is available for $299.